Charitable Choice and Faith-Based Welfare: A Call for Social Work

As the U.S. social welfare system continues to undergo radical transformation begun by passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) (P.L. 104-193), limited attention has been given to the Charitable Choice provision in section [section]104 of the law. This provision significantly changes the historic relationship between the religious community and the public sector by opening the door for mixing religion and publicly supported social services. Section 104 outlines the primary feature of this provision as follows: The purpose of this section is to allow States to contract with religious organizations, or to allow religious organizations to accept certificates, vouchers, or other forms of disbursement... on the same basis as any other non-governmental provider without impairing the religious character of such organizations, and without diminishing the religious freedom of beneficiaries of assistance funded under such program. (Section 104 (b)) The objectives of Charitable Choice are to encourage states and counties to increase the participation of nonprofit organizations in the provision of federally funded welfare programs, with specific mention of faith-based organizations; establish eligibility for faith-based organizations as contractors for services on the same basis as other organizations; protect the religious character and employment exemption status of participating faith-based organizations; and safeguard the religious freedom of participants. Charitable Choice applies to services under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program that replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Charitable Choice also applies to food stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, and a wide array of services that will help TANF recipients become self-sufficient. The range of services that faith-based organizations can contract with states or counties to provide includes the following areas: food (such as subsidized meals, food pantry, nutrition education, food budgeting counseling, and soup kitchens); work (such as job search, job-skills training, job-readiness training, vocational education, general equivalency diploma preparation, and English as a Second Language programs); community services; domestic violence counseling; medical and health services (such as abstinence education, drug and alcohol treatment centers, health clinics, wellness centers, and immunization programs); and maternity homes (such as residential care, second-chance homes , and supervised community housing). By law, faith-based organizations not only may provide such services but also are encouraged to play a larger role in providing these services. In 1998 the scope of Charitable Choice was expanded to include Community Services Block Grants to establish individual development account demonstration projects for individuals and families with limited means to accumulate assets through a savings program. Other bills pending in the U.S. Congress may expand Charitable Choice to mental health, literacy, adoption, and juvenile delinquency services funded through the Community Services Block Grant. Charitable Choice was included in the Children's Health Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-310), for substance abuse services funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In fact, the Charitable Choice Expansion Act of 1999 (S.1113, 1999), if passed, would expand Charitable Choice to all federally funded social, health, and community development programs. Charitable Choice is also being broadly used by some states to include any collaboration between the government and faith-based organizations (Sherman, 2000). The Community Solutions Act (H.R. 7, 2001), sponsored by Representatives J. C. Watts (R-OK) and Tony Hall (D-OH), passed the House on July 19, 2001, by a vote of 233 to 198. …