===========================================================================
Fact Sheet: President Bush Has Improved How We Address Human Need Through
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary December 2, 2008

Fact Sheet: President Bush Has Improved How We Address Human Need Through
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

ÿÿWhite House News


"The Administration has upheld its promise to treat community and
faith-based organizations as trusted partners.... You've helped
revolutionize the way government addresses the greatest challenges facing
our society."

- President George W. Bush, 6/26/08

Today, President Bush is visiting Youth Focus, Inc.'s Big Brothers Big
Sisters of Greater Greensboro to highlight accomplishments of the Mentoring
Children of Prisoners (MCP) program, which has exceeded its goal of
securing mentor matches for 100,000 children with incarcerated parents.
Today, more than 110,000 children of prisoners have been matched with a
caring mentor who can provide the consistent guidance and support these
children need to succeed in life.
  þ Launched in the President's 2003 State of the Union address, MCP
    applies the principles of the Faith-Based and Community Initiative by
    working in partnership with hundreds of religious and other community
    nonprofits to recruit and train mentors who offer stability in the
    lives of children whose parents are behind bars.These groups and their
    volunteers offer a committed presence and personal guidance to help
    steer these young people toward a life of opportunity and achievement.

The Faith-Based and Community Initiative Has Revolutionized The Way Our
Government Addresses The Greatest Challenges Facing Our Society
  þ President Bush created the Faith-Based and Community Initiative with
    his first Executive Order to lead a determined attack on need in
    partnerships with frontline nonprofits and to ensure faith-based
    organizations were welcomed as equal allies in this work. The
    Initiative has transformed the way government addresses human need and
    increased its effectiveness by:
      þ Expanding partnerships with local nonprofits to battle poverty,
        disease and other ills.
      þ Securing a >level playing field_ for faith-based organizations and
        establishing clear, constitutional guidelines for their use of
        public funds.
  þ To strengthen America's >armies of compassion,_ the Initiative:
      þ Trained more than 150,000 social entrepreneurs on how to increase
        the impact of their work.
      þ Supported amendments to the tax code that provide greater
        incentives for charitable giving and activities.
      þ Established the Compassion Capital Fund to provide grants and
        training designed to increase the effectiveness of grassroots
        nonprofits.

The Faith-Based and Community Initiative >has fundamentally changed the
government's strategy for improving the lives of the downtrodden_. [D]ue to
the achievements of faith-based charities that have received Federal aid,
the partnership between government and religious organizations will
continue to strengthen._

_ Peyton Miller, Harvard Political Review, 11/5/08

ÿ

The Faith-Based And Community Initiative Joined With The Armies Of
Compassion To Wage A Determined Attack On Need
  þ Access to Recovery (ATR) program:Provided nearly 270,000 recovering
    addicts with vouchers that enabled them to choose from an expansive
    network of faith-based and other community organizations (FBCOs) for
    the clinical and supportive services that best met their individual
    needs. Thousands of participating FBCOs helped produce results that
    outperform many national programs on multiple measures.
  þ The President's Prisoner Re-entry Initiative: Links returning
    nonviolent offenders with FBCOs that help them find work and avoid
    relapse into criminal activity. Participants' rate of re-arrest within
    one year of release is 15 percent, less than half the national average.
  þ Disadvantaged Students: More than 515,000 children received
    after-school tutoring annually through Supplemental Educational Service
    providers, including FBCO partners.
  þ Community Health Services: The President's Community Health Center
    Initiative exceeded its goal of creating or expanding 1,200
    community-based health centers, many of which are operated by FBCO
    grantees. The number of low-income individuals receiving medical
    services from these centers annually has increased by 5.8 million since
    2001.
  þ Homelessness: Federal partnerships with FBCOs have been greatly
    expanded to combat homelessness, contributing to a nearly 30 percent
    reduction in chronic homelessness (approximately 50,000 individuals)
    from 2005 to 2007. The estimated number of homeless veterans was cut by
    nearly 40 percent from 2001 to 2007.
  þ Global Health:In FY 2007 alone, 87 percent of partners in the
    President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) were local
    organizations, mostly faith-based and community groups. The latest
    results show that PEPFAR now supports life-saving treatment for more
    than 2 million people worldwide.

The Faith-Based And Community Initiative Built A Powerful Network Of
Public-Private Partnerships To Address Need
  þ Last year, the Federal government awarded direct, competitive grants to
    more than 19,000 FBCOs. Of those, more than 3,200 grants, totaling more
    than $2.2 billion, were awarded to faith-based organizations.
  þ The President's vision inspired State governments to develop their own
    FBCI programs. Today, 35 governors (19 Democrats and 16 Republicans)
    and 70 mayors of both parties have their own Faith-Based and Community
    Initiative offices and/or liaisons.

ÿ

###



===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/12/20081202-2.html