White House Issues Agency Guidance For Faith-Based Partnerships

Last Friday, the White House issued the Recommendations of the Interagency Working Group on Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood Partnerships (full text) which provides federal agencies with guidance on carrying out Executive Order 13559 (Nov. 17, 2010)-- the executive order that adopted a number of recommendations of the President's faith-based task force. (See prior posting.) According to a posting on the White House website by Melissa Rogers, chair of the President's first faith-based Advisory Council, the new report gives agencies guidance on monitoring to avoid excessive government entanglement with religion; assuring that grants are made on the basis of merit and not because of religious affiliation; assuring that beneficiaries of federally funded social services have the option of a nonreligious provider; separating explicitly religious activities from programs that receive federal support, and transparency requirements. The guidance also covers special obligations of intermediaries that disburse federal aid; and training government employees and grant recipients on church-state rules. Blog From the Capital reports further on the new recommendations.