Collaborating With Faith-Based Services
Groups Are Capable Providers, Have Some Limits
Faith-based organizations have a long tradition of providing
social services.
By Lyn Stoesen, News Staff
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| Illustration:
John Michael Yanson |
The history of social work cannot be told without acknowledging
the profession's debt to faith-based service. Religious communities
have provided relief for the poor and the ill for centuries, driven
by strong traditions of justice and a belief in the worth and
dignity of all people.
In the last century, social services were often provided through
religiously based benevolent societies. However, as the need for
social and economic assistance surpassed the capacity of private
charity, public services became the bulwark of the social safety
net.
The "Charitable Choice" provision of welfare reform
and President George W. Bush's Faith-Based Initiative have drawn
attention to both the many services religious organizations can
provide as well as the need to ensure that government funding
is not used to promote a particular religious belief or to exclude
persons from receiving services based on their beliefs.
Many of the largest and oldest social service providers in the
United States are faith-based, including Catholic Charities USA,
Lutheran Social Services, the Salvation Army and many Jewish organizations
providing services through a system of federations that are established
as separate, nonprofit entities.
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From July 2004 NASW News. © 2004 National
Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News
articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of
copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies
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