Brief Description: Providing a liaison for community-based and faith-based social service organizations that receive no public funds.

Sponsors: Representative Boldt.

Hearing Date: 1/26/04

Staff: Cynthia Forland (786-7152).

Background:

On January 29, 2001, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (Office) was established by Executive Order. The Office has lead responsibility to strengthen and expand the role of faith-based and community organizations. The Office works with federal agencies, Congress, and state and local governments to promote policy, legal, and regulatory changes to enable greater participation by faith-based and community organizations by improving the opportunities, capacity, and expertise of those organizations. The Office also works with the private nonprofit and for-profit sectors, faith communities, and neighborhood groups to promote involvement in community service.

Five Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (Centers) have also been established within the following federal departments: Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Education, and Labor. The purpose of the Centers is to coordinate department efforts to eliminate regulatory, contracting, and other programmatic obstacles to the participation of faith-based and community organizations in the provision of social services.

Summary of Bill:

The Secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) must designate a person within each of the administrative regions of the DSHS to serve as a liaison for community-based and faith-based social services organizations that do not receive funding directly from the state.

The liaison must be available to those organizations for the purpose of:

       •    providing information as it relates to opportunities for those organizations to cooperate with the DSHS in providing community services throughout the state;

       •    identifying areas of need that are not currently being met in the state that community-based and faith-based social services organizations that do not receive funding directly from the state may provide; and

       •    coordinating efforts to promote involvement of community-based and faith-based social service organizations that do not receive funding directly from the state in providing community services.

The DSHS is required to achieve the purposes of the bill through existing resources.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.