AGENDA - Interagency Working Group on Poverty Elimination and Economic Security July 25, 2023

Interagency Working Group on Poverty Elimination and Economic Security

Tuesday, July 25, 2023 1:00-2:00 PM

Recording

Statutory Members in attendance:

Grace Hou - Chairperson, IDHS
Elizabeth Vogt - Representative of Dir. Paula Basta, Illinois Department on Aging
Glenda Corbett - Representative of Dir. Paula Basta, Illinois Department on Aging
Tyler Bohannon - Representative of Dir. Kristi Jones, Illinois Department of Agriculture
Jason Horwitz - Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Anna Koeppel - Representative of Dir. Jane Flanagan, Illinois Department of Labor
Dorothy Ingebrigtsen - Representative of Deputy Director Marc Staley, Illinois Governor's Office of Management and Budget
Janice Phillips - Illinois Department of Public Health

Invited Members:

Emily Mueller - Illinois Housing Development Authority
Carrie Thomas - Illinois Department of Employment Security
Jenny Aguirre - Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

Administrator: Kari Branham - IDHS

Guests:

Matthew Rodriguez - Equity Imperative
Erik Turner - Illinois Housing Development Authority

Agenda

Welcome (Roll Call)
Approval of Meeting Minutes: March 14, 2023
Public Comment - subject to written comment in advance
IWGP Housekeeping
1. Commission Membership Updates
2. Subcommittee Composition
3. IWGP Annual Report Update
4. Accomplishments Update
Discussion - Work underway in your agency that compliments/aligns with the Pillar FY24 Action Goals
State of Illinois FY24 Budget Initiatives Update
Next Steps and Adjournment

Minutes

Welcome - Secretary Hou welcomed everybody to the meeting and provided opening remarks. She also introduced Dr. Janice Phillips, the new Assistant Director of IDPH which will be replacing Dr. Amaal Tokars to the IWGP. Dr. Phillips also provided some background information on herself.
Roll Call - Kari led the roll call. Out of nine statutory member agencies, seven were present. Quorum was declared.
Approval of Meeting Minutes: March 14, 2023 - Mr. Horwitz moved to approve the minutes seconded by Ms. Mueller. The group unanimously approved the March 14, 2023 minutes.
Public Comment - subject to written comment in advance. None received.
IWGP Housekeeping
1. Commission Membership Updates
  - Evelyn Diaz will be leaving her position in Hartland Alliance and will not be able to serve as Co-Chair to the Commission anymore. Audra Wilson is a candidate to replace her.
  - Also vacant is the representative of an organization that advocates for older adults. Department on Aging will make recommendations per Liz Vogt. Kari will also reach out for Coalition on Limited English-Speaking Elderly.
  - Secretary suggested to look at possible candidates from the downstate area as sometimes there is heavy representation from the Chicago area. Kari/IDHS will send list as to where the gaps are and what areas members currently represent.
  - Dr. Phillips can share, if there are flyers, to the Regional Health Officers in the southern region. Kari will relay to the team working on the vacancies and will reach out to Dr. Phillips. Secretary also mentioned the Office of the Governor's online portal on boards and commissions where people can see vacancies and they can note which field they are interested on working on.
  - Other vacant categories on the Commission:
  1. Representative of municipal corporation governments in this State - Mr. Horwitz said they will reach out to a village president downstate that might be interested.
  2. Member of the Judiciary
  3. Representative of an organization that advocates for military veterans
  4. Representative of an organization that advocates for persons with mental illness
  5. Representative of an anti-poverty organization focusing on rural poverty
  6. Member of General Assembly
  7. Representative of an anti-poverty organization focusing on urban and suburban poverty - to be vacated by Evelyn Diaz
2. Subcommittee Composition - Pillar 1 needs more members, it currently has 7 membership compared to the other pillars with 12-15 members.
3. IWGP Annual Report Update - the report was submitted to the Governor's Office and General Assembly and will be posted at the IWGP webpage.
4. Accomplishments Update
  - Listening sessions were conducted in Cairo, East St. Louis and Cahokia. DHS will host a Spanish-speaking listening session in Fairmont on July 28, 2023.
  - Each pillar subcommittee has crafted 2-4 actionable goals for FY24. Upcoming meetings will address the "how" and the broader vision beyond FY24 to reach the ultimate goal of the Commission which is to eliminate poverty in the state by 50% 2026.
Discussion - Work underway in member agencies that compliments/aligns with the Pillar FY24 Action Goals and State of Illinois FY24 Budget Initiatives Update (led by Secretary)
1. Pillar 1 - Ensure Illinois is Best in Nation for Raising Families
  - DHS is working closely with ISBE to initiate the Smart Start program which is one of the top priorities of the Governor
2. Pillar 2 - Stabilize Homes and Communities
  - DHS' Home Illinois Program which received $200.3 million in additional funding for FY24
  - DHS also has mental health supportive housing funding as well as traditional supportive housing work
  - IHDA's ongoing homeownership program
  - IDoA has the Illinois Senior Residents Advisory Council that is looking into homelessness. There is a report that is being written and Ms. Corbett can share it to the IWG. She will also send information to Kari about the council.
3. Pillar 3 - Ensure Just and Equitable Access to Economic Security Programs
  - DHS was successful in getting an increase for families who receive TANF, increasing the assistance from 30 to 35% of the federal poverty level.
  - IDES unemployment insurance program. IDES is funded thru the US Department of Labor to look at a range of access issues to improve access to people who are eligible but not applying.
4. Pillar 4 - Address Barriers to Paid Work, Education, and Advancement
  - As part of the Smart Start program, IDHS is reinforcing and strengthening the childcare assistance program which provides subsidized childcare for working parents or for parents going to school
  - Dr. Phillips asked if there's any value in taking a look at the apprenticeship strategy under this pillar as a means of getting younger people who underwent vocational training to a location in the event that they don't go to college.
  - Ms. Thomas said that the state's apprenticeship efforts led by IDES and the education system do reach down into programs that start earlier on all the way up to apprenticeship programs for adults. She shared the link to the program https://www.illinoisworknet.com/ApprenticeshipIL/Pages/default.aspx
  - Mr. Horwitz added that DCEO has enhanced the funding for their workforce program particularly the leveraging money. The additional funding allowed DCEO to target more students or people seeking job training and needs that don't necessarily fit in the bucket that they normally have federal funds for. They were also able to use the funds for more intensive barrier reduction services such as wrap around services to provide for folks while they're undergoing training to make sure they can get childcare, transportation and stipend to cover the training. The Job Training and Economic Development program will have another round of ARPA funding before the fund runs out next year.
  - DCEO will also be putting a lot more flexible fund to CIJA program that supports workforce training and barrier reduction services targeted towards communities in need end environmental justice communities, as well as to address population that's been hard to reach with job training in the past.
  - Funding will also go to entrepreneurs, through DCEO's small business credit initiative, that may answer the poverty long-term goals on access to loans and financing investment that a lot of underserved populations face when trying to start a business. Mr. Horwitz will send resources to Kari on all the programs he mentioned.
  - Ms. Corbett shared that IDoA submitted a project proposal to address individuals reentering the community from incarceration settings. She will send information to Kari.
  - Secretary suggested looking at the Strategic Plan again and look at the people involved in the justice program or preventing involvement in the justice program and see which pillar this might fall under, or if it potentially falls in all of the pillars.
5. Pillar 5 - Support Trusted Community Based Providers to Serve the Needs of those In Deep Poverty
  - IDoA's community care program that ensures compensation for the community care workforce. IDoA has worked with the Governor's Office to increase reimbursement rates and increasing wages for homecare AIDS under the program.
  - Secretary encouraged members to let IDHS know if they come across of any other gaps later on related to the poverty goals.
  - IDHS and GOMB may have a separate meeting in case there are other areas that GOMB sees and can be plugged in to the accomplishments.
  - HFS will also send information on related programs such as the 1115 Medicaid waiver.
  - IHDA just released the RSA for the next round of the Permanent Support of Housing Development Program. The next round will be for the construction of permanent support housing units, healthy housing communities that integrates healthcare partners within permanent, support housing deals. Applications will not start until January but there is a pre-application and concept meeting process in the interim.
Next Steps and Adjournment
- Members to send ideas on recommendations on additional people to serve on the Commission and subcommittees as well as other work that their own agencies are doing from a programmatic or budgetary standpoint that aligns with the pillars.
- Ms. Koeppel moved to adjourn the meeting seconded by Ms. Thomas. The group unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at 1:51 PM.