The Need for Additional Reforms

Notwithstanding all of the progress made, much more remains to be done. Federal, state, and local compliance with the Charitable Choice and Equal Treatment principles that are now supposed to govern all federal social-service spending needs to be strengthened. The freedom of faith-based organizations to staff on a religious basis needs to be more securely protected. So that people seeking help can choose from the whole range of effective programs and so that faith-based organizations that receive government support can retain religion, as appropriate, within government-supported services, more government programs need to be shifted from "direct" funding, such as grants and contracts, to "indirect" funding, such as vouchers and certificates.

For evaluations of progress and unfinished reforms, see congressional testimony by Stanley Carlson-Thies and the 2005 Kuyper Lecture by Stanley Carlson-Thies (downloadable below, 24 pages).