AGENDA and MINUTES - Interagency Working Group on Poverty Elimination Meeting, October 26, 2023

Interagency Working Group on Poverty Elimination and Economic Security

Thursday, October 26, 2023

9:30-11:00 AM

Recording

Statutory Members:

Name Title Organization
Dulce Quintero Chairperson, Secretary Illinois Department of Human Services
Paula A. Basta Director Illinois Department on Aging
Kristi Jones Deputy Director Illinois Department of Agriculture
Jason Horwitz Deputy Director, Office of Policy Development, Planning, and Research Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Jane Flanagan Acting Director Illinois Department of Labor
Marc Staley Deputy Director Illinois Governor's Office of Management and Budget
Dr. Janice Phillips Assistant Director Illinois Department of Public Health
Krish Mohip Chief Education Officer - Operations Illinois State Board of Education
TBD Illinois Department of Corrections

Invited Members:

Name Title Organization
Emily Mueller AD of Policy and Research Illinois Housing Development Authority
Carrie Thomas Deputy Director, Business Services Illinois Department of Employment Security
Jenny Aguirre Assistant Director Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

Administrator: Dana Kelly, IDHS-Associate Secretary for Disability Services and Education and Facility Operations/Administrator of Poverty Commission

AGENDA

  1. Welcome - Dulce Quintero, IDHS-Secretary/IWG Chair (3 min)
  2. Introductions/Roll Call - Associate Secretary Kelly (5 min)
  3. Public Comment - subject to written comment in advance (2 min)
  4. Approval of Meeting Minutes: July 25, 2023 (2 min)
  5. IWGP Housekeeping (20 min)
    1. Membership Updates - Associate Secretary Kelly
    2. Accomplishments Update - Associate Secretary Kelly
  6. Special Presentation (20 min)
    • Public Benefits Access in Illinois - Linda Giannarelli and Heather Hahn, Urban Institute
  7. Working Group Statutory Compliance - Marc Staley, Deputy Director, Illinois Governor's Office of Management and Budget (10 mins)
    1. 2024 Meeting Dates
      1. First Quarter - Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 1:00-2:30 PM
      2. Second Quarter - Wednesday, June 12, 2024, 1:00-2:30 PM
      3. Third Quarter - Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 1:00-2:30 PM
      4. Fourth Quarter - Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 1:00-2:30 PM
    2. Report Requirements
    3. GOMB Compliance
  8. Subcommittee updates -Associate Secretary Kelly (5 min)
  9. Discussion - Gap Analysis and Activity Brainstorm for strategic pillars and FY24 Action Goals (20 min)
    1. Pillar 1: Ensure Illinois is Best in Nation for Raising Families
    2. Pillar 2: Stabilize Homes and Communities
    3. Pillar 3: Ensure Just and Equitable Access to Economic Security Programs
    4. Pillar 4: Address Barriers to Paid Work, Education, and Advancement
    5. Pillar 5: Support Trusted Community Based Providers to Serve the Needs of those In Deep Poverty
  10. X. Next Steps (3 min)
    • Proposed next IWG meeting - Monday, December 18, 2023, 3:00-4:30 PM (Len will send invite)
  11. Adjournment

MINUTES

IWGP Statutory Members in attendance:

  1. Dulce Quintero - Chairperson, Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), Secretary
  2. Becky Dragoo - Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA), Deputy Director
  3. Glenda Corbett - IDoA, Special Assistant to the Director on Community Engagement and Equity
  4. Tyler Bohannon - Illinois Department of Agriculture, Bureau Chief of Legislative Affairs
  5. Marc Staley - Illinois Governor's Office of Management and Budget (GOMB), Deputy Director
  6. Dorothy Ingebrigtsen - Illinois GOMB, DHS Analyst
  7. Janice Phillips - Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Assistant Director
  8. Krish Mohip - Illinois State Board Education (ISBE), Chief Education Officer

IWGP Invited Members in attendance:

  1. Erik Turner - Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), Policy and Research Specialist
  2. Carrie Thomas - Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), Deputy Director of Business Services
  3. Jenny Aguirre - Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (IDHFS), Assistant Director

Administrator: Dana Kelly, IDHS-Associate Secretary for Disability Services and Education and Facility Operations/Administrator of Poverty Commission

Guests:

  1. Ni'Shele Jackson - Researcher, University of Illinois in Chicago
  2. Heather Hanh - Urban Institute
  3. Linda Giannarelli - Urban Institute

Administrator Kelly called the meeting to order and informed the group that the meeting is being recorded in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.

  1. Welcome - New IDHS Secretary Designate, Dulce Quintero welcomed everyone and introduced herself as the new Secretary of IDHS.
  2. Introductions/Roll Call - Associate Secretary Kelly led the roll call. Out of 9 statutory state agency members, 6 were represented. Out of 3 invited state agency members, 3 were represented. Quorum was declared.
  3. Public Comment - subject to written comment in advance, none received. No public comments made during the meeting.
  4. Approval of Meeting Minutes: Dir. Staley moved to approve the July 25, 2023 meeting minutes. Dr. Phillips seconded. The group unanimously approved the July 25, 2023 meeting minutes.
  5. IWGP Housekeeping
    1. Membership Updates - Associate Secretary Kelly gave an update on the IWGP membership.
      • Dulce Quintero has replaced Grace Hou as the Secretary of IDHS and is also replacing the latter as the Chairperson of the IWGP.
      • Dr. Janice Phillips has replaced Amaal Tokars as the Assistant Director of IDPH and is now that agency's representative to the IWGP
      • Krish Mohip is the new designate from ISBE
      • Illinois Department of Corrections still has no representative and that the IDHS team is working on the appointment but the table is open for suggestions
      • IHDA is currently represented by Erik Turner in lieu of Emily Mueller who is on leave
      • Carrie Thomas has replaced George Putnam as the representative of IDES to the IWGP
    2. Accomplishments Update - Associate Secretary Kelly/Deputy Director Marc Staley shared major accomplishments to the group.
      • Expanded the income threshold for TANF from 30% to 35% - families participating in the program has seen increase in their income; expected to increase uptake of the benefit program by eligible individuals
      • Completed the first round of a guaranteed income pilot over the summer in together with the Statewide Homelessness Chief Christine Haley and the Inclusive Economy Lab - participants were people experiencing homelessness and in the shelter system - between 400-500 families participated in the program; the second round will be rolled out in a school system hopefully in the next school year
      • Continuation of increase in minimum wage with the next increase scheduled for January 1st (will increase to $14 per hour)
      • Rates paid to service providers have been adjusted over the years. State is negotiating with childcare providers and individual providers who assist adults with disabilities to remain in their own home on wage increases.
      • On Aging, the Community Care Program is going to have a rate increase on January 1 for homemaker services that will filter down to the employees and bring them to about $17 an hour on average.
  6. Special Presentation - Ms. Linda Giannarelli and Ms. Heather Hanh of Urban Institute, a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., shared the results of their work in Illinois which looked at access to public benefits and strategies that were developed or developing to address public benefits, access and improving benefits access. The presentation deck will be shared to the group.
  7. Working Group Statutory Compliance - GOMB Deputy Director, Marc Staley shared the major findings of the financial and compliance audit that was recently completed on the IWGP.
    1. Establishing 2024 Meeting Dates - IWGP is required to meet at least four times a year according to the statute. The term "year" is not defined in the Intergenerational Poverty Act and so unless the IWGP specify otherwise, a year means a calendar year and not a fiscal year. The proposed 2024 meeting dates, if approved by the group can be posted on the IDHS website. If the dates don't work, the group can always change it later with proper notice. Dir. Staley moved to approve the proposed meeting dates seconded by Erik. None abstained. The group unanimously approved the proposed meeting dates. The dates will be posted at the IDHS website and calendar holds will be sent.
      1. First Quarter - Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 1:00-2:30 PM
      2. Second Quarter - Wednesday, June 12, 2024, 1:00-2:30 PM
      3. Third Quarter - Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 1:00-2:30 PM
      4. Fourth Quarter - Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 1:00-2:30 PM
    2. Report Requirements
      1. The IWGP report needs to include a 20-year history of poverty rates in the State - this was missed in the last report; the next report is due on September 1, 2024 and should include the history. If the report is not ready by the second quarter meeting in June, the group still has the chance to meet before September 1st to finalize the report.
      2. The report needs to posted on member agencies' websites. Administrator Kelly/Len will send the link to the report.
    3. GOMB Compliance - GOMB is required to include in the Governor's proposed annual budget (the budget book which is a separate report from the IWGP annual report) information including:
      • An accounting of the savings to the State from any increased efficiencies in the delivery of services;
      • Any savings realized from reducing the number of individuals living in poverty and reducing the demand for need-based services and benefits;
      • A projection of any increase in revenue collections due to any increase in the number of individuals who become employed and pay taxes into the State treasury; and
      • Any other information related to the proposed annual budget that the Director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget believes furthers the goals and objectives of the strategic plan.
      • GOMB can take care of the last requirement but needs help with the first three which seems very hard to determine and even impossible. The information is needed by January 2024.
      • Dir. Staley suggested that if the group finds that finding the information for items 1-3 is impossible, then what information is possible or achievable that could be proposed as changes or replacement to the statute.
      • Ni'Shele will bring up to her team on their next group meeting to determine how they can help and what resources will be needed. Administrator Kelly will send her a copy of the slides.
      • Dir. Staley will confirm with General Counsel how to go about the statutory change if no information is found and because the group will be unable to make any statutory change until the spring. He further suggested to memorialize in the minutes of the meeting in December that the group has looked everywhere but was not able to find the information or is struggling to locate the information. It won't be mentioned in the Budge Book but it will be mentioned to the auditors when they do the audit.
      • Deputy Director Carrie Thomas agreed that item 1 doesn't have enough definition to understand what it means. For item 2, Dir. Thomas has seen past researchers trying to make estimates about state's or federal's savings if there were fewer people in poverty therefor fewer people needing basic services. Similarly with item 3, some advocates have come up with estimates around projections to increase resources for some anti-poverty strategies. She suggested asking Urban Institute if they have come across such information. It might not be the exact information that items 2-3 are asking for but it might be what is possible, what has been done in the past and what can be replicated. She agreed on going the research route. She mentioned however, that research might incur costs.
      • Administrator Kelly shared that IDHS has a contract with UIC but will definitely require extra cost if outside research will be required. She also mentioned another limitation for items 1-3 is that poverty data is published annually and the Commission has been operating for only about 2 years.
  8. Subcommittee updates -Associate Secretary Kelly gave a recap of what has happened since the creation of the pillar subcommittees up to the last round of meetings that was held. The next round of meetings will be held in November and early December to continue the work on the FY24 actionable goals.
    • Each subcommittee is broken down into working groups which will work on a specific goal that they have signed up for. They can coordinate via email or meet by themselves before the November round of meetings.
    • Subcommittees are composed of Commission members, IWGP members, public members and policy experts and non-profit stakeholders have been invited.
    • Pillar 4 subcommittee is in need of a chair and the position is open to anyone and doesn't need to be a Commission member.
    • Pillar 3 might also need a new chair; the person chairing it is also chairing Pillar 1 and would like to give up Pillar 3.
    • Administrator Kelly shared the online working document that Ni'Shele's team has developed to keep track of the FY24 actionable goals and to give direction to subcommittee members tasked to work on each goal. The spreadsheet can be sent to the group.
    • A full out subcommittee follow up email will be sent to subcommittee members particularly to those who were not able to sign up for any workgroups.
    • Those who signed up for workgroups have been connected to each other thru email to enable them to work together but time can be given to them during the November meetings thru breakout sessions so they can work among themselves.
    • Evaluation of these FY24 goals can be part of all the reports and a process that will be done every year.
    • Administrator Kelly noted that even though the FY24 goals do not give attention to all the strategies/tactics under each pillar, any work being done or have done related to any of the tactics can be shared with the group to make sure all areas are covered. She further noted that the goals created reflect who were at the meetings when the goals were being made. As such, subcommittee members were also asked to recommend additional people to the subcommittees to speak up about the tactics that were left behind. IWGP members are also welcome to recommend additional people. This will be included in the follow up email.
    • The roster for subcommittee workgroups can be shared to the IWGP members in the follow up email.
    • Deputy Director Becky Dragoo will recommend potential subcommittee members who can provide information on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program and the Kinship Task Force. Dir. Dragoo will also share information on childcare providers including both paid and unpaid caregivers.
  9. Next Steps
    1. On the GOMB Compliance Report items 1-3:
      • UIC will research on items 1-3 on the GOMB Compliance Report.
      • Dir. Thomas will share any research she comes across on items 1-3.
      • Administrator Kelly will research out to Urban Institute if they have any information on items 1-3.
      • Administrator Kelly will try to get back to Dir. Staley with all the information before Thanksgiving prior to the December meeting.
    2. Administrator Kelly will send a follow up meeting to the IWGP members.
    3. Proposed next IWG meeting - Monday, December 18, 2023, 3:00-4:30 PM (Len will send invite)
  10. Adjournment - Dir. Staley moved to adjourn the meeting seconded by Dir. Dragoo. The group unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at 10:57 AM.