WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi has announced the appointment of Darin S. Selnick as director of the new Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“Darin Selnick has a solid record of accomplishment,” said Secretary Principi. “Under his leadership, VA will enhance its ability to reach out to faith-based and community organizations that can help our veterans.”
The Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives was established June 1 when President Bush signed Executive Order 13342.
The new center will identify existing barriers that limit faith-based and other community organizations from delivering services to veterans and propose initiatives to remove those barriers, including new regulations, procurement procedures, internal policies and outreach activities.
An Air Force veteran, Selnick is a past California state commander for Jewish War Veterans and a former member of the group’s National Executive Committee. He joined VA in June 2001 as a special assistant assigned to VA’s Learning University.
VA has a long history of working with faith-based and community organizations, with about 40 percent of its grants for homeless programs going to faith-based and community organizations. In addition, Secretary Principi created a task force to assess the current state of services being provided veterans by faith-based and community organizations and to propose changes in the regulations governing how those relationships are managed.
The new center will operate under VA’s Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. It will work closely with the Office of Homeless Veterans programs, which currently oversees VA’s efforts with faith-based and community organizations on behalf of homeless veterans.
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