States Fail Charitable Choice Checkup

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Nearly 40 states have failed to follow the direction of Congress to become more flexible in how they work with faith-based groups to provide welfare services for the poor, according to a report card released today by the Center for Public Justice. Only 12 states received passing grades for implementing new guidelines, known as Charitable Choice, that allow religious groups to compete on the same basis as other organizations to provide publicly funded social service programs, such as job training for welfare recipients.



Forty states, territories, and the District of Columbia received F’s for not changing discriminatory or overly restrictive policies that hinder or exclude participation by faith-based groups. In their responses to a national survey, many states revealed that they were either ignorant of the new rules or were maintaining policies and practices that violate Charitable Choice guidelines. Many believed that the mandatory guidelines were optional.



Four states—Texas, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin—received high marks for their initiatives to implement Charitable Choice and for their efforts in building new collaborations with faith-based community programs. "A few states are seizing the opportunities provided by Charitable Choice to build new relationships with effective faith-based groups. The scandal is that more than four years after Congress first adopted Charitable Choice, most states have not fully removed the barriers as the law requires," said Stanley Carlson-Thies, Director of Social Policy Studies at the Center for Public Justice.



"It works—we’ve seen it work where it’s been implemented," explained Congressman Joe Pitts (R-PA) at a press conference on Capitol Hill, where the findings were released. "Charitable Choice is the way of the future. But this national report card shows that more states need to implement it. And we need to look for ways to expand it beyond welfare reform into other programs."



Charitable Choice first became law as part of the 1996 federal welfare reform. Since then, it has been promoted by both Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore as an important innovation in social policy that gives the poor greater access to social services run by faith-based organizations in impoverished communities.



Charitable Choice guidelines require states not to discriminate against faith-based organizations when governments purchase welfare services from non-governmental providers. Charitable Choice also establishes strong protections for the religious character of faith-based groups that accept government funds, and strong protections for the religious liberty of people who receive their services.

To arrange an interview with Dr. Carlson-Thies, contact the Center for Public Justice at (410) 571-6300. For more information on Charitable Choice and faith-based welfare initiatives nationwide, contact the Center for Public Justice or consult our website at www.cpjustice.org.

Charitable Choice Compliance - A National Report Card (HTML)