Statement of Katherine Humphreys, Secretary,
Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana

Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Human Resources and
Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
of the House Committee on Ways and Means

Hearing on H.R. 7, the "Community Solutions Act of 2001"

June 14, 2001

I have reviewed H.R. 7, the Community Solutions Act of 2001, particularly as it relates to the role of states such as mine regarding the existing Charitable Choice provision, and proposed opportunities to expand this initiative. H.R. 7 continues the important dialogue we have started in our nation concerning the role of faith-based and community organizations in providing assistance to individuals and families in need in the most effective and efficient means possible.

I am hopeful that our experience in Indiana with faith-based and community organizations helps inform this important dialogue. As you go forward with considering expansion of Charitable Choice, we urge both caution and careful consideration. We fear that to expand service opportunities to faith-based organizations will be counterproductive if those efforts unnecessarily threaten the religious character of these groups or violate the rights of those seeking assistance from government-funded programs.

As you know, social services in our state and each state take up many, many important issues that directly affect the lives of our citizens. The issues are quite varied from the expansion of housing opportunities for individuals and families or helping our citizens as they age, to making sure child care is available for working families. Sometimes the help we provide is direct, such as in instances when we work to protect individuals and families from domestic violence or help provide a meal for people who are hungry.

As the Secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, and as executive assistant to our Governor Frank O'Bannon, I am very pleased to outline some of the important work being done already under the existing Charitable Choice provision, for the people of Indiana. Faith-based and community organizations are actively involved in social services across our state.

A timely example of this involvement is at hand just this week - as we expect Governor O'Bannon to announce this year's grants for our state's successful Fathers and Families initiative that seeks to increase the role of fathers in the lives of their children. Among the grants being awarded this week, the Governor has included many faith-based and community organizations who seek to help in improving the role of fathers in families.

The people of Indiana are compassionate and caring about those in need. In Indiana, Hoosiers seek common sense solutions to situations and concerns that face our citizens.

And so the response of our faith-based and community organization providers to new opportunities afforded them under the Charitable Choice provision of the Welfare Reform Act is not at all surprising. Further, their interest and participation in FaithWorks Indiana, our state-level mechanism to help faith-based and community organizations access the system and create ways to help, has been particularly noteworthy.

Since Governor O'Bannon launched FaithWorks Indiana during Thanksgiving Week of 1999, the response has been outstanding. Statewide meetings drew hundreds of community groups, congregations and other faith-based groups to learn more about how they could participate. Since that time, faith-based organizations have continued to grow in their knowledge and awareness of how to provide or expand services to those in need. More than 40 faith-based organizations have provided services under contract in Indiana since the inception of FaithWorks Indiana, under competitively-selected contracts for human services. There are many more that have chosen not to seek contracts, but to work in partnerships with our agency and other community groups to help families who have limited incomes or are seeking the training and skills they need to lift themselves from government assistance.

We view the work of FaithWorks Indiana as simply 'widening the doorway,' if you will, for a new generation of potential providers in human services and involving them in an integrated service strategy to help individuals and families move to self-sufficiency. These new providers help us build the provider base, and ultimately may contribute to increasing the quality and level of services offered to those in need.

As you know, faith-based and community organization providers have always had the opportunity to participate, to contract with the state to provide services. In Indiana, however, we have used the advent of Charitable Choice to develop FaithWorks Indiana to ensure each potential community provider can access the system.

This has not created any new burden on the system or the state - rather it has helped create broadened partnerships in providing services that bring new perspectives and approaches to supporting individuals in need. The technical assistance to access funding and services we provide is not a guarantee for faith-based or community organization providers, but it does assist them in learning how to develop services and access funding. A recent state-by-state survey on the participation of faith-based and community organization providers singled out Indiana as among the few states where significant, meaningful participation of faith-based and community organization providers is occurring.

This participation has occurred in our state without any list of special provisions or changes to how we did business before. We simply make our process more known in the community. Faith-based providers must compete to provide services to individuals in the same manner as any other potential contractor with the State of Indiana, utilizing the same procurement systems already in place. The difference is, the "rules of the game" have been presented to them.

When we do that -- government wins because we obtain more competitive and more diverse bids; the bidder wins because a contract assists them meet a social responsibility or business objective; and the family wins because services are more available to them. This help includes educating them on available funding streams, help in identifying the needs of their communities, matching those needs with the funding, understanding necessary reporting and performance measurement systems, and developing their organizations to meet those needs. That same level of help is available, and offered to community-based providers of all types.

The key component in all of this effort is maintaining our commitment to performance-based contracting. We expect and demand from our contractors, faith-based or otherwise, that they perform specific services and achieve specific outcomes with those they serve. Payments are based on outcomes so that we can ensure that our service delivery system meets the need of those served. We pay only for performance and outcomes that we, the state advertise. Outcomes such as these have helped us win TANF High Performance Bonuses for the last two years in a row for success in the workplace.

Further, ongoing monitoring and reporting systems remain in place so that community-based and faith-based providers get the help they need to succeed, and that the State can assure that its outcomes and goals are being met. Monitoring includes on-site visits with providers, and discussions with individual feedback from those being served. We have been clear, no government funds will support worship, religious instruction or proselytizing.

We believe Indiana manages a system that succeeds in 'widening the doorway' of participation for community-based and faith-based providers, while preserving equity in the system and a commitment to positive impacts on the lives of those seeking help.

Our efforts have helped us in meeting what we believed were emerging needs in the post-welfare reform era in Indiana. Those included continued need for providers to focus services on the entire family and the "whole" individual. Our efforts also helped us as we looked for new ways to help clients needing long-term assistance - including those facing multiple, deeply-entrenched barriers to self-sufficiency.

Faith-based and community organization providers represent a new approach to helping for a couple of reasons: they are located in the community, near those we seek to serve; and they enjoy a solid reputation in the community which builds trust among potential clients.

In conclusion, let me tell you that much of what has been accomplished in Indiana has occurred because of the creativity and flexibility allowed under the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and the Charitable Choice provision. We are convinced that when given a chance, states and local communities can partner together to provide creative solutions to long-standing issues and challenges in human services. This is what makes your ongoing consideration of Charitable Choice all the more important as we go forward.

It is my hope that by outlining some of the success we have enjoyed in carrying out the spirit of the Charitable Choice provision in Indiana, we have helped further inform your debate.

Thank you for this opportunity to discuss Indiana's FaithWorks program.