At Work in State Government

Greg Marcus

Program staff, Minnesota Department of Education

When President Clinton signed the bipartisan welfare reform bill in 1996, Greg Marcus was working as a committee staffer for the Minnesota legislature. As the reforms took effect and states began receiving block grants for early childhood care, Greg joined the staff of the legislature’s new Early Childhood Committee. 

Greg watched as the legislators discussed how to use the funds, and was amazed to see Republicans “lining up with Democrats to produce a result that had no provision for kids to stay at home for the first year or two of their lives.”

Supporting Families

As a new father with a conservative bent, Greg got together with a likeminded legislator on his committee and said, “What can we do to promote parents spending time with their kids, especially when they’re really young?”

They came up with a program that remains in place under the Minnesota Department of Human Services—the At-Home Infant Child Care Program. As part of a sliding scale assistance program that helps parents fund child care while they are working or going to school, it pays eligible parents who want to stay home with their infants 80 percent of what they would have received for daycare in a state-sponsored child care institution.

While Greg admits not everyone loved the idea, neither side could argue against it because they realized it was about keeping families and children together.

Embracing Sphere Sovereignty

Why did he want to see the legislature address this issue? The answer stems from his commitment to the concept of sphere sovereignty—that each institution of society has its own authority and responsibilities. “Families have God-given rights and responsibilities to care for their children, and the state shouldn’t automatically assume those,” he explains.

Greg first encountered sphere sovereignty in a book by Center for Public Justice (CPJ) president Jim Skillen, which he read while a student at Dordt College. He embraced the idea and has been quietly promoting CPJ’s philosophy in his life and work for nearly 20 years. “When I worked for the legislature, I often relied on the Center’s resources, particularly on issues related to non-public school choice,” he says.

Greg grew up in rural Minnesota, where, he says, “reading materials were often more readily available than friends.” He read a lot, on a wide range of subjects. When it came time to choose a vocation, he figured government might be a common denominator. “As a young person I thought that, rather than having to select one area of interest, I could chose government and keep tabs on it all.”

Today, he’s involved with measuring school progress on the federal No Child Left Behind program for the Minnesota Department of Education. While he’s no longer influencing legislation, his Christian outlook continues to inform his work.

“I think it’s good to have kids know certain things and to know that the schools are accountable for what they teach. But I also know we have to balance our desire for accountability with the fact that children are first and foremost created beings—we need to remember we’re not dealing with the production of widgets.”   

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