Ideas and information for members and friends of Hudson Institute Welfare Policy Center Links Policy to Practice “When you’re in the ‘ideas business,’ as ents stay employed.” we are, the implementation and execution of A new Hudson project focuses on state ideas should matter as much as the develop- flexibility, the next logical step after devolution. ment of the ideas themselves.” These are the “We’ve moved away from top-down federal words of Hudson’s Jay Hein, and the guiding approaches to welfare, looking to states to philosophy of the Welfare Policy develop solutions,” Jay says. “Now Center (WPC), which he directs. we’re looking for ways to give states The WPC not only participates greater flexibility to integrate pro- in the policy conversation at the grams, to apply funding from various national level, but also engages in federal sources to achieve broad the “street-level” work that goes on goals, and to break through the silos in local communities. The WPC of all the different state agencies that contributes to national policy by serve low-income residents.” identifying and developing ideas The Hudson project will recom- that emerge from state and local Jay Hein mend new, more flexible policies for efforts. At the same time, the WPC federal agencies, and will develop helps evaluate and enhance implementation blueprints for communities to realize the of national policies at the community level. potential of this greater flexibility. The project The broad portfolio of the Welfare Policy is led by Jennifer Noyes, who directs the Center demonstrates that “welfare” no longer WPC’s office in Madison, Wisconsin. is simply a euphemism for “the dole.” Three of And, of course, Hudson also is involved the WPC’s primary areas of focus for 2003 are in the reauthorization of the 1996 federal wel- community health care, faith-based organiza- fare reform law—advising the Bush Admini- INSIDE THIS ISSUE: tions, and the second stage of welfare reform. stration and a number of governors on the reauthorization legislation expected to pass Leadership message from this year. Welfare Reform Gary Geipel Hudson was actively involved in the national debate that led to enactment of fed- Faith-based Organizations A Military Transformed eral welfare reform in 1996, having helped The WPC has established a leading repu- design the Wisconsin program on which the tation in the field of faith-based social services, Secretary of Defense federal legislation was based. Hudson was a largely through the work of Amy Sherman, Rumsfeld and Vice President leading advocate of the work-based safety net director of the Faith in Communities initiative. Cheney Honored at and the devolution of authority for welfare Hudson recently was awarded a major grant programs to state and local governments. from The Pew Charitable Trusts to take a lead- Doolittle Award Gala Today Hudson’s Welfare Policy Center is ing role in its Faith and Service Technical Hudson’s Events Covered a focused on the second stage of welfare Education Network (FASTEN). The network is Spectrum of Policy Debate reform: effective implementation of the wel- designed to develop the potential of faith-based fare-to-work model, through greater flexibility charities. and integration of all the various programs “Faith-based charities typically are small, that support low-income workers. grass-roots organizations,” says Jay, “so the “Now that half of those who were on first barrier to realizing their full potential is welfare rolls have moved to work,” Jay says, that we simply don’t know enough about “we need to shift our focus to workforce them. A second is that, while emerging development, helping former welfare recipi- research indicates that faith-based charities See Center continued on the next page Spring 2003 Dear Friends of Hudson Institute: Center . continued from previous page Hudson Institute is an organization dedicated to “applied policy research.” Trouble is, those three words are successful, most lack the capacity to build on that success.” simply cannot convey what my colleagues and I feel is Hudson’s work on FASTEN includes three main responsi- the excitement, importance, and humbling challenge of bilities: our mission. • Design a catalysts program. This effort will identify and establish partnerships with faith-based intermediaries— Applied: That means work- larger, locally based organizations that can provide training, ing in the real world. capacity-building, and other assistance to small grass-roots Running towards the organizations in the community. toughest challenge; not • Establish a peer-to-peer learning network. This will enable running away from it. thought leaders and practitioners in faith-based charities to Taking out a clean sheet of exchange ideas and information, linking policy and practice. paper to address an old “Real experts are out there in the grass-roots, but they’re not problem in a completely well known or well organized,” Jay says. new way. • Design and implement a web-based clearinghouse of infor- Policy: That is how things mation on and for faith-based charities. In particular, the get done, inside government and outside. Defining the website will foster communities of practice around topical problem and a strategy to overcome it. Understanding areas of research—such as crime prevention and job train- the opportunity and a plan to seize it. ing—by offering the best available information in the field and access to the peer-to-peer network. Research: That means serious analysis. Grounding in FASTEN’s primary audience is the faith-based charities them- experience. Recognition of best practices. Under- selves, but it is also designed to help policy makers and philan- standing what is at stake and who has something to thropists make better investments in faith-based organizations to contribute. advance their social agenda. Here is just a small sample of how we have realized Hudson also has been involved in the debate in Washington our mission in recent months: on faith-based organizations. In particular, Hudson has advised the Administration on the design and implementation of the •A major U.S. corporation has given Hudson Institute Compassion Capital Fund. This $30 million commitment has the the opportunity to devise a wholly new approach to same goal as the Pew initiative—to build the capacity of grass- employer-provided health insurance, to get beyond roots, faith-based organizations by investing in intermediary orga- the high-cost/low-value approach that plagues nizations—and was inspired in part by Amy Sherman’s ground- American businesses. breaking report, Empowering Compassion: The Strategic Role of • Recognizing the scope of change that lies ahead in Intermediary Organizations in Building Capacity Among and the Middle East, Hudson’s foreign-policy team regu- Enhancing the Impact of Community Transformations, published larly brings new-generation leaders from the region by Hudson in 2002. together with U.S. policymakers in Washington, and offers guidance on the establishment of a stable and Community Health Care representative new government in Iraq. Just as Hudson’s work on welfare innovation in Wisconsin contributed to reform at the national level, the WPC is finding • One of the nation’s largest charitable foundations national health care solutions in community-based initiatives. has asked Hudson to lead FASTEN, the most com- Hudson is focusing on new ways to reduce costs and improve prehensive private-sector initiative to strengthen care for low-income, uninsured patients. The WPC is working to faith-based social services in distressed urban com- turn local successes into national reform in three key ways: munities. • Community coaching: Through the Community Health • In our headquarters city of Indianapolis, Hudson Leadership Network, which Hudson helped establish, the Institute will lead the implementation and testing of a WPC is helping over three dozen communities initiate and new system of charity care designed to provide enhance their local efforts to serve the uninsured by using health care to all uninsured persons. existing resources. • Policy: Hudson is working with the federal Department of When you support Hudson Institute, you allow us to Health and Human Services and state officials to understand continue these and many more initiatives designed the community-based health care movement, and promoting to strengthen our communities, improve the quality of policies to foster and accelerate local solutions. One example life in America, and extend the benefits of freedom is a Texas state summit Hudson is co-sponsoring with the and economic opportunity to other nations. We thank National Council of State Legislatures and the National you every day. Association of Counties. Sincerely, • Information: A Hudson book project, of which Jay is co- author, and other publications are introducing the communi- ty health reform movement to policy makers and community leaders across the nation, and offering a blueprint for its Gary L. Geipel expanded success. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer For more information on the work of the Welfare Policy Center, visit Hudson’s website at www.hudson.org. 2 A Military Transformed by Alan W. Dowd This article appeared in American Outlook Today at blood and less sacrifice than the previous conflict. And www.hudson.org on May 8, 2003. this, in turn, conditioned the American military to be overly cautious, curbing its audacity and leading An aircraft carrier leaves port crammed not with its inevitably to more low-risk, low-impact wars. usual complement of F-18s, F-14s, and Navy aviators, but In Iraq and Afghanistan, this cycle has been broken. with an odd mix of transport helicopters and one thou- The U.S. military has replaced timidity with audacity, and sand Army Special Ops forces. the American people have traded their impatience and America’s amphibious warriors—the Marines—fight a squeamishness for resolve. Of course, we are not the first pair of land wars without conducting an amphibious inva- generation to witness such a transformation.