Leadership in An Age of Devolution: County Commissioners' Role in the Implementation of Appalachian Ohio'S Welfare Reform

Abstract

What constitutes effective leadership by county commissioners in the implementation of welfare reform? How do contextual factors influence leadership? Findings are based on interviews and surveys of county commissioners in Appalachian Ohio, conducted in 2000. We focus on county commissioners' relationships with Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services and with county welfare agency directors, and on the commissioners' perspectives on devolution. Commissioners provide mixed assessments of the state, but uniformly positive reviews of county welfare agency directors and the concept of devolution. Evidence exists of effective leadership, but it is limited in nature. We discuss lessons learned about the implementation of welfare reform by county government. When asked for an example of a county commissioner exercising leadership for the betterment of welfare policy in an Appalachian Ohio county, a former state official did not have to think very hard. He cited the case of a commissioner who used her status in the community to pull together representatives from a local college, the Community Action Committee, the county's economic development office, and the local welfare agency. These four organizations that often operated in a disjointed manner, combined forces on several goals. These included bringing new jobs to the county, conducting a needs analysis related to broadband communication, and working with the private sector in order to implement welfare reform goals. The official concluded that actions such as this were relatively rare; he estimated that no more than 15% of commissioners exercised such leadership skills (Kalis 2001). What constitutes effective leadership by county commissioners? To what extent is leadership constrained by contextual factors, such as the rural nature of Appalachian Ohio counties and the skills of welfare agency directors? These questions are at the heart of this paper