For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 3, 2004
Fact Sheet: Compassion for Americans in Need
Today's Presidential Action
Today, President Bush addressed the Knights of Columbus convention
recognizing the work of faith-based and community organizations across
the United States as they meet the challenge of bringing help and hope
to Americans most in need.
The President today announced approximately $188 million in grants
to help Americans in need with additional funding of $43 million
for the Compassion Capital Fund, which supports the work of over 1,900
local groups and faith-based organizations that assist people in need;
$45.5 million for mentoring children of prisoners to care for children
at risk and in need of a responsible adult in their lives; and almost
$100 million for the Access to Recovery program to help Americans
conquer addiction using substance abuse treatment vouchers to access
the most effective programs.
The President's FY 2005 budget proposal requests an additional
$100 million for the Compassion Capital Fund; an additional $50
million for mentoring children of prisoners; and an additional $200
million for Access to Recovery.
Background on Today's Presidential Action
Faith-based and community organizations assist people in need every
day, transforming lives with their compassionate acts. President Bush
has proposed bold steps to address the challenges of Americans in need
by applying the compassion of America to the deepest problems of
America. As a result of the President's leadership, funding for these
initiatives will enable faith-based and community groups to serve more
Americans across the country by:
Helping Americans in Need: President Bush created the Compassion Capital Fund three years ago in order to help more Americans in need.
Today, the President announced $43 million in 145 grants to support
organizations that provide services and support through soup kitchens,
homeless shelters, drug treatment centers, job training programs, and
other efforts. These grants, awarded through the President's
Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), will help faith-based and community
organizations increase their ability to provide more social services to
those most in need. With today's announcement, the CCF will have
provided $99.5 million in grants to 197 organizations and sub-grants to
over 1,700 grass-roots organizations since the President created the
Fund.
Helping Children at Risk: In his 2003 State of the Union address,
President Bush called on all Americans to become mentors and share
their compassion with children at risk of losing hope. Today, the
President announced almost $46 million in grants to faith-based and
community organizations to provide mentors to children of prisoners.
This three-year, $150 million initiative is focused on providing
100,000 new mentors for some of the two million children with one or
more parents in prison. Local programs that receive Federal funds
ensure that volunteer mentors are screened, trained, supported, and
monitored, and pair them with children in need. Today's awards to 169
new grantees and 52 continuing grantees will provide 33,000 additional
children of prisoners with mentoring support.
Helping Americans Conquer Addiction: Every year, approximately
100,000 individuals seeking treatment for substance abuse are unable to
access services. Many more are unable to achieve full recovery in
currently available programs. To address this problem, the President,
in his 2003 State of the Union Address, announced the new Access to
Recovery (ATR) program to increase access to effective substance abuse
treatment. Today, the President announced nearly $100 million in
Access to Recovery grants to 14 states and one tribal organization.
These grants will help states establish substance abuse treatment
vouchers, through which individuals will be able to access
comprehensive treatment and recovery programs, including from
faith-based and community providers, and exercise choice by selecting
the providers that best meet their personal recovery needs. ATR
emphasizes results by measuring outcomes including abstinence from
substance use, success in school or employment, and no involvement in
the criminal justice system.
The President's Call for Compassion in Action
The Federal government does not fund religion, but the President's
Faith-Based and Community Initiative does remove discrimination against
faith-based and community organizations. The Initiative enables some
of the most effective social service providers in America to compete
fairly for Federal funding to make a difference in the lives of our
most vulnerable citizens without compromising a provider's religious
character and independence. Through the President's leadership,
significant progress has been made towards bringing more faith-based
and community organizations into the Federal grants process, and the
results are being seen in communities across America. Through drug
treatment centers, mentoring programs, food banks, health centers, job
training centers, and other services, these providers are meeting the
immediate and future needs of hurting Americans.