STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6911 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 9, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DARLING -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to enacting the intergenerational poverty mitigation act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new article 2 10-E to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 10-E 4 INTERGENERATIONAL POVERTY MITIGATION ACT 5 Section 484. Short title. 6 484-a. Definitions. 7 484-b. New York intergenerational welfare reform commission. 8 484-c. Establishment of intergenerational poverty plan implemen- 9 tation pilot program. 10 § 484. Short title. This article shall be known as the "Intergenera- 11 tional poverty mitigation act." 12 § 484-a. Definitions. As used in this article: 13 1. "Cycle of poverty" or "poverty cycle" means the set of factors or 14 events by which the long-term poverty of a person is likely to continue 15 and be experienced by each child of the person when the child becomes an 16 adult unless there is outside intervention. 17 2. (a) "Intergenerational poverty" means poverty in which two or more 18 successive generations of a family continue in the cycle of poverty and 19 government dependence. 20 (b) "Intergenerational poverty" does not include situational poverty 21 that: (i) is generally traceable to a specific incident or time period 22 within the lifetime of a person; and (ii) is not continued to the next 23 generation. 24 3. "Poverty" means the state of a person who lacks a usual or socially 25 acceptable amount of money or material possessions as demonstrated by EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01871-01-3A. 6911 2 1 the person's income level being at or below the United States poverty 2 level as defined by the most recently revised poverty income guidelines 3 published by the United States department of health and human services. 4 § 484-b. New York intergenerational welfare reform commission. 1. 5 There is hereby created the New York intergenerational welfare reform 6 commission composed of the following nine members: (a) one member 7 appointed by the commissioner; (b) two members to be appointed by the 8 governor; (c) three members to be appointed by the temporary president 9 of the senate; and (d) three members to be appointed by the speaker of 10 the assembly. 11 2. The appointee of the commissioner shall serve as chair of the 12 commission. The chair is responsible for: (a) the call and conduct of 13 meetings at least four times per year; (b) calling additional meetings 14 upon request by a majority of the commission's members; and (c) delegat- 15 ing duties to other members of the commission. 16 3. A majority of the members of the commission constitutes a quorum of 17 the commission at any meeting and the action of the majority of members 18 present is the action of the commission. 19 4. The department shall provide staff support to the commission as 20 requested. 21 5. The commission's purpose is to: (a) collaborate in sharing and 22 analyzing data and information regarding intergenerational poverty in 23 the state with a primary focus on data and information regarding chil- 24 dren who are at risk of continuing the cycle of poverty and welfare 25 dependency unless outside intervention is made; (b) examine and analyze 26 shared data and information regarding intergenerational poverty, includ- 27 ing the data provided by the intergenerational poverty report, to iden- 28 tify and develop effective and efficient plans, programs, and recommen- 29 dations to help at-risk children in the state escape the cycle of 30 poverty and welfare dependency, which may include avoiding homelessness 31 among children at risk of remaining in poverty; (c) implement data-dri- 32 ven policies and programs addressing poverty, public assistance, educa- 33 tion, and other areas as needed to measurably reduce the incidence of 34 children in the state who remain in the cycle of poverty and welfare 35 dependency as they become adults; and (d) establish and facilitate 36 improved cooperation between policymakers in rescuing children from 37 intergenerational poverty and welfare dependency. 38 6. The commission shall: (a) study, evaluate, and report on the status 39 and effectiveness of policies, procedures, and programs that provide 40 services to children in the state affected by intergenerational poverty 41 and welfare dependency; (b) study and evaluate the policies, procedures, 42 and programs implemented by other states and nongovernmental entities 43 that address the needs of children affected by intergenerational poverty 44 and welfare dependency; (c) identify policies, procedures, and programs, 45 including any lack of interagency data sharing, lack of policy coordi- 46 nation, or current federal requirements, that are impeding efforts to 47 help children in the state affected by intergenerational poverty escape 48 the poverty cycle and welfare dependency and recommend changes to such 49 policies and procedures; (d) create an ongoing five- and ten-year plan, 50 which is updated annually, containing measurable goals and benchmarks, 51 including future action needed to attain those goals and benchmarks, for 52 decreasing the incidence of intergenerational poverty among the state's 53 children, including reducing the incidence of homelessness among chil- 54 dren affected by intergenerational poverty and increasing the number of 55 the state's children who escape the poverty cycle and welfare dependen- 56 cy; (e) implement policy, procedure, and program changes to address theA. 6911 3 1 needs of children affected by intergenerational poverty and help those 2 children escape the poverty cycle and welfare dependency, including, as 3 available over time, data to track the effectiveness of each change; (f) 4 recommend policy, procedure, and program changes to address the needs of 5 children affected by intergenerational poverty and to help those chil- 6 dren escape the poverty cycle and welfare dependency, including the 7 steps that will be required to make the recommended changes and whether 8 further action is required by the legislature; and (g) provide a forum 9 for public comment and participation in efforts to help children in the 10 state escape the cycle of poverty and welfare dependency. 11 7. To accomplish its duties, the commission may: (a) request and 12 receive from any state or local governmental agency or institution, 13 information relating to poverty in the state, including: reports, 14 audits, data, projections and statistics; and (b) appoint special 15 committees, to advise and assist the commission; provided that members 16 of such special committee shall be appointed by the commission and may 17 be: (i) members of the commission; or (ii) individuals from the private 18 or public sector; 19 § 484-c. Establishment of intergenerational poverty plan implementa- 20 tion pilot program. 21 1. There is hereby established an intergenerational poverty plan 22 implementation pilot program to encourage counties to implement local 23 solutions to address intergenerational poverty. 24 2. A county or a group of contiguous counties may submit a proposal to 25 the department to participate in the program. Such proposals for partic- 26 ipation shall specify: (a) outcomes that will address intergenerational 27 poverty that the county aims to achieve with such program; (b) metrics 28 that would be used to measure progress toward the specified outcomes; 29 (c) baseline measurements for each specified outcome and the metric 30 against which progress will be measured; and (d) the total amount of 31 money needed to achieve the specified outcomes. 32 3. The department shall: (a) specify the format for a proposal; (b) 33 set a deadline for a county or group of counties to submit a proposal; 34 (c) define criteria for selecting a county or group of counties to 35 participate in the program, which may include: (i) a significant number 36 of individuals within the county or group of counties experiencing 37 intergenerational poverty; (ii) an established strategic plan to address 38 intergenerational poverty; (iii) evidence of strong engagement and lead- 39 ership; and (iv) partnerships with groups overseeing human services, 40 early childhood services public health, education, economic development, 41 behavioral health and juvenile justice. 42 4. One year after the effective date of this section, the department 43 shall select at least one county or group of counties to serve as the 44 pilot program location, and shall be authorized to grant any appropri- 45 ated funds to such county or group of counties to achieve the pilot 46 program indicators and outcomes. 47 5. A county or group of counties that receives a grant under the pilot 48 program shall: (a) provide a cash or in-kind match that is equal to at 49 least twenty-five percent of the amount of the grant; (b) use the funds 50 provided by the program and the cash or in-kind match for purposes 51 approved by the department; and (c) report quarterly to the department 52 on progress regarding the indicators and outcomes described this 53 section. 54 6. The department shall issue a report annually detailing a 55 description of the program, including the number and amounts of grants 56 awarded, the recipients of the grants, and an evaluation of the progressA. 6911 4 1 grant recipients have made toward the indicators and outcomes described 2 in this section. 3 7. The department shall have the power: (a) to make such pilot program 4 permanent if the department determines the program has been successful; 5 and (b) to expand the pilot program to an additional county or counties 6 after the initial one-year pilot program. 7 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.