DETROIT — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he wants to find ways to make federal funding available to faith-based addiction recovery programs.
Kennedy made the comments after visiting Sheepgate, a Christian recovery and treatment program in Colfax, Iowa, last week. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Kennedy said programs like Sheepgate have not received federal funding because of a Biden administration policy he described as an effort “to stop all assistance to faith-based recovery programs and to discourage the state from supporting them.”
Federal guidelines allow religious organizations to compete for public grants, but direct federal funding generally cannot be used for explicitly religious activities, such as mandatory worship, proselytizing or religious instruction. People receiving services also cannot be required to participate in religious activities and must have access to appropriate secular alternatives.
Kennedy said the Trump administration has changed the policy but acknowledged that barriers to funding remain.
“We’ve changed that policy at the top, but there are still impediments to us getting the money to these kind of programs,” Kennedy said, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch. “This program is entirely funded by private donors, and that’s getting harder and harder for them to do. And we want to make sure that these kind of programs — they serve such a critical role — we want to make sure that they continue to function.”
Kennedy has previously expressed support for faith-based addiction recovery. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the White House Great American Recovery Initiative. The effort is intended to bring together federal agencies, health care systems, faith-based organizations and private partners to address addiction prevention and long-term recovery.
Kennedy also announced a $100 million federal investment tied to the initiative. He said faith-based organizations would be fully eligible to participate.
Supporters of faith-based recovery programs say spiritual support, structure and a sense of community can play an important role in helping people overcome addiction. However, critics caution that religious programming should not replace evidence-based treatment. Medications such as methadone and buprenorphine are backed by research and are recognized as effective treatments for opioid use disorder.
