The goal of welfare reform is not simply reducing the rolls but improving the lives of people. Illinois, unlike many other states, has plowed every dollar it has saved from the reduced welfare lists into social services, especially an expanded day-care program. It received two performance bonuses from the federal Department of Health and Human Services last year. But for all the success, Washington, MacDougal and all the others I interviewed caution that bigger challenges lie ahead. Many of the women who remain on welfare have no work experience, minimal education and drug habits.
Unemployed men present an even larger problem.
Many have criminal records, which cause employers to reject them out of hand, even in this time of labor shortages. No good can come of this. The temptation to hang out with your man is just too great. But Washington is optimistic. And when the community sees people, one by one, beginning to make it, the word spreads that you can make it, too.