AHS 7615 Wilmington University Week 3 Service Community Organizations and Caring Community Organizations Paper

AHS 7615 Wilmington University Week 3 Service Community Organizations and Caring Community Organizations Paper
Sample Answer for AHS 7615 Wilmington University Week 3 Service Community Organizations and Caring Community Organizations Paper Included After Question

AHS 7615 Wilmington University Week 3 Service Community Organizations and Caring Community Organizations Paper

Description

How does the ‘Caring Community’ Model differ from the ‘Service-Organization’ Model? Please provide an example of a ‘service’ community organization, and an example of a ‘caring’ community organization. Please describe their characteristics.

Resources:

Read Chapters 2, 3, & 11-13 in this course text: Serving Those in Need: A Handbook for Managing Faith-Based Human Service

ARTICLES:

Holistic Faith-Based Development: Toward a Conceptual Framework

By: John M. Wallace, Jr., Ph.D. – University of Pittsburgh, Valerie L. Myers, Ph.D. – University of Michigan, & Jim Holley, Ph.D. – The Historic Little Rock, Missionary Baptist Church

Faith-Based Community Economic Development – Principles and Practices

This article discusses the principles and best practices of faith-based community economic development.
By: T. David Reese & Christina A. Clamp, Ph.D.

Faith-Based Organizations In Community Development

This article discusses the role of faith-based organizations in community development.
By: The Urban Institute & Avis C. Vidal, 2001.

Connections Between Faith Communities and Their Non-profits

By: Jo Anne Schneider, Katie Day, & Gwynneth Anderson, 2005.

Organizing Faith-Based Services

This article explores the ways that different religious groups organize social support systems for themselves and others.
By: Jo Anne Schneider, George Washington Institute of Pubic Policy

Faith & Organizations Project (Links to an external site.)

This website includes links to reports that outline how different faith communities can maintain connections with their nonprofits.

Empirical Evidence on Faith-Based Organizations in an Era of Welfare Reform

AHS 7615 Wilmington University Week 3 Service Community Organizations and Caring Community Organizations Paper

A Sample Answer For the Assignment: AHS 7615 Wilmington University Week 3 Service Community Organizations and Caring Community Organizations Paper
Title: AHS 7615 Wilmington University Week 3 Service Community Organizations and Caring Community Organizations Paper

This article analyzes the characteristics of clients who seek and receive help from faith-based organizations, particularly focusing on how exposure to the effects of welfare reform affects help seeking behaviors and the receipt of help.
By: David A. Reingold – Indiana University–Bloomington, Maureen Pirog – Indiana University–Bloomington, & David Brady – Duke University, 2007.

The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy Holistic Faith-Based Development Toward a Conceptual Framework By John M. Wallace, Jr., Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh Valerie L. Myers, Ph.D. University of Michigan Jim Holley, Ph.D. The Historic Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church An independent research project of the Rockefeller Institute of Government Supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts Holistic Faith-Based Development: Toward a Conceptual Framework By John M. Wallace, Jr., Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work Valerie L. Myers, Ph.D. University of Michigan School of Public Health Jim Holley, Ph.D. The Historic Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church April 2004 Toward a Conceptual Framework Holistic Faith-Based Development: Toward a Conceptual Framework PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to expand knowledge about the active role that many faith-based organizations can and are taking in their communities. A central goal of the paper is to increase understanding of “holistic” faith-based development— the kinds of work progressive congregations and their affiliated organizations are doing across the country, meeting not only the need for a bag of groceries and a listening ear, but also providing job training for people leaving welfare, educational opportunities for children in under-resourced schools, entrepreneurial opportunities for investors, housing for seniors, the revitalization of old neighborhoods, and the development of new ones. To date, the literature on holistic faith-based development is limited, largely descriptive and focuses on the work of a few large congregations, typically led by dynamic African American clergy and located in poor inner-city communities. While descriptive research is important and often provides valuable insights into a new field of inquiry, it fails to provide the theoretical foundation upon which to build knowledge or to provide a conceptual map or “blueprint” for taking action. To begin to address the gaps in knowledge about holistic faith-based development, this study briefly reviews the African American church’s historical and contemporary role in this area, discusses the theoretical framework implicit in much of the work, and presents a broad conceptual paradigm that faith-based practitioners can use to guide future efforts. The paper concludes with a case study of a ministry engaged in holistic faith-based development that is working both independently and with other churches, non-profits, for-profits, and local government to transform a neighborhood in the inner city of Detroit, Michigan. BACKGROUND As a result of the Charitable Choice provision (i.e., section 104) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (the Welfare Reform Act) and President Bush’s Faith-Based Initiative, policy makers, academics, and clergy have focused considerable attention on the role of faithbased organizations in the delivery of social services. The Charitable Choice provision permits states to use federal dollars to contract with religious organizations to provide social services, while protecting the religious nature of these organizations and permitting them to retain their independence from The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy 1 Holistic Faith-Based Development government. While some national faith-based organizations (e.g., Catholic Social Services, Lutheran Social Services, the Salvation Army) have long received significant portions of their budgets from the federal government, the current debate focuses on the extent to which individual congregations can receive federal tax dollars to support their social service programs. Recent research suggests that although the majority (between 60 percent and 90 percent) of American congregations support at least one social service, community development, or neighborhood organizing project, only 3 percent receive federal funds and only 11 percent receive any funds from outside sources (Chaves, 1999). Implicit in the debate around whether or not churches, mosques or synagogues should be allowed to receive federal monies is the assumption that they would seek government dollars if they were available. Research on the willingness of congregations to apply for federal funds indicates that there are significant differences, with the racial composition of the congregation being the strongest predictor (Chaves, 1999). More specifically, 64 percent of African American clergy expressed a willingness to apply for federal funds to support their social service efforts compared to only 28 percent of white clergy (Chaves, 1999). The greater willingness of African American clergy to apply for federal funds is not surprising given that African American congregations are significantly more likely than white congregations to be located in poor communities and more likely to provide services that meet the needs of the poor, including education, mentoring, substance abuse, job training or assistance, meals, community development, and promoting civil rights and social justice issues (Chaves and Higgins, 1992; Chaves and Tsitsos, 2001). Many African American pastors and congregations have, of necessity, sought to address needs not of the nameless “poor,” but of their members, and their members’ family and friends. In fact, even among churches located in urban areas, African American congregations offer more programs than their white counterparts despite having less educated clergy, fewer staff, and smaller memberships (Boddie and Cnaan, 2001). When taken in total, research suggests that African American churches have a greater demonstrated commitment and perhaps necessity than their white counterparts to meet the pressing needs of disadvantaged urban populations. While necessity has driven many African American congregations to attempt to provide social services, the need for programs and services that ameliorate the conditions of the poor will continue to far outstrip the resources of the church and what government can or will provide. Additionally, social services alone are insufficient to change the conditions that create the need for them—more holistic strategies are required to change conditions that plague our nation’s inner cities. In light of this reality, innovative and entrepreneurial African American and other urban pastors and congregations are developing strategies to minister holistically to the human, economic, and community development needs of individuals and families both within and outside their congregations. 2 The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy Toward a Conceptual Framework HOLISTIC FAITH-BASED DEVELOPMENT AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH Although the recent debates about Charitable Choice and President Bush’s FaithBased Initiative have brought national attention to the work of a few prominent African American pastors such as Floyd Flake in New York, Kirbyjon Caldwell in Houston, Eugene Rivers in Boston, and Charles Blake in Los Angeles, the holistic development mission of the African American church is not new. Historically, as a result of the persistent racial discrimination that denied African Americans access to the religious, social, business, governmental, educational and recreational resources of the larger society, the church emerged as the central community entity, created and controlled by African Americans to meet their spiritual as well as secular needs and desires (Lincoln and Mamiya, 1990). In discussing the historical social service role of the African American church, W.E.B. Dubois (1898) noted that: It is natural that today the bulk of organized efforts of Negroes in any direction should center in the Church. The Negro Church is the only social institution of the Negroes which started in the African forest and survived slavery; under the leadership of the priest and medicine man, afterward the Christian pastor, the Church preserved in itself the remnants of African tribal life and became after emancipation the center of Negro social life. So that today the Negro population of the United States is virtually divided into Church congregations, which are the real units of the race life. It is natural therefore that charitable and rescue work among Negroes should first be found in the churches and reach there its greatest development (pp. 4-5). Echoing and expanding Dubois’ point, nearly a century later, Lincoln and Mamiya (1990) note: The Black Church has no challenger as the cultural womb of the black community. Not only did it give birth to new institutions such as schools, banks, insurance companies, and low income housing, it also provided an academy and an arena for political activities, and it nurtured young talent for musical, dramatic, and artistic development…in addition to the traditional concerns of worship, moral nurture, education and social control” (p. 8). While there is evidence suggesting the “all encompassing” nature of the church has diminished as opportunities for African Americans to participate in the larger society have increased, the church remains the central—and in many inner cities, the only—institution seeking to enhance the well-being of poor African Americans and to revitalize their communities. Additionally, the church The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy 3 Holistic Faith-Based Development continues to be the place where African Americans, poor and affluent, commit over a third of their volunteer time and 75 percent of their charitable giving (Lincoln and Mamiya, 1990). Even where other organizations and agencies like the Urban League, the NAACP, fraternal organizations, and social service providers appear to have assumed the church’s historic role, its influence remains because leaders of these organizations—African American politicians, businesspeople, teachers, lawyers, doctors and social workers—are pastors, deacons, trustees, Sunday school teachers, ushers, or at least active members of local congregations. The church also plays a key role in African American communities as a mediating structure between individuals and the larger society. Mediating structures act as liaisons between individuals in their private lives and the larger “megastructures” of public life, such as the social service system, big business, and government (Berger and Neuhaus, 1996). Research suggests African American churches are particularly important in poor communities where citizens often lack the resources to manage or influence megastructures (Wood, 2002). The mediating function that the pastors in Boston’s Ten Point Coalition served to reduce conflict between the city’s police and its young African American males is an important example of this role (Berrien and Winship, 1999). In short, through its mediating function, the African American church has been, and continues to be, an important vehicle through which to address the social, political, cultural, physical, and economic conditions of poor African American communities. A variety of other characteristics of African American churches make them ideally, and in many ways uniquely, suited as mediating structures (Wallace and Myers, 1998). These include: 4 • Empowering African Americans to counter racial, economic, and social oppression is fundamental to their historical and contemporary mission; • Churches, physically located in African American neighborhoods, share knowledge and experience of the challenges residents face; • Churches are economically independent and thus able to advocate for the community without being beholden to outside interests; • Churches have ready access to a wealth of human capital through the skills and talents of their members; • Churches are able to create and sustain initiatives through their own resources and thus do not have to end successful programs when external funds dry up; • Unlike government, the health care industry, and traditional social service agencies, churches do not categorize people by their “needs” and treat them as “clients.” Rather, they view people holistically (i.e., mind, body and spirit) and welcome them as brothers and sisters who The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy Toward a Conceptual Framework can both give and receive in the context of an extended church family; and • Churches have expertise in empowering people to plan, organize and mobilize around the achievement of individual and shared goals. EMPOWERMENT AND THE HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT MISSION OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH Research has consistently recognized the role of religious participation as a significant catalyst for African Americans’ engagement in political activities, volunteerism, community involvement, environmental activism, organizational membership and other behaviors through which people seek to control their lives and exert power (Alex-Assensoh and Assensoh, 2001; Mattis, Jagers, Hatcher, Lawhon, Murphy and Murray, 2000; Musick, Wilson, Bynum, 2000). Yet, despite the relationship between African Americans’ religious involvement and their efforts to exercise power and mastery over their lives, research has yet to explicitly connect the work and mission of African American churches to the growing theoretical literature on empowerment (see Zimmerman, 2000). The limited body of research that does investigate the empowerment function of religion for African Americans has focused largely on political activity and participation (see Arp and Boecklman, 1997; Harris, 1994) and thus has not considered its role in areas like economic and community development. In her seminal work, Black Empowerment, Barbara Solomon notes that “powerlessness of black individuals, groups and communities arises through a process whereby valued identities and roles on the one hand and valuable resources on the other are denied—all of which are prerequisite to the exercise of interpersonal influence and effective social functioning” (p12). Many efforts to address the conditions of African American individuals, organizations and communities have relied on deficit-oriented social services models that denied them power and viewed increases in services as the solution to their problems. These deficit-based models, though different in focus and degree, have often sustained, if not promoted, powerlessness among poor African Americans. Specifically, traditional strategies to address the needs of poor African Americans and to revitalize urban communities have often resulted in distorted, disconnected, disjointed and disempowering development. Below we describe briefly some of the failed strategies of the past and then discuss the central role of empowerment in the holistic approach that guides the work of effective faith-based organizations around the country. The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy 5 Holistic Faith-Based Development FAILED SOCIAL SERVICE EFFORTS OF THE PAST Increases in many urban problems over the past two decades are attributable, in large part, to economic factors (e.g., loss of well paying industrial jobs). Nevertheless, economic development is often neglected as an important component in programs intended to meet the needs of poor inner-city residents and their communities (Kretzmann and McKnight, 1995; Midgley, 1995). When social service programs do not help recipients find jobs, recipients can become dependent upon the services for their livelihood. Because many social service programs are funded through taxes on employment wages, programs and services for the poor are greater in number and better funded when the economy is thriving. When the economy is failing, however, demand for services increases as funding decreases. Thus when people are not connected to the economy through paid employment, their situation is bad when economic times are good and worse when times are bad. This is distorted development. A related problem, disconnected development, occurs when the concerns and needs of community residents are compartmentalized and “treated” without regard to other aspects of their lives, and when services delivered do not increase awareness, access, or use of resources or institutions within or outside the local community. An example of disconnected development is a job training program for mothers on welfare that prepares recipients for jobs that aren’t available, does not provide child care, or fails to address the mother’s needs for health care and transportation. When development initiatives occur in a piecemeal fashion without a clear plan, without a long-term guiding mission, and without regard to the desires of the community, the result is disjointed development. When there is disjointed development, programs and policies are established according to what is being funded, current trends, or goals of agencies or special interest groups, rather than by the real or felt needs of the intended program recipients. When there is funding for a particular population or problem, programs that target that population or problem abound. When the funding shifts, or disappears, the programs do the same. In the absence of a bottom-up community-driven strategy for development, relatively little lasting progress is made toward solving problems or even reducing the impact of their effects. Although most development initiatives are designed, at least ostensibly, to help the poor, often programs inadvertently remove people’s initiative to do for themselves. In time, community residents come to feel powerless—or disempowered—over their circumstances. Disempowering development occurs when people are taught: “[T]he nature and extent of their problems, and the value of services as the answer to their problems. As a result, many lower income urban neighborhoods are now environments of service where behaviors are 6 The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy Toward a Conceptual Framework affected because residents come to believe that their well-being depends upon being a client. They begin to see themselves as people with special needs that can only be met by outsiders (Kretzmann and Mcknight, 1995, p.2). The effects of disempowerment include self-blame, self-perceptions of failure, and the belief that there is nothing they can do to improve their circumstances (Lerner, 1986) EMPOWERMENT THEORY In stark contrast to the disjointed, disconnected and disempowering strategies that have failed in the past, research suggests that successful efforts to revitalize urban communities build upon the skills and talents of local residents, their network of voluntary associations, the strengths of local institutions, available physical property and the local economy (Kretzmann and McKnight, 1995). The process by which people use these individual, organizational, and neighborhood building blocks to gain mastery over their lives is called empowerment (Rappaport, 1987). Empowerment is multidimensional, describing both a value orientation for action and a theoretical framework for organizing and developing knowledge (Zimmerman, 2000). As a value orientation, a faith-based empowerment perspective focuses on developing the assets of individuals, faith-based organizations and neighborhoods to solve problems and achieve desired outcomes rather than emphasizing their needs and deficiencies. An empowerment value orientation is congruent with what Kretzmann and McKnight (1995) have termed “asset-based community development.” From a faith-based perspective, assetbased community development concentrates on the agenda setting and problem solving capacities of congregation members and community residents, building on their relationships with each other, the faith-based organization and other key entities in the community (Kretzmann and McKnight, 1995). Empowerment theory, adapted to fit a faith-based perspective, examines the processes by which people of faith, their organizations and their neighborhoods gain control over their lives and the outcomes of empowering processes. Empowering processes are the mechanisms by which people, faith-based organizations, and neighborhoods become empowered. Empowered people, faithbased organizations, and neighborhoods have the ability to cause positive change in their circumstances. Individual level empowerment refers to beliefs about one’s competence, efforts to exert control, the capability to understand one’s socio-political environment, and the ability to identify and use faith and other resources to achieve goals (Zimmerman, 2000). A central purpose of religious faith and faith-based organizations is to connect people with God and with each other. The processes for establishing these relationships include spiritual activities such as individual and group prayer, meditation, study of scriptures and The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy 7 Holistic Faith-Based Development fellowship, as well as involvement in the less overtly spiritual activities of the church (see Table 1). Given the lack of power that many African Americans experience in their day-to-day lives (e.g., work) as a function of their race and social class, churches are potentially key empowering settings in which people have opportunities to share leadership, develop group identity, learn skills and participate in key organizational tasks (Zimmerman, 1995; Maton and Salem, 1995; Speer and Hughey, 1995). Table 1 presents examples of the relationship between faith-based empowering processes and the empowered outcomes that result from these processes at the individual, organizational and neighborhood levels. Table 1. Faith-Based Empowerment Processes and Outcomes Across Levels of Analysis LEVEL OF ANALYSIS EMPOWERING FAITH-BASED PROCESS (How faith empowers individuals and families, organizations, neighborhoods and beyond) • • INDIVIDUAL (& FAMILY) • • • FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS • • • • • NEIGHBORHOOD (& BEYOND) • • EMPOWERED FAITH-BASED OUTCOMES (The results of empowering faith-based processes) Relationship building Opportunities to learn and practice service/ministry skills Social support Growth through spiritual disciplines (e.g., study, prayer) • • • • Helping members discover spiritual gifts, natural talents, passions, and purpose Develops members’ leadership skills Provides members social support Program (i.e., ministry) development Develop organizational capacity • • • • Actively involved members Shared organizational leadership Increased organizational capacity Ability to acquire and effectively manage resources, influence public policy and deliver formal services Collaboration with other faith-based organizations Community organizing around social issues Developing linkages across sectors • • • • Collaboration across sectors Transformed communities Political power Coalitions of organizations • Strong interpersonal relationships Sense of mastery and control Church attendance and participation Influence on church operations and policy Spiritual maturity Adapted from Zimmerman (2000) For example, faith-based individual level empowering processes attempt to connect people with God and with others, to provide them opportunities to grow intellectually and spiritually, and to help them identify and use their gifts and skills. The outcomes of these processes are people with strong relationships who are mature and confident in their abilities. Empowering faith-based organizational processes help members to identify and nurture their skills and talents, and provide them opportunities to use them to strengthen and influence the organization. The outcomes of these processes are empowered faith-based organizations that are strong, growing and able to manage and expand their 8 The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy Toward a Conceptual Framework resources, provide services, collaborate with other organizations (faith-based and others) and impact their social environment. Faith-based neighborhood empowerment processes often link empowered individuals and organizations to work together to influence their social environment and improve the quality of their collective lives (Zimmerman, 1995). At the neighborhood level, empowerment processes include developing relationships between churches and other sectors of the community (e.g., law enforcement, schools, business), developing formal linkages across sectors, and collaborating to address issues of common concern (Speer and Hughey, 1995). The key outcomes of these empowering processes are strong, interconnected communities that are able to shape community life and provide opportunities for active citizen involvement (Speer and Hughey, 1995; Zimmerman, 2000). Although faith-based individual, organizational, and neighborhood empowerment are theoretically distinct, in practice they are mutually interdependent—both cause and consequence of each other (Zimmerman, 2000). For example, empowered people create empowering processes that build empowered faith based organizations and neighborhoods. Empowered faith-based organizations implement empowering processes that empower individuals and help to build empowered neighborhoods. Empowered neighborhoods engage in empowering processes that impact individuals and organizations. In short, empowering processes create empowered outcomes for individuals, faith-based organizations, and neighborhoods resulting in a self-perpetuating individual, organizational and neighborhood empowerment cycle. THE HOLISTIC FAITH-BASED EMPOWERMENT MODEL1 Lincoln and Mamiya (1990:4) note that “the inherent genius of the Black Church is its holistic ministry that seeks to encompass all of life because human beings are not only spiritual, but also physical and social creatures.” The distinguishing characteristic of holistic faith-based development versus other forms of development is the belief that “changing a life or changing a community is ultimately a spiritual issue.” (Perkins, 1993, p. 80). From a faith-based perspective, humans’ spiritual needs are inextricably linked to their mental, physical, material, and other non-spiritual needs. Accordingly, a holistic faithbased perspective on development recognizes that “spiritual redemption begins with a full stomach, a warm place to sleep, and a hope for something better than perpetual handouts” (Reed, p. 15). Meeting basic needs of individuals and families for food, jobs, and homes is the foundation of holistic faith-based development. According to John Perkins, founder of the Christian Community Development Association, those persons who are not indigenous members of a community who desire to create sustainable faith-based community revitalization 1 Portions of this section are adapted from Wallace and Myers, 1998. The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy 9 Holistic Faith-Based Development must make a long-term commitment to meeting the felt needs of neighborhood residents through what he has called the “three Rs”: relocation—physically moving into the target neighborhood; reconciliation—restoring the relationship between people and God, and people and each other; and redistribution— voluntarily giving of one’s self to empower the disadvantaged to do for themselves (Perkins, 1996). Perkins’ three Rs are inherent in the strategy of many African American churches. In fact, in cities all over the country African American churches have made the conscious decision to remain, and to invest their time, talents and treasures in efforts to bring life and hope to communities that others have abandoned. The Holistic Faith-Based Empowerment Model (Figure 1) is a multipurpose analytic tool that can be used to study empowerment processes and outcomes, to categorize holistic development strategies, and as a conceptual map or “blueprint” that faith-based practitioners can use to develop, refine, and realize the visions that they have for their communities. 10 The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy Toward a Conceptual Framework Figure 1. The Holistic Faith-Based Empowerment Model MEGASTRUCTURES Government Legal System TARGETS DOMAINS ROW 3 NEIGHBORHOOD • • • • ROW 2 • • FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATION • • ROW 1 • • INDIVIDUAL • • • Non-Profits Education Economics Business Religion COLUMN A COLUMN B COLUMN C HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CELL A3 Charter School Health Clinic Welfare-to-Work Program Community development corporation CELL B3 Community credit union For-profit business (e.g., catering) • • • • • CELL A2 Worship services Religious education classes Leadership development opportunities Board and administration service CELL A1 Pastoral care Referral to social services Social support Prayer Religious rites (e.g. baptism) • • • • • • • • • CELL B2 Church credit union Stewardship campaign Scholarship program Endowment CELL B1 GED program Emergency financial assistance Financial counseling Employment referral Individual development accounts • • • • CELL C3 Real estate development (e.g. senior housing) Commercial development (e.g., strip mall) Community garden CELL C2 Church facilities and grounds o Worship center o School o Family Life Center CELL C1 Emergency shelter Housing assistance and referral Home maintenance and ownership classes FAITH START HERE The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy 11 Holistic Faith-Based Development The targets of holistic faith-based development are individuals (and families), faith-based organizations themselves, and physical neighborhoods. The three broad domains in which faith-based interventions seek to bring about development are human, economic and community. As shown in Figure 1, the intersection of th