Make a Difference: How One Man Helped Solve America's Poverty Problem

The man who helped Illinois restructure its failed welfare system shares how he was able to change the system to put money in the most efficient and useful hands. Original.

Since the enactment of the federal welfare reform law of 1996, much of the responsibility for welfare has been shifted to the states. MacDougal chaired a governor-appointed task force (1993-1997) to revamp Illinois's welfare system, and in this buoyantly optimistic report, he contends that the Illinois model, though still a work in progress, can serve as a blueprint for other states. A former CEO of a Fortune 1000 electronics company, and a self-described conservative Republican, MacDougal favors federal block grants to states, combined with broad flexibility at the city, county and community levels in how the funds should be allocated. To critics who fear that the states will use block grants irresponsibly, he replies that most governors have done a fine job in the first phase of welfare reform. And to critics who view workfare as a demeaning scheme offering poor wages and benefits, he counters that an ex-welfare recipient's first job is only the first step on the ladder to self-sufficiency. MacDougal calls the Illinois reform drive bipartisan, and some of his proposals seem surprisingly innovative: for example, reorienting the focus to involve the whole family, including the noncustodial parents of welfare children, and creating job training and placement opportunities even for hard-to-place male ex-felons, combined with stringent child support enforcement and a stronger paternity establishment process. MacDougal's suggestions for eliminating mountains of paperwork, harmonizing eligibility requirements and using a computerized information management system to coordinate the fragmented activities of a welter of human service agencies and programs makes his book, despite its leaden prose and padded narrative, useful to policymakers, antipoverty workers and administrators. 16 pages photos. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

MacDougal served as chair of then Illinois governor Jim Edgar's Task Force on Human Services Reform from 1993 to 1998 and was responsible for recommending changes in Illinois welfare programs. Previously he had been a partner with the McKinsey and Company consulting firm and was a CEO at Mark Controls. MacDougal has also been active in Republican politics at both the state and the national levels, but he took a decidedly bipartisan approach to finding solutions for improving the administration of welfare in Illinois and met with welfare recipients to help identify problems. Consequently, major changes were made. Human services programs, such as welfare, transportation, child care, and substance abuse, were consolidated and connected with community agencies and businesses. Mechanisms were put in place to measure outcomes and ensure accountability. Companies such as United Parcel Service, on whose board MacDougal serves, were encouraged to provide jobs for those currently receiving welfare. MacDougal's account is meant to showcase the new system's success stories and inspire others to assist with jobs and training. David Rouse

MacDougal served as chair of the Governor's Task Force on Human Services Reform in Illinois from 1993 to 1998. Using skills acquired as a corporate CEO, he developed a reform strategy that "focused on client self-sufficiency, supported by a one stop, family-centered system at the local level, strong community involvement and clearly measured performance outcomes." This book details the methods the taskforce used to link community groups with government agencies by establishing regional "federations" throughout the state. MacDougal hopes the book will be a manual for other states to use in advancing welfare reform and provides chapter summaries designed to stress the "Principal Points" necessary to keep the reform process on track. Documentation is slight, and the point of view is the author's alone. An optional choice for academic library collections.
-Jill Ortner, SILS, SUNY at Buffalo
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.