eb Bush's grassroots community and faith-based urban renewal initiative, on which he campaigned, is failing in its first year and a half in all of the initial six communities involved.

   Front Porch Florida is ostensibly a "gateway to economic and social empowerment" which seeks to "allow communities to find innovative, at-home solutions for everyday problems". The targeted communities, generally all poor and black, decide (by consensus) which issues are the most important to them and submit their proposals to the state for approval. The state then would supply business loans, points on grant applications, and $50,000 "seed" money to get started. Some areas involved in the program wanted to curb crime, others focused on education, others on economic and housing issues. None of the initial six communities (neighborhoods in St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Opa Locka, Tallahassee, and Pensacola) managed to gain approval from the state for the first key task - a community action plan that provides the blueprint for improvements. All of the plans were rejected by the state either because of a lack of evidence to support them or a lack of input from the community. None of the neighborhoods managed to achieve the program's goal of becoming a self-reliant partnership; able to win grants and form partnerships with businesses and churches without the state's help. Despite all six areas being asked to start over, plans remain to have 20 Front Porch communities by the year 2002.

   Front Porch Florida is styled after former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith's 1997 "Front Porch Alliance" whose purpose was explicitly stated: "To encourage the full energy of the City of Indianapolis to support the community building work of churches, neighborhood associations and other value-shaping institutions". The original press release from the Florida Governor's office in 1999 carefully referred only to "value-shaping institutions", though references to reliance on church involvement can be found in the details of the plan. A grassroots program similar to the Front Porch Alliance and Front Porch Florida is also being instituted in Indiana under Governor Frank O'Bannon with the label of "Faithworks"

   Stephen Goldsmith now chairs the Corporation for National Service (which oversees AmeriCorps) and works as an advisor to George W. Bush's controversial Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI). As part of his "Rallying the Armies of Compassion" program Bush calls for the OFBCI to "work with the Corporation for National Service to enlist volunteers for grassroots community service programs, including faith-based programs. This collaboration will expand a public-private partnership that already assists both secular and religious organizations to better respond to local needs."

   Some might say that these programs are merely a conservative administration's way of downsizing government and dumping social problems into the hands and charge of local charities and religious institutions. Others would argue that it's government funding of religion and simply unconstitutional. Still others will say that it will increase government involvement, and intrusion into religious activities. Any way you look at it, such initiatives lack cohesive support from the public.

   An April 10, 2001 report from the Pew Research Center shows that while 75% of those polled have an over-all favorable opinion of faith-based initiatives, they are highly skeptical about the details and implementation of such plans. On the question of which religious groups should be allowed funding, more oppose than favor non Judeo-Christians groups such as Muslims, Buddhists, and Scientologists being allowed access. There are also fears that government funded programs will be troublesome for religion: 68% worry that it will lead to too much government involvement in religion; 6 in 10 think it may lead to religious proselytizing for social services; about the same percentage thought that groups that seek to convert others should be prohibited from receiving funding; and 78% oppose government funding for religious groups that only hire those who share their belief system.

   Back in Florida, Governor Jeb Bush has called for another $5.5 million in next year's budget for Front Porch Florida. In an e-mail to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel he wrote, "The first year and a half of the program was marked by two steps forward, and one step back, in several communities, it was probably two steps forward, two steps back, which is commonplace for startup ventures."

   Alison Hewitt, a 29-year-old special assistant to the Governor's Office of External Affairs, was chosen by Governor Bush to take over the ailing program last fall. "Unfortunately, we were a little bit slow out of the box," she told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Hewitt depicts a program doomed to failure for reasons such as lack of training on how to pick a project, or solicit bids, inability to create a business plan, spend the money allocated, or simply organize a meeting. There was also a lack of understanding on the state side regarding state versus local control and feelings of toes being stepped upon.

   Black legislators in Florida, already upset over Governor Bush's One Florida plan that ended affirmative action in state hiring, contracting and university admissions, feel the program is insincere and under-funded, negating any chance to be of real help.

   "I have never had any confidence in the Front Porch program," said Senator Mandy Dawson, D-Fort Lauderdale, "I think it's sad that two years have expired and nothing has been done. I hate it when the government lifts people's spirits and then doesn't follow through."

   In St. Petersburg, Florida, the revitalization program has been the source of controversy. In one case last year, the Department of Justice awarded a $30,000 grant to the for-profit company of a man with a 12-year history of drug and weapons convictions. In January 2001, a $288,000 health grant garnered critical attention when it was awarded to Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) - a group mainly concerned with encouraging home ownership - and which also served as Front Porch's fiscal agent. Conflict of interest allegations arose along with suggestions that NHS had the inside track to the grant, and also questions about how the grant money will be spent. A review of the Health Department's approved 19-month budget shows $69,000 for travel, rental space and office equipment, another $126,500 for salaries and fringe benefits. An expense in the budget of $16,568 identified as, "Other: indirect" was acknowledged by Askia Muhammad Aquil, executive director of NHS, as probably going to his organization as a fiscal agent's fee. Leaving only $75,932 for actual community improvement, Neighborhood Housing Services defends its budget by claiming that the majority of the money will be used to provide health education to minority residents!

   In related news, The Tampa Tribune reported April 1, 2001, that a "faith-based Trojan horse" had been added by the House to the Florida $53.3 billion budget. Instead of the usual process of submitting House Bill 1117 to committee analysis and review, it has been buried in the budget as a proviso. HB 1117 would considerably increase the number of religious groups receiving government funding and would require each state agency to develop plans to actively engage additional religious groups in bidding pools. By burying the bill in the budget, the House has effectively eliminated public testimony. Larry Spalding, a lobbyist for the ACLU told the Tribune, "It's much easier to get something through like this if you don't subject it to committee debate or give the public a chance to testify." If the budget stands and is approved by Governor Bush, the policy changes will take effect and become law. The proposal is clearly intended not only to tell state agencies that they must consider religious organizations in the bidding process but also that they must aggressively seek them out.

   As reported previously in AANEWS, there is scant evidence to support the success of "faith-based" programs. One has to wonder about the reasons for all the budget games and forced involvement and what legislators really hope to gain by forcing implementation of programs that don't seem to have much support in the public forum.

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