espite President Bush's claims that his faith-based initiative is not intended to promote religion or evangelize those seeking social services, the director of a prominent drug rehab program told a congressional group on Wednesday that Jewish clients in his program were converted to fundamentalist Christianity.

   John Castellani, executive director of Teen Challenge International, a Christian substance abuse program, made the offensive remarks before a panel of the House Government Reform subcommittee which has been exploring the effectiveness of faith-based social programs. Rev. Mark Souder (R-IN) asked Mr. Castellani if the group employees non-Christians on its staff, or accepts clients of other religious persuasions. Castellani then commented that some of the Jews who complete the Teen Challenge program become "completed Jews," a phrase common in fundamentalist circles to refer to those who convert to Christianity.

   Castellani also told officials that while Teen Challenge welcomes government funding, the group would not take public money if it was required to change the structure of its program which includes emphasis on religious conversion.

   "We're out to tell them (addicts) what we feel is correct as far as we understand Christianity, and that Christianity is a big part of our therapy..."

   Following his congressional testimony, a nervous Castellani was in spin mode over his insensitive and sectarian remarks. "In a sense, it's a compliment," he told reporters. "They're not a Christian, they're still a Jew. They've just found another part of themselves. I thought I was being kind ... Evidently I'm in error, I apologize for that."

   Jewish leaders immediately criticized Castellani. Rabbi David Sapperstein of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism said that the comments made it clear that the Bush faith-based initiative would lead to public funding of activities which stressed religious conversion.

   "They engage in activities aimed at bringing them (clients) to Jesus. That's fine, but it shouldn't be done with government money.

   Abraham Foxman of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League told the New York Times that Castellani's testimony "clearly illustrates the concern we have that there is no way to separate the efforts to proselytize from the efforts to reform people."

   As Governor of Texas and a candidate for the White House in 2000, Mr. Bush was a staunch supporter of the Teen Challenge organization, and cited its religion-based rehabilitation program as proof of the efficacy of FBOs or "faith-based organizations." Addressing a church audience during the recent campaign, Bush declared: "We need to have mentoring programs energized by government, paid for by government, but who exist not because of government. Teen Challenge is a way to get people off drugs and alcohol. Teen Challenge is a faith-based program that changes people's hearts..."

"WE'RE OUT TO TELL THEM (addicts) THAT WHAT WE FEEL IS CORRECT AS FAR AS WE UNDERSTAND CHRISTIANITY, AND THAT CHRISTIANITY IS A BIG PART OF OUR THERAPY..." -- John Castellani, Teen Challenge Executive Director

   Bush began supporting Teen Challenge when in 1995 a state regulatory agency sought to close a rehab center operated by the group for various violations. The governor then sponsored a series of laws exempting faith-based drug recovery programs from state scrutiny, and regulations that apply to their secular counterparts.

   There have been serious questions, though, about Teen Challenge's claims of high success rates, and its accountability. A report on the beliefnet.com web site last September, for instance, noted "Of the 130 Teen Challenge centers in the United States, only 14 elected to join the Washington, DC-based Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a sort of Consumers Union for evangelical charities."

   An administrative assistance at one Teen Challenge office declared that financial accountability "isn't our priority."

   The various Teen Challenge centers report directly to a national office in Pennsylvania, and last year raised about $50 million. It is not known, though, how much of this comes from a bewildering array of state "faith-based partnership" grants and other programs that direct public money into FBOs.

   Questions have also been raised about Teen Challenge's astounding claims of success in treating drug and alcohol addiction. Broadsides from the group claim "widely-heralded success spanning more than 40 years" since the organization was founded in 1958 by a minister, David Wilkerson.

   Wilkerson, a self-described "country preacher" from rural Pennsylvania said that he saw a story in "Life" magazine about urban street gangs, and "felt a compelling urge to go to New York" and open up a ministry. The outreach began as an evangelization effort, but Wilkerson quickly fused his hard-shell Bible message with efforts to wean drug and alcohol addicts. Teen Challenge cites studies indicating that 88% of program graduates consider the outreach "the most beneficial in their lives." The religious nature of the rehab regimen is clear, though; according to Teen Challenge, sixty percent of program graduates become members of a local church, and 76% attend church services on a regular basis. A report by Capitol Research noted:

"Ninety-two percent claimed that Teen Challenge had a great impact on their lives. Eighty percent credited their ability to abstain from drugs to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The statistic that speaks volumes, however, is the abstention rate. A full 67% of respondents were completely abstaining from drugs and alcohol..."

   As with other FBOs, though, sanguine claims of high success rates inevitably depend on anecdotal accounts, or "cooked" statistics coming from the service providers themselves.

   "Nobody knows whether FBOs work even as well as traditional drug rehabilitation programs, which all have a high rate of recidivism," noted the beliefnet.com profile on Teen Challenge.

   "There has not yet been any research that gives clear evidence that faith-based partnerships are more effective than current models," adds Dr. Mark Chaves, a sociologist at the University of Arizona who has been scrutinizing claims by religion-based social service groups. "Powerful voices are saying that it's OK to be marginalized, and we'll publicly fund you."

   Similar concerns are raised by sociologist Fred DeJong of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Though he considers himself to be an evangelical Christian, DeJong and colleague Beryl Hugen say that in cases where they have examined the claims of phenomenal success from faith-based program, all contained serious flaws in the methodology and reporting.

   All of this suggests that President Bush's faith-based initiative may be not only constitutionally suspect, but a huge entitlement program lacking in rationale and oversight. Bush has repeatedly insisted that his effort to involve churches and other houses of worship is "the next step in welfare reform," and could even replace the traditional model of having government provide an array of services to those in need. On Thursday, for instance, Bush told an audience at a Roman Catholic school in Cleveland, "We should fund the armies of compassion, we should not discriminate against faith-based programs."

   "My administration will be more supportive of the good works done here than any administration in the history of this country because I understand the power of faith, that faith can change lives."

   Faith-based groups, though, like Teen Challenge may be asking for federal tax dollars, and an exemption or legal shield from the sorts of inspection and accountability measure that secular providers must endure. Under the 1996 welfare reform act, "charitable choice" programs were open to religious groups who were empowered to seek public funding of their faith-based outreaches. Teen Challenge and other sectarian providers, though, can flaunt a number of anti-discrimination statutes, by using religion as a litmus test in hiring practices, and even require participants to practice a certain religion. Jerry Nancy, a Teen Challenge CEO told the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice on February 17, 2000 that all of the ministry's treatment centers "require mandatory chapel time" and other religious practices.

   "I'm hoping that Teen Challenge will not have to go through the licensing procedures that clinical organizations have to go through," John Castellani told the Assemblies of God "Mission America' meeting last year. "President Bush loves any program that helps people change their lives," he added. "That's why he loves Teen Challenge."

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