Improving the faith-based initiative Web Extra: The Access to Recovery program allows individuals to choose where they receive help
Marvin Olasky
The faith-based initiative during President Bush’s first term did almost nothing to challenge Washington-centric social services spending. Recently, though, the White House has tried to redirect parts of the funding process.
About $100 million a year in support of anti-addiction and anti-alcoholism programs now goes out through the Access to Recovery program (ATR), which emphasizes vouchers that can be used at God-centered programs, or at secular or superficially religious ones. For example, the conventional grant-making process does not allow involvement by Teen Challenge programs, since they refuse to give up their religious emphasis, but 13 Teen Challenge centers in nine states received funding through vouchers.
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