Faith-Based and Community Initiative: Improvements in Monitoring Grantees and Measuring Performance Could Enhance Accountability

OMB has included in its guidance to OMB examiners, who oversee the President Management Agenda (PMA) rating) of each FBCI executive agency, that they are to confirm that all grant solicitations (for which faith-based and community groups are eligible) include information on the equal treatment regulations. According to OMB, if any grant solicitations are found not to contain appropriate references to the equal treatment regulations, the agency must demonstrate that steps have been take to ensure inclusion of the regulations in future solicitations.

OMB has added to its Proud to Be document (which went into effect July 1, 2008) best practices that executive agencies must adhere to in order to receive a satisfactory performance rating from OMB. Several of the best practices relate to the monitoring tools of federal, state, and local agencies. Federal executive agencies are to coordinate with program offices within their departments to ensure appropriate monitoring that will in turn ensure compliance with the equal treatment regulations. Agencies must know 1) which office will be responsible for monitoring; 2) what means of monitoring will be used (site visits, spot checks by phone); 3)whether equal treatment regulations need to be added to existing compliance checklists; 4) and must work with appropriate offices within a specific agency to address issues when monitoring efforts uncover a violation. Guidance is also provided to the OMB examiners to ensure that the examiners ascertain from agency officials, when determining the PMA rating of each FBCI agency, the same 4 issues cited above.

In September 2006, the Department of Justice issued a corrective action plan noting that the Federal Bureau of Prisons had drafted language to be incorporated into the Residential Reentry Center (formerly known as the Community Corrections Center) contracts to clarify the scope of the exception for chaplains. In August 2007, Justice provided us with a copy of such a contract that included the additional language as we recommended.

In its September 11, 2006, corrective action plan (ALG #06-045), the Department of Justice provided the language it had approved to be incorporated into contracts to clarify the scope of the exception to the prohibition on using federal funds for inherently religious activities. The corrective action plan stated that the Department of Justice would insert this new language into contracts beginning October 1, 2006. Justice provided an example of a contract for a residential reentry center (RRC) formerly community correction centers. The contract includes a detailed section that clarifies when an offender can and cannot receive religious activities from an RRC staff, including a notification that chaplains will not be reimbursed with federal funds for providing spiritual services.

The Acting White House Office Faith-Based and Community Initiative Director stated that they have reassessed the two-long term goals and have determined that these two core goals remain the primary objectives of the FBCI. He noted that each FBCI center emphasizes a range of objectives that have developed each year, but the ultimate goals remain the same.