Add Art 6 Title 4-C §409-o, amd §131-a, Soc Serv L
 
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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4578--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 10, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. RAMOS, BROUK, ASHBY, BAILEY, CHU, CLEARE, COMRIE,
COONEY, FERNANDEZ, GONZALEZ, JACKSON, KENNEDY, RIVERA, SALAZAR -- read
twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the
Committee on Children and Families -- reported favorably from said
committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
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.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04583-04-3
S. 4578--A 2
1 The legislature hereby finds and declares there is overwhelming
2 evidence that the prenatal-to-three and early childhood development
3 period are critical for a child's future prospects and affects their
4 physical, mental, emotional and social outcomes over a lifetime. A
5 program targeting infants in this formative phase would help break the
6 intergenerational cycle of poverty rather than attempting to mitigate it
7 later on, creating a positive impact on children's lives and saving
8 government funds down the road.
9 The legislature hereby finds and declares it is proven that unre-
10 stricted cash is a direct and effective solution to alleviating poverty
11 and meeting needs for families. This was shown on a national level with
12 the overwhelming success of the expanded Child Tax Credit, which lifted
13 millions of children out of poverty with its monthly payments and led to
14 a 41% spike in child poverty the first month it expired. The unre-
15 stricted cash intervention further proved how an investment in the
16 earliest days of life can have multiplying effects: studies have found
17 that a permanent expansion of the expanded Child Tax Credit would have
18 generated 10 times as much revenue as it cost. New York state has
19 recently made a commitment through the Child Poverty Reduction Act in
20 December 2021 to reduce child poverty by 50% over the course of ten
21 years, with the support of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council,
22 and there is an opportunity for unrestricted cash to support this goal
23 and help the state reach its target.
24 Therefore, the legislature hereby finds and declares that New York
25 state has an opportunity and obligation to invest in its most vulnerable
26 residents by leading the fight against childhood poverty, and toward an
27 equitable economy for all, through a guaranteed income program for
28 infants.
29 § 3. Article 6 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
30 title 4-C to read as follows:
31 TITLE 4-C
32 MOTHERS AND INFANTS LASTING CHANGE ("MILC") ALLOWANCE
33 Section 409-o. Mothers and infants lasting change allowance.
34 § 409-o. Mothers and infants lasting change allowance. 1. Within one
35 year of the effective date of this section, the department shall estab-
36 lish a mothers and infants lasting change allowance pilot program to
37 support low-income families for three months of pregnancy and eighteen
38 months of a child's life. Such pilot program shall be in effect for
39 twenty-one months.
40 2. (a) The department, in coordination with local social services
41 districts, shall develop criteria that local social services districts
42 shall use to select a total of fifteen thousand eligible families for
43 participation in the program.
44 (b) Eligible individuals chosen for participation in the program shall
45 receive a subsidy of one thousand dollars per month for the last three
46 months of pregnancy and the first nine months of a child's life and five
47 hundred dollars per month for the last nine months of participation in
48 the program.
49 (c) The department shall allocate the necessary funds to local social
50 services districts for selected eligible selected participants.
51 (d) Monthly distributions shall be made by local social services
52 districts on the first of each month for the duration of the program to
53 the eligible selected participants.
54 3. Eligible participants shall:
S. 4578--A 3
1 (a) have an income which is below two hundred percent of the federal
2 poverty line. Such income shall be proven by providing one of the
3 following:
4 (i) a filed tax return from the previous year;
5 (ii) a letter from an employer documenting the dates of work of the
6 applicant and the yearly pay from the employer;
7 (iii) a W-2 or 1099 form from the previous tax year; or
8 (iv) a wage notice provided pursuant to section one hundred ninety-
9 five of the labor law that documents employment for a period of time
10 within six months prior to the date the applicant certifies that he or
11 she became eligible;
12 (b) participate in monthly surveys provided by the department; and
13 (c) meet any other criteria deemed necessary by the department.
14 4. Of the fifteen thousand eligible participants:
15 (a) Ten thousand participants shall reside in a city with a population
16 of one hundred forty thousand or more; and
17 (b) Five thousand participants shall reside in a rural area as defined
18 in section twenty-nine hundred fifty-one of the public health law.
19 5. The department, in coordination with local social services
20 districts, shall assist eligible participants with access to resources,
21 subsidy management, and anything else deemed necessary by the depart-
22 ment.
23 6. The department and local social services districts shall conduct a
24 monthly survey to determine the impact of the program. The department
25 shall prepare an interim report regarding the first twelve months of the
26 program which shall be completed by the eighteenth month of the program
27 and a final report shall be made no later than twelve months after the
28 completion of the twenty-one month program.
29 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of section 131-a of the social
30 services law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (xiv) to read as
31 follows:
32 (xiv) any financial assistance received by individuals from the moth-
33 ers and infants lasting change ("MILC") allowance. Such exemption and
34 disregard shall be applicable for the length of time the individual
35 receives the allowance. The commissioner shall seek federal waiver
36 authority to disregard the income from the mothers and infants lasting
37 change ("MILC") allowance for the purpose of the supplemental nutrition
38 assistance program.
39 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.