War on Poverty Enlists Churches ; Congress and the Presidential Candidates Look to Faith-Based Groups to Pick Up for the Shrinking US Government

Gail Russell Chaddock, writer of The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor

Forty years after government took over responsibility for solving America's social ills, it is increasingly turning that job back to a traditional source of solace to the poor and needy: churches and other faith-based groups.

The trend, which began with the welfare-reform law of 1996, is about to accelerate.

Congress is currently considering no fewer than 10 bills that would channel more federal money to faith-based groups to fight everything from homelessness and youth violence to teen pregnancy and cocaine addiction. Just as important, both major-party presidential candidates embrace this idea of "charitable choice."

While religious groups in …

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Publication information: Article title: War on Poverty Enlists Churches ; Congress and the Presidential Candidates Look to Faith-Based Groups to Pick Up for the Shrinking US Government. Contributors: Gail Russell Chaddock, writer of The Christian Science Monitor - Author. Newspaper title: The Christian Science Monitor. Publication date: June 19, 2000. Page number: 1. © 2009 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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