Are government consolidation and local control mutually exclusive?
I asked that question last month in a column about the future of public transportation in greater Chicagoland, but today’s focus is on the state itself, as Gov. JB Pritzker Tuesday announced plans for a new state agency that would administer every service under the umbrella of early childhood.
This includes, according to Pritzker, block grants under the education department, day care licensing through family services and early intervention, child care and home visits through human services. The basic mechanics start with an executive order but will require General Assembly action next year. The point person is Ann Whalen, who has been Advance Illinois policy director since 2019.
Although officially a State Board of Education position, Whalen’s collaboration with the other agencies and the governor’s office will be the blueprint for establishing the blueprint for sustainable success.
At this early juncture, the selling point is an attempt at eradicating the difficulty Illinoisans experience when trying to obtain services through multiple agencies. But any time consolidation proposals surface, it’s important to determine whether the status quo is inefficient or whether the divided responsibilities have demonstrated justification.
Consider other aspects of state government: the Department of Natural Resources has its own law enforcement branch separate from Illinois State Police. Under the broad concept of health care are things like the Department of Veterans’ Affairs long-term care facilities and the Department of Corrections managing health for its incarcerated population. My kids’ driver education teachers are high school district employees, they don’t work for the Secretary of State.
Although there is plenty of overlap in these and other agencies (such as in police training, health department inspections of VA homes and road test administration certification), there also some aspects of delivering services that understandably require separation of powers.
All of which is to say a unified agency is appealing if it can indeed deliver “a more equitable, integrated, and holistic system of services for young children and families,” as the governor’s office promises, but Pritzker will bear the burden of demonstrating consolidation also leaves the existing agencies better able to execute their own remaining priorities.
A chief concern is the Department of Children and Family Services, which needs all the help it can get to operate with competence, but neither education nor human services are currently flawless.
This initiative isn’t surprising given Pritzker’s work to launch Smart Start Illinois and allocated $250 million in the current fiscal year to address preschool shortages, improve pay for child care and early intervention workers and more. Announcing plans and budgeting money is important, but the proof is in measurable metrics depicting agencies operating more smoothly than before.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
Media Feeds All
via Shaw Media Local https://ift.tt/UXgfIDd
October 26, 2023 at 06:08AM
Illinois Delivered 