Bill Text: NY S04578 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Establishes the mothers and infants lasting change ("MILC") allowance to provide income to eligible participants for the last three months of pregnancy and the first 18 months of the child's life; excludes income received from the MILC allowance for purposes of supplemental nutrition assistance program eligibility.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-07 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE [S04578 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04578-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4578

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 10, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  RAMOS  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing the
          mothers and infants lasting change allowance

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  This  act shall be known and may be cited as the "mothers
     2  and infants lasting change ("MILC") allowance".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and
     4  declares that child poverty in New York city and cities across New  York
     5  state  is  shamefully  high  and  will likely worsen if current economic
     6  trends continue. Half of the top six cities in the  United  States  with
     7  the highest child poverty rates are in New York state, disproportionate-
     8  ly affecting communities and children of color. In New York city, nearly
     9  1  in  4 children live in poverty. In Rochester and Buffalo, that number
    10  is even higher: 1 in 2 children live in poverty.
    11    The legislature hereby finds and declares that New Yorkers are  unable
    12  to cover their basic necessities and support their families, particular-
    13  ly in the face of rising interest rates and inflation. Most notably, the
    14  cost  of  childcare,  which already consumes a massive portion of family
    15  income, rose 41% during the pandemic, and the total cost  of  raising  a
    16  child  through  high  school has risen to more than $300,000, which is a
    17  $26,000 increase from five years ago and is likely to present a  heavier
    18  burden  for  low-income  parents  and families for whom expenses such as
    19  food, housing, and gas comprise an even larger portion of their income.
    20    The legislature  hereby  finds  and  declares  there  is  overwhelming
    21  evidence  that  the  prenatal-to-three  and  early childhood development
    22  period are critical for a child's future  prospects  and  affects  their
    23  physical,  mental,  emotional  and  social  outcomes  over a lifetime. A
    24  program targeting infants in this formative phase would help  break  the
    25  intergenerational cycle of poverty rather than attempting to mitigate it

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04583-03-3
        S. 4578                             2

     1  later  on,  creating  a  positive  impact on children's lives and saving
     2  government funds down the road.
     3    The  legislature  hereby  finds  and  declares it is proven that unre-
     4  stricted cash is a direct and effective solution to alleviating  poverty
     5  and  meeting needs for families. This was shown on a national level with
     6  the overwhelming success of the expanded Child Tax Credit, which  lifted
     7  millions of children out of poverty with its monthly payments and led to
     8  a  41%  spike  in  child  poverty  the first month it expired. The unre-
     9  stricted cash intervention further  proved  how  an  investment  in  the
    10  earliest  days  of life can have multiplying effects: studies have found
    11  that a permanent expansion of the expanded Child Tax Credit  would  have
    12  generated  10  times  as  much  revenue as it cost.   New York state has
    13  recently made a commitment through the Child Poverty  Reduction  Act  in
    14  December  2021  to  reduce  child  poverty by 50% over the course of ten
    15  years, with the support of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council,
    16  and there is an opportunity for unrestricted cash to support  this  goal
    17  and help the state reach its target.
    18    Therefore,  the  legislature  hereby  finds and declares that New York
    19  state has an opportunity and obligation to invest in its most vulnerable
    20  residents by leading the fight against childhood poverty, and toward  an
    21  equitable  economy  for  all,  through  a  guaranteed income program for
    22  infants.
    23    § 3. Article 6 of the social services law is amended by adding  a  new
    24  title 4-C to read as follows:
    25                                   TITLE 4-C
    26            MOTHERS AND INFANTS LASTING CHANGE ("MILC") ALLOWANCE
    27  Section 409-o. Mothers and infants lasting change allowance.
    28    §  409-o.  Mothers and infants lasting change allowance. 1. Within one
    29  year of the effective date of this section, the department shall  estab-
    30  lish  a  mothers  and  infants lasting change allowance pilot program to
    31  support low-income families for three months of pregnancy  and  eighteen
    32  months  of  a  child's  life.  Such pilot program shall be in effect for
    33  twenty-one months.
    34    2. (a) The department, in  coordination  with  local  social  services
    35  districts,  shall  develop criteria that local social services districts
    36  shall use to select a total of fifteen thousand  eligible  families  for
    37  participation in the program.
    38    (b) Eligible individuals chosen for participation in the program shall
    39  receive  a  subsidy of one thousand dollars per month for the last three
    40  months of pregnancy and the first nine months of a child's life and five
    41  hundred dollars per month for the last nine months of  participation  in
    42  the program.
    43    (c)  The department shall allocate the necessary funds to local social
    44  services districts for selected eligible selected participants.
    45    (d) Monthly distributions shall  be  made  by  local  social  services
    46  districts  on the first of each month for the duration of the program to
    47  the eligible selected participants.
    48    3. Eligible participants shall:
    49    (a) have an income which is below two hundred percent of  the  federal
    50  poverty  line.  Such  income  shall  be  proven  by providing one of the
    51  following:
    52    (i) a filed tax return from the previous year;
    53    (ii) a letter from an employer documenting the dates of  work  of  the
    54  applicant and the yearly pay from the employer;
    55    (iii) a W-2 or 1099 form from the previous tax year; or
        S. 4578                             3

     1    (iv)  a  wage  notice provided pursuant to section one hundred ninety-
     2  five of the labor law that documents employment for  a  period  of  time
     3  within  six  months prior to the date the applicant certifies that he or
     4  she became eligible;
     5    (b) participate in monthly surveys provided by the department; and
     6    (c) meet any other criteria deemed necessary by the department.
     7    4. Of the fifteen thousand eligible participants:
     8    (a) Ten thousand participants shall reside in a city with a population
     9  of two hundred thousand or more; and
    10    (b) Five thousand participants shall reside in a rural area as defined
    11  in section twenty-nine hundred fifty-one of the public health law.
    12    5.   The  department,  in  coordination  with  local  social  services
    13  districts, shall assist eligible participants with access to  resources,
    14  subsidy  management,  and  anything else deemed necessary by the depart-
    15  ment.
    16    6. The department and local social services districts shall conduct  a
    17  monthly  survey  to  determine the impact of the program. The department
    18  shall prepare an interim report regarding the first twelve months of the
    19  program which shall be completed by the eighteenth month of the  program
    20  and  a  final report shall be made no later than twelve months after the
    21  completion of the twenty-one month program.
    22    § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of section  131-a  of  the  social
    23  services  law  is  amended  by adding a new subparagraph (xi) to read as
    24  follows:
    25    (xi) Any financial assistance received by individuals from the mothers
    26  and infants lasting change  ("MILC")  allowance.    Such  exemption  and
    27  disregard  shall  be  applicable  for  the length of time the individual
    28  receives the allowance.  The  commissioner  shall  seek  federal  waiver
    29  authority  to  disregard the income from the mothers and infants lasting
    30  change ("MILC") allowance for the purpose of the supplemental  nutrition
    31  assistance program.
    32    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.