How did Faith Partners organize their coalition?

Local and National publicity around the issue of Welfare Reform drew together groups of social service providers from church and Para-church organizations in our community. Leaders from local churches and ministries began to meet for the purpose of formulating a plan to deal with the increase in demand for services from churches caused by the new welfare time limits. Those Leaders expanded the dialog to Government representatives and a steering committee began to work on solutions. So, the coalition composition was driven primarily by interest in the issue of welfare reform and the impending impact on families in need.

What is Charitable Choice and how does it affect Faith Partners?

Charitable Choice is part of the New Welfare Reform Legislation. It is Sec. 104 of the legislation and was signed into law by President Clinton in July of 1996. It expresses the intent of the US Congress in inviting the faith community to join the government in its work to help families in poverty became economically self-sufficient. It has Three main points: 1) It encourages the states that run welfare programs to invite the faith community to participate in providing social services to the poor. 2) It states that if a faith based organization does contract with the state to provide such services it is protected under the law to maintain its’ identity as a faith organization. 3) It protects the rights of the recipients to receive services without regard to faith. Faith Partners is a Charitable Choice project and its activities of mentoring are funded by a contract with the Department of Human Services in El Paso County.

Where does the funding come from for Faith Partners?

Funding for Faith Partners comes from government and community sources. Churches, Foundations, Community Trusts, Individuals, and a County Contract are all used for the implementation of the programs goals and objectives.

Where do the volunteers who do the mentoring come from?

The majority of our volunteers come from local churches. In addition, outreach efforts to services clubs and civic groups are underway to formulate teams of mentors to provide the intensive mentoring necessary to impact a families struggling economically.

Is Faith Partners a religious organization?

No. Faith Partners is a Humanitarian Services Organization. Most of our mentoring team volunteers, however, come to us from various local churches, parishes, and other faith-based organizations. Although it is their faith that compels them to serve, they do not impose their beliefs on our clients.