Beyond Charitable Choice: The Diverse Service Delivery Approaches of Local Faith-Related Organizations

Abstract

Charitable choice has focused policy attention on the oft-neglected universe of faithrelated organizations but not necessarily on the corners of that universe that ought to matter most or the questions that are most important. We compare local welfare reform initiatives of eight faith-related organizations to suggest how the debate might be constructively reframed. The evidence (a) argues for putting less focus on congregations as contractors and more attention to their role as sites and resources for church-based coalitions and organizing networks; (b) contradicts a simplified understanding of faithrelated organizations as agents for “instilling virtues and character in the poor,” recognizing that many give equal or greater weight to convincing congregations to fulfill their social obligations; and (c) counters the view that the key challenges are legal or regulatory, instead drawing attention to the difficult local work of integrating the resources of faith-related organizations with other public, private, and voluntary organizations.