AGENDA and MINUTES - Pillar 3 subcommittee meeting February 23, 2024

Commission on Poverty Elimination and Economic Security

Subcommittee on Pillar 3: Ensure Just and Equitable Access to Economic Security Programs

Meeting Agenda

Friday, February 23, 2024, 1:00-2:00 PM

Members:

Appointment	Member	Affiliation
Chair	Sophie Milam	VP of Policy and Advocacy, Greater Chicago Food Depository
Commission Member	Senator Kimberly Lightford	Illinois State Senator
Commission Member	Audra Wilson	President and CEO Shriver Center on Poverty Law
IWGP Member	Marc Staley	Deputy Director, Illinois Governor's Office of Management and Budget
IWGP Member	Jenny Aguirre	Assistant Director, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
IWGP Member	Carrie Thomas	Deputy Director, Business Services, Illinois Department of Employment Security
Public Member	Erion Malasi	Director of Policy & Advocacy, Economic Security for Illinois
Public Member	Meredith Byers	UniServ Director, Illinois Education Association
Public Member	Misuzu Schexnider	Program Director, Inclusive Economy Lab
Public Member	Niya Kelly	Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity and Transformation, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
Public Member	Meegan Dugan Adell	Fellow, New America Chicago
Public Member	Elizabeth Ojeda-Jimenez	NEA Director, Illinois Education Association
Public Member	Jeremy Rosen	Director of Economic Justice, Shriver Center on Poverty Law
IDHS-SME	Leslie Cully	FCS Associate Director, Office of FCRCs

Administrator: Priya Khatkhate, IDHS-Chief Policy Officer

Facilitators:

Matthew Rodriguez - Institute of Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP)
Nancy Toure - IRRPP

Agenda:

Welcome/Roll Call
Public Comment - subject to written comment in advance
Approval of Meeting Minutes: December 5, 2023
Meeting Overview
Recap/Updates on FY24 goals
1. Goal 1
2. Goal 2
3. Goal 3
4. Goal 4
Closing
1. Next Steps
2. Adjournment

MINUTES

Subcommittee members in attendance:

Sophie Milam - Chair
Kimberly Tate - representative of Senator Kimberly Lightford, Commission member
Marc Staley - IWGP member
Erion Malasi - public member
Niya Kelly - public member
Meredith Byers - public member
Jeremy Rosen - public member
Leslie Cully - public member/IDHS SME

Administrator: Priya Khatkhate, IDHS-Chief Policy Officer

Facilitators:

Matthew Rodriguez - Institute of Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP)
Nancy Toure - IRRPP

Minutes:

Welcome/Roll Call - members put their names and affiliations in the chat as a form of roll call. Eight members out of 14 members were present, quorum was declared.
Public Comment - subject to written comment in advance; none received.
Approval of Meeting Minutes: December 5, 2023 - Chair Milam moved to approve the December 5, 2023 minutes seconded by Dir. Staley. The group unanimously approved the December 5, 2023 meeting minutes.
Recap/Updates on FY24 goals
1. Goal 1 - Develop an interagency map that links eligibility criteria across benefit options provided to help inform future work to enhance access to benefits and reduce barriers to all state benefits.
  - Chair Milam gave a recap of what has been discussed from the last meeting.
  - Chair Milam found someone who can be contracted to add child tax credit and independent care credit to the eligibility map that was developed by the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GFCD). Chair Milam is finalizing the contract.
  - The question is what to do with the data contained in the map? Would updating ABE be an efficient and viable path forward?
  - Per AD Leslie Cully, ABE is in its infancy stage and there are rooms for improvement. One of DHS' long-term objectives is to make ABE mobile-friendly i.e. people can easily apply for benefits from their phones.
  - They are also looking at the use of AI which would help determine whether people would want to send/use their information to apply for another benefit e.g. if a person says she has a child under 5 y/o, the system will ask if she wants to send her information to WIC to apply for it.
  - If the aim is the front door, all programs will need a backdoor where information can be sent e.g. WIC has to develop their own system that can interact with childcare.
  - The HHS i2 framework was also mentioned. It is different from ABE which is consumer upwards and consent driven. HHS i2 is basically data sharing agreement between agencies which makes it complicated and very technical on the program and technology aspects as well as expensive. The state needs decide on what it wants to build.
  - Next question is what other programs should be added to ABE which would require another statewide level decision.
  - For Ms. Cully, the simplest solution is to build off on ABE. The information for SNAP, cash and medical goes to an integrated eligibility system which has a rules engine that she doesn't see getting built out to handle every conceivable program. Other programs can have their own system and be connected to ABE in ways such as ABE can suggest other programs that the individual may be eligible for and forward uploaded documents to that other system so that the individual won't have to submit and reupload to that other system as well as not needing to log off from ABE and log in to that other system if the individual choose to apply.
  - Chair Milam suggested to create actionable items from the discussion that can be discussed in the next meeting. The main idea is the group has identified wanting to create a single accessible platform but how to bring it forward is what's missing. Priya, Leslie and Misuzu to provide ideas and potential next steps on the next meeting.
2. Goal 4 - Coordinate with the Commission to End Hunger to develop/support a dissemination strategy to amplify the impact of designed materials so as to increase the uptake to important programs and benefits, especially those where gaps are most relevant
  - In December 2022, Congress enacted a law establishing a new federal nutrition program which had been piloted in a handful of states. The new program will answer the gap in the current USDA summer food program which is not available in every community in Illinois and a lot of times only available for a few weeks in summer.
  - DHS and ISBE are working together on an implementation plan for the new summer food program which will start in the summer 2024.
  - There is a lot of awareness and information sharing that need to happen with eligible households. Still waiting for some final details but a big campaign is being planned such as webinars for stakeholders, with elected officials to get the word out to their constituents, with community-based organizations who can share the information thru social media or a newsletter, etc. ISBE will be doing a lot of direct outreach to families thru schools.
  - Niya Kelly mentioned that there is a supplemental budget for FY24 which includes funds to support the summer EBT program. She asked if there's anything that they need to be doing down in Springfield in terms of advocacy.
  - According to Chair Milam, it must be a kind of administrative cost share that is showing in the budget. She will confirm and verify with the group.
  - Chair Milam said it's a great opportunity for legislators to share to their constituents about the program whether thru their newsletters or social media platform.
  - Kim Tate from Senator Lightford's office said that if there are marketing materials that can be shared, the Senator can share it thru her newsletter and social media accounts and can ask colleagues to share it in their websites.
  - Dir. Staley shared that there are admin costs in the supplemental request for IDHS and ISBE as well as a $600 million request for FY25 which will be the mechanism to distribute the actual cash benefit.
  - Chair Milam asked the group to think of another goal around the focus area of increasing uptake, access, and value of existing public benefits because the current goal is limited around the nutrition program.
3. Goal 2 - Collaborate with the Illinois Department of Revenue to include the basic elements for confirming Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the Application for Benefits Eligibility (ABE) to analyze current deficits in uptake and create a simplified filing process in order to increase the number of people in deep poverty who receive their state and federal EITC
  - Chair Milam, Matthew and Priya discussed that Goals 1 and 2 are related and language will be updated to merge said goals.
  - With regards to creating a simplified process, per Jeremy Rosen, the Shriver Center, New America and IDoR are figuring out what it would take to create this process and potentially an automatic filing process for people on certain various simple situations.
  - Erion Malasi added that there's a Coalition for Free and Fair Filing that's been working on this filing process and Illinois has been specifically named as an expansion state to bring the free and simplified filing through the IRS direct file program. If it's of the interest of the Commission, the Coalition would be happy to draft a letter of support that the Commission can consent on or review or have a call with the Commission to discuss exactly how this work fits into the pillar goal.
4. Goal 3 - Design an advocacy strategy toward securing guaranteed income programming beyond FY24
  - Senate Bill 3462 on Guaranteed Income was introduced by Senator Ram Villivalam with the assistance of Shriver Center, Economic Security Project and other community partners.
  - One of the things that SB 3462 is looking at is creating a state board/commission that would look at existing guaranteed income programs and its positive results and creating an actual State Guaranteed Income Program.
  - There would likely be a need to adjust the bill but essentially, the frontrunners are contemplating setting up a program that would allow the state to start with a small amount of money that would grow to larger amounts of appropriations over time rather than starting with a very big amount which would be extremely difficult to achieve.
  - The program will target specific populations in very vulnerable situations who would specifically benefit from an infusion of cash assistance thru a GI program such as people experiencing homelessness, people in different caregiving situations, people returning from incarceration, etc.
  - There is also a house bill introduced by a Representative on guaranteed income which is directly targeted at youth exiting foster care and often become homeless. The program contemplates providing that population with cash systems up to a 3-year period to make sure they don't become homeless after leaving foster care. Jeremy will circulate the bill.
  - Jeremy suggested for the group to look at the language of the bill and provide feedback on some things that might have been missed, other populations that need to be covered, etc. He would also like to get as many people as possible to support the bill in the GA and highlight the benefits of the GI pilot program that have been operating in Chicago, Cook County, Evanston and of the smaller programs run by DHS.
  - Erion suggested that the Commission support the GI program by outlining the work and make a case that guaranteed income and direct cash has been part of the fabric of Illinois policy for a long time and that the state board will help assure that GI is implemented appropriately and make recommendations to improve the state of play for other cash assistance.
Closing
1. Next Steps
  - For Goal 1, Priya, Leslie and Misuzu to provide ideas and potential next steps on the next meeting re what specifically can be done and what resources are needed or what barriers need to be overcome.
  - On Goal 2, Matthew to draft language that merges the language from goal 2 with goal 1 since both are connected with ABE and benefits eligibility.
  - On Goal 3, Jeremy to circulate language of SB 3462 and the house bill on GI for Youth Exiting Foster Care. Members are request to review the language on SB 3462 in terms of:
  - Does the language reach all appropriate populations?
  - Does the language outline the appropriate programmatic components?
  - Still for Goal 3, Erion is willing to work offline to draft a letter that can be signed by the Commission in support of the creation of a board that would oversee and advise the implementation of the GI program.
  - On Goal 4, once informational materials are provided, Senator Lightford can share in her newsletter and social media accounts information about the Summer EBT Program. Members can also suggest channels for sharing information with families with children.
2. Adjournment - Chair Milam moved to adjourn the meeting seconded by Niya. The group unanimously agreed to adjourn the meeting at 1:55 PM.

Links shared:

SB 3462 Guaranteed Income

HB 5585, providing guaranteed income payments for youth aging out of foster care