This study, commissioned by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and carried out by leading researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, provides important insight into how much of a financial burden racial disparities are putting on our health care system and society at large. The researchers examined the direct costs associated with the provision of care to a sicker and more disadvantaged population, as well as the indirect costs of health inequities such as lost productivity, lost wages, absenteeism, family leave, and premature deaths.

This study documents the failure of government and nonprofit agencies to engage Black clergy and churches as a key resource in responding to the urgent needs of people of color in Katrina’s aftermath. As a result, only one of the Black churches studied was reimbursed for the costs of assisting Katrina victims and survivors. Some of the African American ministers serving as first responders had lost everything themselves, including the assurance of a pay check or a church building to return to. However, no special arrangements were made and one pastor reported he was moved seven times before ending up in a FEMA trailer. Likewise, a number of Black clergy were routinely ignored by mental health professionals on the scene, despite the fact that the emotional and spiritual support they can give congregational members is pivotal to the success of mental health treatment and interventions. Even more striking was the failure of government workers to use Black ministers as mediators or advisors in instances where Katrina survivors pointed out racial biases and discrimination on the part of American Red Cross personnel and others.

This issue brief examines small black churches' participation in the Bush administration's Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI). This analysis includes the extent to which these churches have the capacity to conform to the federal regulations governing the program, their attitudes toward the FBCI, and the nature of their experiences in attempting to seek such funds.

The reason for focusing on small black churches is simple, but significant. When the Bush administration first introduced the program, using executive orders and administrative actions to implement it, the rationale was based on perceived discrimination against small religious organizations. The first director of the White House FBCI office, John DiIulio, Jr., released a report in 2001 entitled Unlevel Playing Field, which argued that the public administration of federal social service programs is irrationally biased against small nonprofit organizations, especially small religious ones. This issue brief assesses whether small black churches have the capacity to participate in the program, and identifies factors that might make small black churches more likely to participate.

The issue brief is based on a subsample of 125 small black churches from a larger Joint Center national survey of 750 black churches. Small churches here are defined as having 125 or fewer congregants. The survey was conducted between November 11, 2005 and January 24, 2006.

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Date Published: May 2007

Black churches have been major institutions in African American communities, providing focus for charitable giving, social support, and civic engagement, as well as spiritual strength. This may make them logical beneficiaries of the federal government's Faith-based and Community Initiative. But little is actually known about their level of engagement in this program, their interest in being involved, or their capacity to perform. This report summarizes major findings from a Joint Center study on black churches views toward and interest in the federal program. It provides insights for government policymakers, churches who are interested in participating in the FBCI, and the general public. 

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Date Published: September 2006

The federal FBCI is based on executive orders, the regulatory process, and other administrative actions. The FBCI's goal is to achieve equal participation of faith-based organizations in federally financed social welfare programs by creating neutrality in the awarding of government grants to secular and faith-based organizations. Four principles define that goal.

The first principle is that faith-based organizations have an equal right to compete for funding under any federal social welfare program for which an analogous secular service provider would be eligible to compete. The second principle is to protect the religious character of participating faith-based organizations in their places of service and forms of governance. The third principle is that faith-based organizations providing services financed by the government keep their exemption under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which permits them to exercise religion-based discrimination. The fourth principle is the accommodation of religion, or a commitment to the accommodation of religion within social service programs. Accommodations may be either mandatory created by courts in order to address violations of a religious individual's or organization's free exercise rights or permissive created by statute or regulation, and encompassing a wider range of religious practice than might be required by the Free Exercise Clause.

The FBCI represents an extension of Charitable Choice, which was enacted as part of the 1996 welfare reform legislation and later extended to Community Services Block Grants and substance abuse prevention and treatment services. The core components of the FBCI are the Compassion Capital Fund, which was started in fiscal year 2002 with an appropriation of $30 million, and the Regional and National Technical Assistance meetings.

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Date Published: May 2007