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Transforming Partnerships

Transforming Partnerships How to Apply the U.S. Department of Labor's Equal Treatment and Religion-Related Regulations to Public-Private Partnerships PRESENTED BY: Rhett Butler Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Denise Sudell Civil Rights Center. Key Takeaways.

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Transforming Partnerships

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  1. Transforming Partnerships How to Apply the U.S. Department of Labor's Equal Treatment and Religion-Related Regulations to Public-Private Partnerships PRESENTED BY: Rhett Butler Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Denise Sudell Civil Rights Center

  2. Key Takeaways • Basic understanding of the federal Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) and how the FBCI is being implemented at the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) • Detailed information on the federal "equal treatment" and religion-related regulations at USDOL, including: • How to know if the use of federal assistance is proper and Constitutional • How to ensure equal opportunity for all organizations, regardless of size or affiliation • How to respect the rights of faith-based organizations • How to respect the religious liberty of program participants and beneficiaries of federally-supported services • Suggestions for implementing the "equal treatment" regulations in your state or local workforce area

  3. Why does this material matter? • It's designed to help you: • Identify and work with new partners • Expand: • the number and type of customers you are able to serve • the types of services you are able to provide • Comply with legal requirements (including First Amendment standards)

  4. Course Outline • Terminology • FBCI Myth Busters • Need for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative • Removing Federal Barriers • Core Principles of the Equal Treatment Regulations • USDOL Results: Compassion at Work • Take Action! • Resources & Contact Information

  5. Terminology To Review • Faith-Based and Community Organizations (FBCOs) • Federal Financial Assistance • Workforce Investment System

  6. Terminology: What is an FBCO?(Part I of II) • Faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) include religious and non-religious non-profit groups that: • Provide social services • Vary greatly in size and resources • Operate in all types of communities, from the most urban to the most rural, in the U.S. and internationally • Identify themselves with various: • Community initiatives • Religious or non-religious traditions or philosophies

  7. Terminology: What is an FBCO?(Part II of II) • Many FBCOs are able to provide: • Unique access to underprivileged communities, high-need individuals, and community leaders • Close cultural connections to local communities • Dedicated volunteers • Ability and/or willingness to be available to customers 24/7 • Individualized, supportive services • Services that effectively complement federal programs

  8. Terminology: What is Federal Financial Assistance? • Federal financial assistance refers to more than dollars and cents—it can be: • Monetary and non-monetary assistance • What is received and what is administered by federal and non-federal entities • Examples of workforce-system-related financial assistance from the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) nondiscrimination regulations include, but are not limited to: • Grant, sub-grant, loan, or advance of federal funds • Services provided by federal or other personnel at federal expense • Grant of, donation of, or reduced-rate sale of, interest in, or regular use of federal real or personal property • Placement on a state's Eligible Training Provider list

  9. Terminology: What is the Workforce Investment System?(Part I of IV) • The Workforce Investment System is a partnership among federal, state, and local governments and other organizations and entities that provide employment-related services. The system is responsible for meeting critical workforce and economic challenges and creating a globally competitive workforce. • The Workforce Investment System is made up of: • Governing bodies at the state (State Workforce Agencies and Workforce Investment Boards), regional (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED)), and local (Local Workforce Investment Boards) levels

  10. Terminology: What is the Workforce Investment System?(Part II of IV) • The Workforce Investment System is made up of: • A network of One-Stop Career Centers at the local level • One-Stop Career Centers provide a place where: • Individual job seekers can find high quality, local information on available jobs, skill requirements, and training provider performance • Individual job seekers can prepare for employment through job readiness and skillstraining and referrals to other employment-related services • Employers can list job openings, recruit skilled candidates, find information about localwages and economic trends, and connect to training resources • One-Stop services range from self-service to more hands-on staff-assisted services

  11. Terminology: What is the Workforce Investment System?(Part III of IV) • The Workforce Investment System is made up of: • Other organizations and entities that provide training and other services related to employment • These organizations and entities are connected with the Workforce Investment System in one or more ways, such as: • Grants of financial assistance • Contracts or agreements (Memorandums of Understanding) with One-Stop Career Centers, governing bodies, or other service providers • Information technology sharing (e.g., referrals, client data, client tracking)

  12. Terminology: What is the Workforce Investment System?(Part IV of IV) Structure of the Workforce Investment SystemTaxpayersCongressU.S. Department of Labor and other Federal Government agencies53 State Workforce Agencies & 50 State Workforce Investment Boards577 Local Workforce Investment Boards3,144 Comprehensive and Affiliate One-Stop Career Centers

  13. Course Outline • Terminology • FBCI Myth Busters • Need for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative • Removing Federal Barriers • Core Principles of the Equal Treatment Regulations • USDOL Results: Compassion at Work • Take Action! • Resources & Contact Information

  14. FBCI Myth Busters Myth 1: "Under the Faith-Based and Community Initiative, our agency is supposed to favor religious groups."

  15. FBCI Myth Busters Reality: • The law requires neutral treatment of organizations and individuals with regard to religion • The Initiative is designed to: • Remove barriers to participation by FBCOs in federal programs • Ensure a "level playing field" for all groups and individuals, regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof

  16. FBCI Myth Busters Myth 2: "The Constitution prohibits our agency from funding or partnering with faith-based organizations."

  17. FBCI Myth Busters Reality: • The Constitution does not prohibit faith-based organizations from receiving and administering federal financial assistance • The Supreme Court has "consistent[ly] reject[ed]...the argument that 'any program which in some manner aids an institution with a religious affiliation' violates the Establishment Clause" (Mueller v. Allen, 1983 case, citing cases as far back as 1899) • Faith-based organizations: • May receive federal financial assistance • Must adhere to Constitutional requirements when administering federal financial assistance (discussed in detail later in this course)

  18. FBCI Myth Busters Myth 3: "Under the Constitution, our agency cannot partner with an organization that refers to religion in its name, or displays religious symbols in the part of its facilities where it serves customers."

  19. FBCI Myth Busters Reality: • Under federal law (including USDOL regulations), a faith-based group that receives government assistance is explicitly allowed to: • Continue to carry out its religious activities • Provide USDOL-supported social services at its facilities without removing or altering religious symbols or art from those facilities • Retain religious terms in its name • Choose its board members and govern itself on a religious basis • Include religious references in its mission statements and other governing documents • USDOL regulations make clear that the activities on the above list are examples among many types of activities that religious organizations must be permitted to conduct.

  20. FBCI Myth Busters Myth 4: "Our agency should scrutinize religious recipients of government assistance more than non-religious recipients."

  21. FBCI Myth Busters Reality: • There is no evidence that suggests religious organizations need greater oversight or monitoring than other groups • In fact, any recipient with little or no previous experience in administering a federal grant or other assistance may need additional training to understand, and comply with, federal requirements

  22. Course Outline • Terminology • FBCI Myth Busters • Need for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative • Removing Federal Barriers • Core Principles of the Equal Treatment Regulations • USDOL Results: Compassion at Work • Take Action! • Resources & Contact Information

  23. Need for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative (Part I of III) • Large federally-provided and federally-assisted programs cannot meet every individual's needs • Small non-profits (including faith-based and non-faith-based groups) have for many years directed their unique strengths to address the same social problems as federal programs • Despite their similar goals, federal programs and small FBCOs rarely worked together to help people in need

  24. Need for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative (Part II of III) • In the 1990s, Congress enacted "Charitable Choice" provisions • These were some of the first attempts to open federal programs to non-traditional service providers, including faith-based groups • In 2001, President George W. Bush issued executive orders that: • Required federal departments and the White House to create Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (Centers)

  25. Need for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative (Part III of III) • Each Center in a Federal department was required to conduct a department-wide audit to identify all existing barriers to the participation of faith-based and other community groups in the delivery of social services by the particular department (including USDOL). • The results of the audits were gathered into a report that found that similar barriers existed in each department that discouraged the participation of small or novice FBCOs in general, and, in some cases, faith-based groups in particular.

  26. General Barriers to Small and Novice FBCOs (Part I of II) • The barriers identified by the audit included, but were not limited to: • Procurement and grant-making processes that benefited prior grantees • Lack of awareness about FBCO services and capabilities • Limited outreach to non-traditional partners (small or novice FBCOs) • Unnecessarily complex applications and reporting

  27. General Barriers to Small and Novice FBCOs (Part II of II) • The audit also identified barriers to the participation of small and novice FBCOs in federal programs and activities that were attributable to the FBCOs themselves, such as • Lack of knowledge about federal programs • Lack of information about how to partner with federal programs and how to seek financial assistance • Lack of experience applying for and administering federal financial assistance

  28. Specific Barriers to Faith-Based Organizations • Some federal agencies incorrectly imposed one or more of the following barriers that affected only faith-based organizations, not other types of community groups: • Assumed faith-based groups could not partner with government because of their religious identity • Excluded faith-based groups (but not secular groups) from certain programs • Conditioned assistance on a faith-based group's willingness to accept restrictions on its religious identity and activities that were not constitutionally mandated

  29. Need for the Initiative at USDOL • Before the Faith-Based and Community Initiative was implemented at USDOL: • Some monetary and non-monetary partnerships between USDOL and larger non-profits existed (e.g., Welfare-to-Work) • However, research by the Urban Institute found that some FBCOs in Baltimore, Ft. Worth, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and San Diego: • Were providing their own formal and informal employment-related services; but • Rarely partnered with the workforce investment system at the city level

  30. Course Outline • Terminology • FBCI Myth Busters • Need for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative • Removing Federal Barriers • Core Principles of the Equal Treatment Regulations • USDOL Results: Compassion at Work • Take Action! • Resources & Contact Information

  31. Removing Federal Barriers • Goals of the Centers and FBCI: • Expand ways in which FBCOs can help the government meet people's needs • Ensure that FBCOs are treated equally in the administration and distribution of federal financial assistance • Protect the religious liberty of: • FBCOs that partner with the federal government • Participants in or beneficiaries of federally-supported social service programs • Equip federal agencies and other entities to work more effectively with FBCOs

  32. Removing Federal Barriers • Facts about the Center at USDOL: • Works with other USDOL agencies to remove barriers and encourage public-nonprofit-private cooperation • Policymaking office only—the Center does not distribute financial assistance • Small office (6 staff) • Based solely in Washington, DC—no regional offices

  33. Removing Federal Barriers • Through the efforts of their Centers, federal departments and agencies (including USDOL) are implementing: • Policy and program changes to expand public-nonprofit-private partnerships • Outreach and technical assistance to strengthen the effectiveness of non-traditional partners and their ability to work with federal programs • Innovative partnership strategies to improve federal social services to the most needy

  34. Removing Federal Barriers • Nine federal departments and agencies (including USDOL) made regulatory changes to: • Ensure equal treatment and religious liberty for organizations and individuals, regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof • Lift any unnecessary restrictions on use of indirect federal financial assistance • Clarify proper, Constitutional uses of federal assistance

  35. Removing Federal Barriers • Examples of individuals and entities who are required to comply with USDOL's equal treatment and religion-related regulations: • Federal, state, and local officials that distribute or administer USDOL financial assistance • Non-profit, for-profit, or public organizations that receive, distribute, or administer USDOL financial assistance, including Job Corps • Federal discretionary, formula, and block grants • State funds commingled with federal assistance • State, local, or private funds that are required as a match for federal assistance • Cooperative agreements • Where state or local statutes conflict with federal legal requirements, federal requirements take precedence

  36. Course Outline • Terminology • FBCI Myth Busters • Need for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative • Removing Federal Barriers • Core Principles of the Equal Treatment Regulations • USDOL Results: Compassion at Work • Take Action! • Resources & Contact Information

  37. Core Principles of the Equal Treatment Regulations • Proper, Constitutional Uses of Federal Assistance • Equal Opportunity for All Organizations • Respect for the Rights of Faith-Based Organizations • Respect for the Religious Liberty of Participants and Beneficiaries

  38. Proper, Constitutional Uses of Federal Assistance • How do you know if the use of federal assistance is proper and Constitutional? • Answering this important question involves a two-step process: • Determine whether the federal assistance is "direct" or "indirect." • Follow the rules that apply to the type of federal assistance, "direct" or "indirect," that you are receiving and/or administering.

  39. Step 1: Proper, Constitutional Uses of Federal Assistance First, determine whether the federal assistance is "direct" or "indirect."

  40. When is federal financial assistance considered "direct"?(Part I of II) • "Direct" financial assistance: • Includes most kinds of assistance • Is provided directly to organizations that: • Are selected by a government or non-government entity administering USDOL assistance; and • Provide individuals with needed social services via grant, sub-award, cooperative agreement, contract, etc. • You should assume that federal assistance is "direct" unless it satisfies all of the tests for being "indirect" assistance

  41. When is federal financial assistance considered "direct"?(Part II of II) "Direct" financial assistance includes most kinds of assistance that is... Provided directly to an organization that is selected by a government or non-government entity administering USDOL assistance... ...to provide individuals with needed social services via grant, sub-award, cooperative agreement, contract, etc. FBCO You should assume that federal assistance is "direct" unless it satisfies all of the tests for being "indirect" assistance (see the next slide).

  42. When is federal financial assistance considered "indirect"?(Part I of II) • Federal assistance is "indirect" when a federally-supported program: • Provides financial assistance for the benefit of a group of eligible individuals; and • Is structured and administered to give each of those individuals: • A genuine, independent choice among service providers or program options; and • The ability to freely choose which provider or program will receive the federal assistance in return for providing a service to the individual.

  43. When is federal financial assistance considered "indirect"?(Part II of II) Federal assistance is "indirect" when a federally-supported program... A genuine, independent choice among service providers or program options; and The ability to freely choose which provider or program will receive the federal assistance in return for providing a service to the individual. ...provides financial assistance for the benefit of a group of eligible individuals, and... ...is structured and administered to give each of those individuals... FBCO FBCO

  44. What constitutes genuine, independent choice?(Part I of II) • The individual who is choosing a program or service provider: • Must be offered at least onesecular option; and • Must not be offered financial, or other, incentive, or subjected to coercion, in the process of choosing one option over another

  45. What constitutes genuine, independent choice? (Part II of II) • Individual choice must be provided, not choice based on the preference of a majority of participants • Individuals should be informed about the content of each option for programs or services (including religious elements) so that they can make informed decisions when choosing a program or service provider

  46. Mechanisms for Administering "Indirect" Assistance • The following types of assistance, or methods of distributing assistance, may be considered "indirect" if they are administered in a neutral way: • Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) • Career Advancement Accounts (CAAs) • Vouchers • Certificates • Coupons • Computerized record showing that a customer is eligible for services at any approved provider • Other similar types of assistance or methods of distributing assistance

  47. Review: Direct vs. Indirect Federal Assistance

  48. Step 2: Proper, Constitutional Uses of Federal Assistance • Second, after determining whether the federal assistance you are receiving and/or administering is "direct" or "indirect," follow the rules that apply to that type of federal assistance. • The rules specify how service providers may use "direct" and "indirect" federal assistance, and specifically, how each type of assistance may (or may not) be used for inherently religious activities.

  49. What are Inherently Religious Activities? • What activities are inherently religious? • No precise definition • Examples of common religious activities include: • Religious worship or prayer • Religious instruction • Religious proselytizing • Induction into a faith community

  50. What are the rules for the proper, Constitutional use of "direct" federal assistance? • If the federal assistance is "direct," then inherently religious activities: • Must not be supported with the "direct" federal assistance (may be supported with private funds or assistance); and • Must be separate in timeorlocation from all federally-assisted services; and • Must be purely voluntary for program participants and beneficiaries.

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