CHICAGO (AP) — Implementing a new jobs program, providing scholarships for low-income students and helping more people get assistance are among the steps to cutting Illinois' "extreme poverty" rate in half by 2015, according to a state report released Thursday.
The Illinois Commission on the Elimination of
Poverty, made up of state officials and nonprofit group leaders, outlined an
ambitious plan that the group said provides both short- and long-term solutions
to help the state's poorest people.
Some of the group's recommendations are clear-cut
enhancements of existing safety nets, such as simplifying the form and process
for obtaining an Illinois Link card, which is how food stamps are issued.
Others are more involved, like creating a transitional jobs program proposed to
help 40,000 people a year.
"When someone is experiencing poverty, there's
no one thing that impacts them that is the silver bullet," said Doug
Schenkelberg, an associate director at the Chicago-based Heartland Alliance for
Human Needs and Human Rights. "They're dealing with poor education.
They're dealing with having bad housing. They're dealing with few job options.
We have to look holistically."
Commission officials recommended their timeline be
implemented in phases. But there's no mandate it must be accomplished and the
report provided no cost estimates.
About 760,000, or 6 percent, of Illinois' approximately
12 million people are in what federal officials define as "extreme
poverty." State officials say a large percentage of those individuals are
elderly, disabled, children or have criminal records.
Poverty means a family of four would survive on
about $22,000 each year, but for a family of four in extreme poverty, the
amount is only about $11,000.
Charles Jenkins, a 55-year-old Chicagoan, knows
exactly how that feels.
In the early 1990s, Jenkins was homeless, addicted
to drugs, had little education and few job prospects. But assistance programs
helped him with recovery and finding a place to stay. He eventually stabilized
enough to earn an associate's degree at a community college and work with the
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
While he's still hovering around the poverty level
— relying on Section 8 Housing and other assistance — he feels he's come out of
the worst and is motivated to improve his situation.
"After a while things started to fall in
place. I saved up money and could rent an apartment," he said. "If
you just have a job, it can help you get started, but you need to be able to
advance to the next level."
The commission reports makes several
recommendations for the state, including:
—Develop a transitional jobs program that helps
find employment for those who have been out of the work force and offers
training, such as opportunities to improve literacy.
—Expand the number of low-income community college
student scholarships, along with student support services like academic advising
and mentoring.
—Help more people who qualify for federal and state
assistance, like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF),
apply and get into the program. The commission recommends targeted outreach.
—Adopt state legislation prohibiting state job
applications from asking if individuals have criminal backgrounds, making it
easier for those who have served time to get jobs.
—Increase rental subsidies available to those in
extreme poverty.
The commission, which was formed in 2008, had been
scrutinized for getting a late start and not meeting until 2009. Commission
meetings and appointments were delayed as the state's financial crisis
unfolded, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached and other organizational
mishaps occurred.
Commission members said the late start won't impede
their overall goal. They also say their recommendations are doable.
"It can only happen if there is an absolute
moral and political outrage on the part of citizens and we hold our elected
officials accountable," said Maria Whelan, the president of Illinois
Action for Children. "If we're really going to eliminate deep poverty, we
have to go deeper than we sometimes have."
Copyright
2010 The Associated Press.
