The Arc of Faith-Based Initiatives

220 Pages·2018·2.73 MB·English

by  John P. Bartkowski

John P. Bartkowski
Susan E. Grettenberger
The Arc of
Faith-Based
Initiatives
Religion’s Changing Role
in Welfare Service Provision
The Arc of Faith-Based Initiatives
John P. Bartkowski Susan E. Grettenberger
(cid:129)
The Arc of Faith-Based
Initiatives
’
Religion s Changing Role in Welfare Service
Provision
123
JohnP.Bartkowski SusanE. Grettenberger
Department ofSociology Department ofSociology,
TheUniversity of Texasat AnthropologyandSocial Work
SanAntonio Central Michigan University
SanAntonio, TX Mount Pleasant,MI
USA USA
ISBN978-3-319-90667-6 ISBN978-3-319-90668-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90668-3
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Acknowledgements
No book is an accomplishment of its authors and contributors alone. We are
grateful, first and foremost, totheagency directors, programmanagers, and clients
whose perspectives—and very words—are represented in this book. Without the
graciousinvestment of theirtime inourresearch, thisvolumewouldnotexist. We
hope that we have fairly represented their views here.
Wearethankfulforgenerousfundingfortheinitialwaveofdatacollectionfrom
the Pew Charitable Trusts through a grant to the Rockefeller Institute of
Government. We are especially grateful to Richard Nathan, David Wright, and
Thomas Gais at the Rockefeller Institute for their unswerving commitment to this
project in its early and most formative stages.
WearealsothankfultoourmanycolleaguesontheRoundtableforReligionand
Social Welfare. The Rockefeller Institute convened the Roundtable on several
occasions for lively discussions in which we participated and from which we
benefittedimmensely.ManyofthesecolleaguescontributedtotheFaithIntegration
Surveyandotherresearchinstrumentsthatwereusedtoconductourstudy.Weare
particularlythankfulfortheirimportantcontributionsandhopetheyseetheirideas
fruitfully employed and explored in this volume. Several of these Roundtable
colleagues commented on our early research findings from the first wave of data
collection.Theconclusionsofferedhereareourown,butwehopethesecolleagues
see how their input shaped this work.
Several other colleagues showed patience with us during the writing of this
volume. The authors thank the Springer Editor, Evelien Bakker, for shepherding
this volume through the review process. The authors relied heavily on the
thoughtfulcommentsofseveralanonymousreviewerswhoscrutinizedthisvolume
prior to its publication. We took such comments most seriously and made every
effort to integrate their remarks into our work. We hope those reviewers will
recognizetheirformidableinfluence.TheauthorsaregratefultoFrankHowell,who
suggestedSpringerasasuitableoutletforthiswork.Thevisionofleadersandstaff
at Springer has been instrumental in carrying this volume across a finish line that,
prior to our relationship with Springer, sometimes seemed like a moving target.
v
vi Acknowledgements
Writing a book is accompanied by unanticipated twists and turns, and this
volumewasnoexception.Thisworkintroducedanumberofhurdlesalongtheway
in terms of data availability, coordination, scheduling, and other challenges. John
and Susan are thankful for Steve Smith’s contribution in Chap. 5, as well as his
perseverance and foresight. Collaborative research adds a layer of complexity to
scholarship,andwebelievethatourrelationshipsaswellasourdiversedisciplines
enrich this volume.
The patience exhibited by trusted family members, friends, and colleagues is
alsocherished.Johnisespeciallygratefulforthestaminademonstratedbyhiswife,
Nicci, during discussions of this book’s key arguments and challenges introduced
by writing several portions of this volume. He is also thankful for conversations
about drug treatment programs and related concerns with Jerri Avery, Eileen
Ewing,PamSmith, andMarkStovall.Johnwassupported bythecapableresearch
assistance of Amanda Avenoso, Favor Campbell, and Nicole Reed. Susan is
indebted to her social work faculty colleagues at Central Michigan University for
their patience throughout the development of this volume. She is particularly
grateful for the support of her wife, Nicole Springer, and her sister, Charlotte
Fitzgerald, at various points in the project. Finally, she acknowledges Leisa Fuller
for her very able intellectual contributions and logistical work during the data
collection. Steve Smith would like to thank Benjamina Menashe for her editorial
and research support in the preparation of Chap. 5. Additional research assistance
was also provided by Laurie Werner and Stephanie Goldberg Belle. Steve is also
grateful for the support of the Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits &
Philanthropy at the Evans School of Governance and Public Policy at the
University of Washington.
Contents
1 Faith-Based Persistence and Permutations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 The Aims of This Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2 Intersecting Influences: Faith, Funding, Program Domains,
and Regional Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3 Comparative Case Studies: Faith-Intensive, Faith-Related,
and Secular Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4 Why Qualitative Methods? The Value of an Interpretive
Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.5 What’s Ahead: Layout of the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2 Faith-Based Initiatives Reconsidered: The Complicated
Relationship Between Religion and Social Welfare Service
Provision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.1 Faith-Based Versus Secular Social Services: What Previous
Research Tells Us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.2 Faith Integration: A Multifaceted and Dynamic Perspective . . . . . 31
2.3 Layered Case Studies and the Three C’s: Content, Culture,
and Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.4 The Comparative Dimension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 Faith-Based Versus Secular Support for Fragile Families: Parent
Education in the Rural South. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.1 What Do We Know About Parenting Programs? Prior Research
Briefly Summarized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2 Mississippi Faith-Based and Secular Programs: Convergences
in Programmatic Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.1 Shared Programmatic Objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
vii
viii Contents
3.2.2 Tailored Programming and Client-Centered Care. . . . . . . . 47
3.2.3 Comprehensive Approaches to Parent Education . . . . . . . . 49
3.3 Organizational Culture, Ecological Context, and Faith
Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.3.1 Distinctive Definitions of Parenting: Technical
Competency Versus Moral Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.3.2 ThePowerofOrganizationalCulture:DivergentMissions
and Motivations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.3.3 Spirituality a la Carte: The Influence of Mississippi’s
Evangelical Religious Ecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.4 Taking Stock: Self-Assessments of Faith-Based and Secular
Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4 Across the Continuum of Care: Transitional Housing
Programs in the Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.1 Key Insights from Previous Research on Transitional
Housing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.2 The Faith-Funding Nexus in Transitional Housing:
Evidence of an Elective Affinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.3 Government Funding and Faith Intensity in Transitional
Housing Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.4 Evidence of Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.4.1 Programmatic Content and Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.4.2 Expressions of Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.4.3 Collaboration as a Shared Cultural Touchstone . . . . . . . . . 85
4.4.4 Similar Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.5 Parsing Out the Differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
5 Addiction Recovery: Residential Drug and Alcohol Treatment
Programs in the Pacific Northwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
5.1 The Evolving Context of Substance Abuse Treatment
and Related Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
5.2 Comparing Faith-Based and Secular Addiction Recovery
Programs: Broad Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.3 Holistic Treatment Services and Organizational Culture . . . . . . . . 107
5.4 Distinct Clienteles and Diverse Paths into Treatment Programs . . . 109
5.5 Staffing Considerations, Programmatic Adaptations,
and Resource Streams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
5.6 Community Ties Among Drug Treatment Programs . . . . . . . . . . . 116
5.7 AssessmentsofDrugTreatmentPrograms:TheThornyQuestion
of Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Contents ix
5.8 Program Effectiveness: Struggles, Strategies, and Relative
Successes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
6 Does Faith Matter? Client Transformation in Parenting, Housing,
and Addiction Recovery Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.1 In Pursuit of Better Parenting: Change and Transformation
in Mississippi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
6.1.1 Distinctive Transformation Goals: Change of Head
Versus Change of Heart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
6.1.2 Divergent Pathways: Altering Institutions Versus
Changing Individuals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
6.1.3 Parents’ Perspectives: Experiential Changes Among
Program Clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
6.2 Shared Goals, Different Means: Transitional Housing in
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
6.2.1 Setting the Stage: The Fight Against Homelessness. . . . . . 140
6.2.2 Faith-Intensive Versus Secular Approaches: Mary’s
House and Hospitality House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
6.2.3 Faith-Based Diversity in Transitional Housing. . . . . . . . . . 144
6.3 Client Transformation in Addiction Treatment Programs
in the Northwest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
6.3.1 Stepping to Recovery: Transformation and the Twelve-
Step Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
6.3.2 Integrating Faith: Programmatic Distinctions
and Contextual Influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
6.3.3 Transformation, Program Structure, and the Causes
of Addiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
6.3.4 Facilitating Transformation: Externalized Standards
Versus Individualized Treatment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
7 Conclusion: Promising Partners or Strange Bedfellows?
Faith-Based Providers and Government Funders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
7.1 Fixed or Fluid Organizational Identities? Beyond
the Faith-Based/Secular Divide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
7.2 Context Counts: Programming Strategies, Service Domains,
Regional Subcultures, and Religious Ecologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
7.3 Public Funding: Sustainability or Strings Attached? . . . . . . . . . . . 166
7.4 Holistic Is in the Eye of Beholder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
7.5 Final Thoughts, Last Words … and the Fate of Faith-Based
Initiatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
x Contents
Appendix A: Methods in Brief..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 173
Appendix B: Research Instruments. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 177
Appendix C: Descriptions of Programs and Agencies .. .... ..... .... 193
Index .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 209