Illinois Commission on Poverty Elimination and Economic Security Meeting Agenda and Minutes March 16, 2023

Illinois Commission on Poverty Elimination and Economic Security Meeting

Thursday March 16, 2023

10:00am - 11:30am

Recording

Members:

Appointment Member Present/Absent
Member of General Assembly Senator Kimberly A. Lightford  Present
Member of General Assembly Senator Dale Fowler
Member of General Assembly Representative Lamont J. Robinson, Jr.
Member of General Assembly Representative Jeff Keicher
Member of the Judiciary TBD
Representative of an anti-poverty organization focusing on urban and suburban poverty Evelyn Diaz - Co Chair President Heartland Alliance Present
Representative of an anti-poverty organization focusing on rural poverty Co Chair - TBD
Individual who has experienced deep poverty Channyn Lynne Parker, Howard Brown Health, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Executive Leadership Present
Individual who has experienced deep poverty Oriane E. "Annie" Hewitt Present
Representative of an organization that advocates for health care access, affordability and availability Angela Curran, JD, LLM President & CEO, Pillars Community Health Present
Representative of an organization that advocates for persons with mental illness TBD
Representative of an organization that advocates for children and youth Audra Wilson, President and CEO ,Shriver Center on Poverty Law Present
Representative of an organization that advocates for equity and equality in education Dr. Mark Eichenlaub, Regional Superintendent of Schools, St. Clair County Regional Office of Education #50 Present
Representative of an organization that advocates for individuals who are homeless Lisa Stanley, Decatur Township Supervisor
Representative of a statewide anti-hunger organization Kate Maehr, Executive Director and CEO Greater Chicago Food Depository
Representative of an organization that advocates for military veterans TBD
Representative of an organization that advocates for individuals with disabilities Dr. Charles A. Montorio - Archer, ESQ., MPA, President and CEO, One Hope United Present
Representative of an organization that advocates for immigrants Juan Manuel Calderón, Chief Operating Officer, The Puerto Rican Cultural Center Present
Representative of a statewide faith-based organization that provides direct social services in Illinois Pastor Jason McKinnies, Senior Pastor, Southern Illinois Worship Center Present
Representative of an organization that advocates for economic security for women Jennifer Groce, Director of Community Promotion, Northern Illinois University Present
Representative of an organization that advocates for older adults TBD
Representative of a labor organization that represents primarily low and middle-income wage earners Beth Menz, Vice President and Home Care Director SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas
Representative of school districts in this State Al Llorens Vice President Board of Directors Illinois Education Association Present
Representative of county governments in this State Pam Davidson, Knox County Board Chairwoman Present
Representative of municipal corporation governments in this State Daniel Lurie, Chief of Policy, City of Chicago

Administrators:

Official Present/Absent
Grace B. Hou, Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services Present
Dana Kelly, Chief Policy Officer, Illinois Department of Human Services Present
Kari Branham, Special Projects Administrator Present

Interagency Working Group members in attendance:

  1. Deputy Director Marc Staley, Illinois Governor's Office of Management and Budget

Guests:

  1. Emily Metz, Program Director, Inclusive Economy Lab, University of Chicago
  2. Adonia Bekele, Portfolio Manager, Inclusive Economy Lab, University of Chicago
  3. Caronina Grimble, Director, IDHS-Office of Strategy, Equity and Transformation
  4. Jeremy Rosen, Representative of Shriver Center on Poverty Law
  5. Kim Tate, Legislative Staff of Senator Kimberly Lightford
  6. Sierra Roberts, Legislative Staff of Senator Kimberly Lightford

Agenda

  1. Welcome Roll Call (5 mins)
  2. Approval of December 5, 2022 Meeting Minutes (5 mins)
    • Roll Call Vote
  3. Public Comment - Open (5 mins)
    • Subject to written comment in advance
  4. Commission Housekeeping (10 mins)
    1. Introduction of Kari Branham
    2. Membership Updates
    3. Subcommittee Participation
    4. Accomplishments Update
    5. Commission Annual Report
  5. Special Presentation - IL Guaranteed Income Pilot (25 mins) Inclusive Economy Lab - University of Chicago
    • Emily Metz, Program Director
    • Adonia Bekele, Portfolio Manager
  6. Subcommittee and Regional Convening Report Out, Updates, Next Steps (15 mins)
    1. Senator Dale Fowler - Pillar 2, Regional Convening
    2. Jennifer Groce - Pillar 4
    3. Al Llorens - Pillar 5
    4. Dana Kelly - Pillar 1 and 3 (for Chairs not in attendance)
  7. Discussion (20 mins)
    • Feedback on subcommittee structure and goals
    • Ideas for action items
    • How can we further build the strength of our subcommittees?
  8. Next Steps and Adjournment (5 mins)

Attachments:

Minutes

  1. Housekeeping - Administrator Kelly
    • The meeting will be recorded in compliance to Open Meetings Act.
    • Members will need to participate in roll call for attendance and for approval of previous meeting minutes.
  2. Welcome Roll Call
    • Co-Chair Evelyn Diaz welcomed everybody and gave an overview of the agenda.
    • Administrator Kelly called the roll and declared quorum.
      1. Senator Kimberly Lighford - present
      2. Senator Dale Fowler - absent
      3. Representative Lamont Robinson - absent
      4. Representative Jeff Keicher - absent
      5. Evelyn Diaz - present
      6. Channyn Lynn Parker - present
      7. Angela Curran - present
      8. Audra Wilson - present
      9. Dr. Mark Eichenlaub - present
      10. Lisa Stanley - absent
      11. Dr. Charles Montorio-Archer - present
      12. Pastor Jason McKinnies - present
      13. Jennifer Groce - present
      14. Juan Manuel Calderon - present
      15. Beth Menz - absent
      16. Al Lorens - present
      17. Pam Davidson - present
      18. Daniel Laurie - absent
      19. Annie Hewitt - present
  3. Approval of Previous Minutes - December 5, 2022
    • Dr. Charles Montorio-Archer moved to approve, Pam Davidson seconded.
    • Roll call vote for approval:
      1. Senator Kimberly Lighford - aye
      2. Senator Dale Fowler - absent
      3. Representative Lamont Robinson - absent
      4. Representative Jeff Keicher - absent
      5. Evelyn Diaz - aye
      6. Channyn Lynn Parker - missed the roll call vote
      7. Angela Curran - aye
      8. Audra Wilson - missed the roll call vote
      9. Dr. Mark Eichenlaub - aye
      10. Lisa Stanley - absent
      11. Dr. Charles Montorio-Archer - aye
      12. Pastor Jason McKinnies - aye
      13. Jennifer Groce - aye
      14. Juan Manuel Calderon - aye
      15. Beth Menz - absent
      16. Al Lorens - aye
      17. Pam Davidson - aye
      18. Daniel Laurie - absent
      19. Annie Hewitt - aye
  4. Public Comment - Subject to written comment in advance, none received.
  5. Commission Housekeeping - Administrator Kelly
    1. Introduction of Kari Branham - Administrator Kelly will be on maternity leave soon and Kari Branham will be taking over as liaison to the Poverty Commission and IWGP until the former comes back in August.
    2. Required State Trainings - members were reminded to complete the required State trainings as soon as possible. Len will be reaching out with more information and to follow up.
    3. Commission Annual Report - the Commission is required to submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly. Kari is already working on a draft and will be sending out to the Commission late April or May.
    4. Membership Updates
      • Five membership gaps: member of the judiciary, Representative of an organization that advocates for military veterans, Representative of an organization that advocates for older adults, Representative of an organization that advocates for persons with mental illness, Representative of an anti-poverty organization focusing on rural poverty (will serve as co-chair)
      • IDHS is working with the General Assembly to appoint the missing members
    5. Subcommittee Participation
      • Five subcommittees, one for each pillar, have been convened in the past month.
      • Pillar 1 subcommittee is still missing a chairperson
      • Commission and IWGP members were asked to join at least one subcommittee. Public stakeholders were also invited to join. Additional members can still be added, names can be sent to Len Conant.
      • Subcommittees will meet again before July
    6. Accomplishments Update - Secretary
      1. Smart Start Illinois
        • Partnership between IDHS and ISBE
        • Recommendations for the FY24 DHS budget includes $175 million in GRF foundational funding to support a 10% rate increase for early intervention providers, expansion of DHS' home visiting programs and $130 million to support workforce compensation contracts for childcare programs across the State and to make some critical investments to childcare and management systems.
      2. Home Illinois
        • Led by Chief Homelessness Officer, Christine Haley
        • Comprehensive multi-agency package that includes investments in IDHS, IHDA, HFS, DOC and others
        • Chief Haley also launched roundtable listening sessions across the State that focuses particularly on black homelessness to understand and reduce the disproportionality that happens around black communities
      3. TANF Cash Increase
        • Proposing to increase the cash grant from a 40% FPL to 50% to the 17,000 families that are currently receiving TANF
        • Also, one of the goals is to increase enrollment in the TANF program because TANF can very much effectively reduce deep poverty
      4. Guaranteed Income Pilot
        • Will be discussed in the presentation
  6. Special Presentation - IL Guaranteed Income Pilot, Adonia Bekele, Portfolio Manager, Inclusive Economy Lab, University of Chicago
    • Cash transfer program particularly for those experiencing homelessness
    • For FY24, the focus population are early childhood and homeless people
    • Joint effort between the Homelessness Task Force and the Poverty Commission, Inclusive Economy Lab as the Evaluation Partner
    • Pilot sites: East St. Louis, Peoria, Chicago and Suburban Cook County
    • $3.5 million annual funding which will come from Home Illinois for FY23 and from GRF allocation by former Representative Greenwood for FY24
    • FY23: one-time payments for families living in shelters; 350 families (treatment group) will receive a substantive one-time cash transfer; another 350 families (control group) will receive one-time $500 for participating and to encourage them to participate in the survey
    • For FY24, payments will be made over time for doubled up families identified via the McKinney Vento school homeless liaisons
    • Potential outcomes to be evaluated include resolving emergency shelter need and children's educational outcomes
    • Vendor AidKit will disperse applications, payments and survey; payments will be made thru bank accounts and payroll cards
    • Eligible families include those who are accessing emergency shelter services while experiencing HUD literal homelessness at the time of application; families should not have an active offer of Rapid Rehousing or other permanent housing subsidy; Household should have at least one guardian and one child under 18
    • Program is rolling out right now, a webinar will be held late March for all the four CoCs for reviewers, site managers, individual caseworkers who might help administer applications; flyers will be distributed to families early April and online application will be launched and opened by end of April and will remain open until end June; families will receive benefits between the time they applied and the end of June
    1. Questions/clarifications/comments:
      1. The amount of the one-time payment for the treatment group has not been finalized but it is anticipated to be in the range of $7,000 to $10,000 but will be adjusted to reach a larger population while making sure that the benefit is meaningful enough to avoid homelessness.
      2. Application will not be advertised to avoid adverse sort of participation like people entering the shelter system in search of the program which previously happened in 2009 with the expansion of the rapid rehousing. Around 700 families are targeted to be enrolled to the program.
      3. Service providers and shelter providers will basically do the work, they will identify families who are naturally showing up in shelters which is the start of the process versus advertising it.
      4. To keep the program barrier-less as much as possible, a heuristic approach will be used to verify information of applicants by using their placement in shelters. For documents that need to be uploaded, it will be simplified such as in lieu of a government ID, selfies with the date underneath can be submitted.
      5. Measures of success would include the number of people enrolled in the program and the amount of funds distributed by June, families have either resolved their emergency shelter services or are very close to doing so by September, and a long-term measure would be that children are thriving and doing better in school than they were before.
      6. The homeless population was chosen for the program because it has been determined that they are living in or at risk of or have just fallen into deep poverty.
      7. Because the program is also a study, there will be a control group and a treatment group which will both receive one-time payments but the control group will receive a small benefit vs the treatment group will receive a bigger amount. Receiving the payment does not disqualify the families to the Rapid Rehousing and are actually encouraged to get Rapid Rehousing support. However, families already enrolled in Rapid Rehousing cannot apply to the program.
      8. The program wants to emphasize that if a family is under the control group, they should continue to leverage the resources around them and be able to successfully self-resolved.
      9. Families who will continue to engage in future surveys will be paid around $25-50 dollars.
      10. The FY23 first phase of the program was designed with one target population i.e. the emergency shelter population to be able to easily execute the program and get the funding out the door on time. The FY24 second round is being designed to include more services and service providers e.g. district libraries, park districts, school districts, etc. and will use the data that will be gathered during FY23.
  7. Subcommittee Reports, Updates, Next Steps - Co-Chair Diaz reminded members of the one-page document from Administrator Kelly summarizing the initial action items during the subcommittee meetings that members can review or comment on
    1. Regional Convening, Cairo, IL, March 3, 2023 - Kari Branham
      • Hosted by Senator Fowler
      • Another regional convening is being scheduled in East St. Louis which will be hosted by Commission member Dr. Mark Eichenlaub. The date is still being finalized.
    2. Pillar 4 - Chairperson Jennifer Groce
      • A working document on action items was created where subcommittee members can input programs that they know or what their agencies are working on or implementing that intersects with Pillar 4
      • There is a need to see some additional expertise particularly on transportation issues and legal issues as well as re-entry and childcare
      • The group might need to meet on an almost monthly cadence to be able to complete the inventory of programs that are currently being implemented or programs that are potentially underway and how to identify strategies that might be existing in those programs
    3. Pillar 5 - Chairperson Al Lorens
      • Highlighted the importance of communicating to Illinoisans all the progress being achieved towards the fulfilment of the bigger goal
      • Also identified as important was the funding to sustain the pandemic era investments as they will end soon
      • Highlighted streamlining of the administrative requirements in securing State funding
    4. Pillar 1 - Administrator Kelly
      • Commission member Audra Wilson volunteered to chair the subcommittee
      • Needs a representative from the IDHS Division of Early Childhood, WIC
      • A Department of Revenue representative might be helpful with regards to supporting a childcare tax credit legislation
      • Awareness campaign is needed for the summer EBT that is coming out and additional awareness for other benefits that are available to families
      • A working document will also be circulated among the members to get more ideas
    5. Pillar 2 - Administrator Kelly
      • Chaired by Senator Dale Fowler
      • Todd Fuller from the Homelessness Task Force made a presentation on the Home Illinois plan on behalf of Chief Christine Haley
      • Some ideas that came out include increase operating support for non-congregate shelters; creation of medical respite benefit within Medicaid; guaranteed income pilot for families experiencing homelessness; study housing policy options for returning citizen i.e. post incarcerations; create an initiative to address student homelessness; and then to simplify documentation requirements for housing assistance
    6. Pillar 3 - Administrator Kelly
      • Strategy includes the direct cash assistance program that is currently being deployed
      • Also, the State is working with Code of America to improve the benefit enrollment systems across the nation
      • The group looked at a study done by the Urban Institute about the benefit uptake of the State of Illinois
    7. Next Steps - a list of recommendations will be shared to the respective subcommittees along with the pillar briefs; members can add or mark recommendations that they think should be part of the action items
  8. Next Steps and Adjournment - Co-Chair Diaz
    • Members were reminded to select a subcommittee if they have not done so yet
    • Members can recommend any staff, colleagues or organizations who would be interested in joining the subcommittees
    • The subcommittees will be working on and finalizing their action items and may meet one or more times in the following months
    • Recommended action items will be compiled in a one or two-page document that will be sent to the Governor and General Assembly by July 1st
    • Kari will be working and finalizing a basic report for the Commission that will be issued to the General Assembly for 2023 and will be shared to the members maybe late April or early May
    • Al Lorens moved to adjourn, Jennifer Groce seconded.
    • The meeting was adjourned at 11:26am.