WASHINGTON — In the latest sign of a philosophical change in how the government should deliver social services, President Bush's new budget would cut some traditional aid for the poor in such areas as housing and health coverage.
At the same time, some religion-based programs that promote such goals as sexual abstinence and marriage and provide mentors for at-risk children would enjoy increased federal aid.
Both the shift away from long-standing social welfare policies and the willingness to step up spending on programs tied to religious organizations reflect the fact, analysts said, that the administration is more comfortable than many of its predecessors in advocating social service strategies with a moral dimension.
Administration officials said Monday that the increases -- although generally smaller than the cutbacks -- would be made in part through payments to faith-based organizations, a hallmark of Bush's self-described "compassion agenda."
An additional $150 million, for example, is proposed next year for programs aimed at treating drug addicts, keeping at-risk boys from joining gangs, and the mentoring of prisoners' children and newly released prisoners, among other items. Much of this money would be directed toward faith-based groups.
Programs for marriage preservation, "responsible fatherhood" and sexual abstinence would get about $280 million more.
Additional tax breaks would encourage personal contributions to charities.
The size of such increases appear minor, however, compared to the estimated $45 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next 10 years and other reductions to food stamps, community development grants and housing for the disabled -- cuts that social service advocates said Monday could bring major changes to the lives of many aid recipients.
But administration officials said the increases in faith-based funding reflected the philosophy of an administration eager to find what they viewed as better ways to deliver services.
"The president has chosen to go with the programs he thinks are the most effective and, of course, he has continued to maintain a strong belief that partnerships between government and America's armies of compassion mean a lot in the lives of our poor," said Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
