Representatives Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota) and Fred Upton (R-Michigan) have introduced H.R. 7587, the Nonprofit Sector Strength and Partnership Act. Among the bill’s positive features are the proposed creation of an online portal to make it easier for charities to apply for and renew their registrations with multiple states to solicit charitable contributions; directing the federal government to simplify the processes by which private organizations apply for funding to provide services; and a requirement that various federal agencies improve their collection and publication of data about nonprofit organizations. Especially notable in our era of calls for expanded government action are the bill’s promotion […]

Dr. Brianna Lemmons is Assistant Professor of Social Work at Baylor University. Her scholarship focuses, among other topics, on African American fatherhood, the role of non-resident fathers in family life. She is the co-author of a recent examination of son-in-law and father-in-law relationships in Black families. Dr. Lemmons also founded and leads the Black Female Fatherhood Scholars Network which connects female scholars who are committed to uplifting the Black community through the study of Black fatherhood and families. We asked Dr. Lemmons to share a few reflections in advance of Father’s Day. What drew you to pursue Black fatherhood as an […]

On May 13th, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5129, a bill to reauthorize the Community Services Block Grant program—but without its Charitable Choice provision. Charitable Choice language, added to several federal programs in the later 1990s, is designed to ensure that faith-based organizations are not excluded from federal funding for being “too religious” to partner with government. The House vote was 246 to 169 to accept a CSBG law without Charitable Choice. The Yes vote included all Democrats who voted and thirty Republicans. The bill now goes to the Senate, where additional efforts will be made to keep Charitable Choice in […]

The March 22 hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee stressed many ways that federally subsidized child care is falling short. Despite special pandemic-response funding, many child care providers went out of business. The main federal program, the three-decade-old, bipartisan, Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, is able to serve only one out of 9 eligible children. Average wages are too low. Many places lack sufficient facilities. A significant percentage of the employed say that the cost of needed out-of-home care is keeping them from taking a job. What can be done? Senator Patty Murray, chairwoman of […]

The House Education and Labor Committee on March 16 voted to recommend to the full House of Representatives H.B. 5129, a bill to reauthorize the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program while stripping Charitable Choice from it. Charitable Choice requires an equal opportunity for faith-based organizations to compete for federal funds, while protecting beneficiaries from religious indoctrination. As a precedent, it was added to CSBG in 1998 to ensure that such providers, who provide invaluable help in low-income communities, will not be excluded from funding. Removing Charitable Choice now would set a different—negative—precedent. The whole House, and then the Senate, should […]