Not by faith alone: a preliminary outcomes evaluation of a faith-based welfare to work program

The role of faith-based organizations in the provision of social services has gained increasing attention since Charitable Choice passed as a provision of the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act of 1996. Under George W. Bush, faith-based social services took center stage in the domestic policy debates. One element of the rhetoric surrounding public support of faith-based interventions has been the talk of their effectiveness. Unfortunately, few studies have ever attempted to assess the outcomes of faith-based social interventions, and the studies that have been conducted report mixed findings. The notion of the effectiveness of faith-based interventions has largely been taken on faith. This study used longitudinal administrative data matched with earnings histories to assess the impact a faith-based intervention had on earnings, poverty status, and employment stability in three North Carolina counties. There was no significant difference between the outcomes of a faith-based and a similar secular intervention when earnings, poverty status, and employment stability were assessed. These findings are consistent with other major studies of welfare to work programs, suggesting the need to assess the structure of low-wage work in the United States