New Responsibilities of Faith-Related Agencies

Nonprofit agencies with a religious base may be strongly affected by recent public policy changes; they tend to deliver services in areas where federal resources are further declining and are eligible for the special government purchase of service contracts that now may be provided to religious enti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy studies journal 2006-11, Vol.34 (4), p.533-562
Main Authors: Sosin, Michael R., Smith, Steven Rathgeb
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Changes
Church charities
Churches
Cities
Company financing
Delivery Systems
Faith
Finance
governance
Government regulation
Initiatives
Laws, regulations and rules
Nongovernmental Organizations
Nonprofit organizations
Public assistance programs
Public Policy
Religion
Religions
religious agencies
Religious charities
Religious organizations
Responsibilities
Secularism
Social Capital
Social Services
Trends
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Summary:Nonprofit agencies with a religious base may be strongly affected by recent public policy changes; they tend to deliver services in areas where federal resources are further declining and are eligible for the special government purchase of service contracts that now may be provided to religious entities. Religious agencies also are now widely expected to deliver uniquely beneficial services and to mobilize social capital to compensate for increasing restrictions of some governmental programs. The current article reports on a qualitative, longitudinal, interview‐based investigation of program changes and their relation to policy changes in a two‐city sample of what are called “faith‐related” agencies. In so doing, it investigates the implications of relying on religious agencies for service delivery. Making use of an extensive framework concerning how agencies are organized, the work finds that faith‐related agencies mildly contribute to increased variety of service delivery styles in the examined cities, but that they rarely expand services significantly to meet increased need or otherwise provide dramatically unique service content in response to recent public policy changes. The patterns in part reflect trade‐offs between fully emphasizing the unique aspects of religion and entering the public arena, and they thus question the likely role of religion in reforming social service systems.
ISSN:0190-292X
1541-0072
DOI:10.1111/j.1541-0072.2006.00190.x