Involving Clients inWelfare Policy-making

Welfare policy in the 1980s placed more responsibility on poor people to get ottwettare, on the one hand, and excluded these same people from policy discussions about how they can best exercise this responsibility, on the other. Through the support ofa private philanthropy, welfare recipients have been involved in implementing welfare-to-work policy, including the Job Opportunities in the BusinessSector provisions of the Family Support Act, in Illinois since 1986. Clients have had important roles in problem formulation, model program development, policy development, and policy implementation. They have contributed to a shift from compulsory, job search-focused programs to a voluntary, education-focused one. This article describes this experience and its implications for social workers who are involved in policy development. Key Words: Family Support Act; implementation; policy-making; welfare; welfare recipients The Family Support Act of 1988, which has beencalled "the most significant overhaul ofthe wel-fare system in half a century " ("After Years of Debate, " 1988, p. 349), mandates more people to sign up for work programs but also makes available more federal dollars for education, training, and child care for welfare recipients. Legislative testi-mony on welfare reform that led to this new law placed increased responsibilities on poor people to get off welfare, on the one hand, and excluded these same people from policy discussions about how they can best exercise those responsibilities, on th