There are some problems that government is just not equipped to solve.

Unfortunately, many people today believe it is the governments responsibility to solve all problems and we as individuals are only responsible for sending in our tax dollars. After April 15, we wash our hands. But government is not always the answer. Sometimes we need to step up as individuals and as Christians to do what need to be done.

Case in point. The Governor of Alabama has a problem. The government there is not equipped to deal with the problem of re-integrating former prisoners into society.

[NCR]Bill Johnson, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, said the state releases 11,000 inmates a year and isn’t capable of providing the services necessary to help them readjust. Even if the state had the funds, such programs aren’t popular with taxpayers, he said…”We’re admitting we can’t solve the problem,” Johnson said.

So the Governor has turned to the only people who can help. People of Faith.

Gov. Bob Riley on Tuesday (May 20) asked Alabama churches to shoulder the burden of caring for newly released inmates, saying the state lacks the flexibility and funds to help them successfully re-enter society.

Leaders from churches and charitable groups were asked to provide a wide range of services to former inmates, including employment assistance, housing, clothing, health care and cash.

I am of the opinion that many services that the government now attempts to provide are really the domain of people. The government spends too much money, has a vested interest in the status quo and thus cannot adjust readily to the facts on the ground. Charities are much more efficient and flexible. Specifically to this case, rehabilitation is clearly the domain of charities and churches.

“We allowed government to come in and take over what God’s people are supposed to do,” she said [Deborah Daniels, state director of the Prison Fellowship Ministry]. “We talk about crime. But crime is sin. Apart from God, every child is troubled.”

Vickie Locke, director of the new state program, told potential participants that they have an advantage operating outside of government. If a church wants to buy a car for a newly released inmate who lacks transportation, it can do so, she said. Government has to provide cookie-cutter solutions to sometimes complex problems.

In a written program overview distributed to religious leaders, the state suggested 80 ways churches can help, including everything from financial counseling to cash for emergencies. They also could mentor former inmates, provide day care for their children and help them write resumes.

We will likely see from challenges to this legislation, but since government is not funding it just referring to it the courts *should* have nothing to say. What should the charities and Churches say? Thanks, we got it from here.