Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1. The legislature declares that economic inclusion shall be a top priority of Washington state's economic recovery. The legislature finds that the novel coronavirus has had a disproportionate effect upon at-risk communities. The legislature recognizes that for communities to thrive and remain vibrant, that recovery needs to be inclusive of people who are furthest away from opportunity and disproportionally more likely to experience economic hardship. The legislature acknowledges that stand-alone human service programs meet a pressing need but can be difficult to access for those lacking the resources to do so. The legislature recognizes that barriers to access can delay reentry into the workforce and career development. The legislature finds that leveraging or supporting the integration of existing benefits and services whenever possible will help people access the benefits they need to help them move out of poverty, without creating another duplicative system. The legislature finds that incorporating people with lived experience into systems development can help improve meaningful access to state programs. The legislature, therefore, intends to help facilitate an inclusive economic recovery by creating an economic inclusion grant program to provide greater access to resources for those in need.

(1) "Department" means the employment security department.

(2) "People experiencing poverty" means households whose income are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

(3) "Rural counties" has the same meaning as provided for in RCW 82.14.370.

(4) "Self-sufficiency" means a level of household income that is equal to or more than the self-sufficiency standard for a household as determined by the University of Washington's self-sufficiency calculator.

(5) "Steering committee" means the poverty reduction work group steering committee created in response to a directive of the governor, dated November 6, 2017.

(2) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this specific purpose, local economic inclusion grants shall be made available in communities throughout all regions of the state, including rural counties and urban communities for the purpose as described in subsection (1) of this section, with an emphasis on economically distressed communities as defined by the department.

(3) Recipients of local economic inclusion grants shall:

(a) Coordinate with existing local providers to make benefits easier to access and work as a coordinated system, to help more people move out of poverty and be included in Washington's economic success;

(b) Provide input to inform the work described in section 5 of this act, by identifying examples of federal regulations that prevent better local coordination and identifying other needs for additional state or federal funding for continuous improvement of the poverty reduction system in future years;

(c) Utilize the existing local workforce development councils to develop local economic inclusion grant partnerships that must include people experiencing poverty, people of color, homelessness programs, and representatives of the health care authority, community service offices, accountable communities of health, and associate development organizations, and may include other members;

(d) Coordinate leadership among the local workforce development council, associate development council, and other organizations, and utilize the workforce development council as the fiscal agent;

(e) Work with people experiencing poverty to ensure they have access to multiple benefits to help them meet their basic needs, in alignment with local care coordination efforts, and when ready, develop individualized career plans leading to a self-sufficiency wage, which must be the level established by the University of Washington self-sufficiency standard;

(f) Provide streamlined access to local partners who can pay for education or training elements of a person's individualized career plan using federal Pell grants, the Washington college grant, or other resources;

(g) Provide streamlined access to local partners who can make monthly payments to the low-income person while in training, using existing resources such as incentive payments, work study payments, work experience payments, needs-related payments, or other financial aid or workforce development resources, as identified locally, and in consultation with technical assistance provided by the department. Such payments must work to maximize the total benefits available to the individual. To the extent possible under federal law, such payments must be structured so they do not reduce other benefits; including but not limited to the supplemental nutritional assistance program, temporary assistance for needy families, special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, medicaid, workforce innovation and opportunity act supportive services, or other financial and health benefits, and may be comparable to payments received by trade adjustment assistance or Montgomery GI beneficiaries; in order to provide stability during training and education;

(h) Through the local workforce development councils, develop a local economic inclusion grant coordination team that works to ensure easier access to all state and local government services, and identifies staff to be care and benefits navigators. These may be existing coordinators and navigators if solutions are already in place for the community to build upon rather than duplicate. The care and benefit navigators must provide convenient one-stop access to benefits available to people experiencing poverty. At a minimum, it shall be encouraged that people served by the economic inclusion grants apply for and, if eligible, receive supplemental nutritional assistance program, temporary assistance for needy families, medicaid, workforce innovation and opportunity act supportive services, or other financial and health benefits, as deemed eligible and appropriate for each person. To the extent allowable under federal law, access to benefits may not be conditioned upon seeking employment nor limited to people pursuing individual career plans, and benefits must be available to people experiencing poverty who are in need of financial stability whether or not they are pursuing career plans;

(i) Ensure equitable access to state and local government services for people with disabilities, which may include equipment and technology purchases;

(j) Both identify where federal barriers hinder efforts to coordinate benefits for customers, and elevate those issues to the department. The department, in consultation with the department of social and health services, the department of commerce, the department of children, youth, and families, the health care authority, the steering committee, and other stakeholders as identified by the department may apply for federal waivers and propose federal law changes to make the authorizing environment better support coordinated service delivery across programs;

(k) Ensure options for career development, English language learners, and other services for both parents in two-parent families, including child care if desired by the family; and

(l) When available, use the local and state teams already in place for similar efforts, expanding the partners on those teams as needed to meet the requirements of this section.

(2) The department of social and health services, in consultation with the department, the department of commerce, the department of children, youth, and families, the health care authority, the steering committee, and other stakeholders as determined by the department, shall further develop measures and indicators of equitable and inclusive economic recovery already underway in the department of social and health services technical advisory group on inclusive economic recovery, and apply those measures as needed to help promote economic recovery that is racially equitable and fully inclusive of people experiencing poverty, people of color, people in rural counties, people with disabilities, and other key demographics that have historically been left behind in economic recovery.

(3) In the event an applicant has not submitted adequate documentation to participate within three months after grant announcement, the agencies may redistribute the unclaimed funding to other participating local areas.

(4) By November 15, 2022, and annually thereafter, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the department, in consultation with the department of social and health services, the department of commerce, the department of children, youth, and families, the health care authority, and the steering committee shall report to the governor, the appropriate committees of the legislature, and the legislative-executive work-first poverty reduction oversight task force. The annual report must include progress reports, an estimate of costs avoided by the state when a person moves out of poverty and into self-sufficiency, measures of equitable and inclusive economic recovery, and model legislative language to further expand economic inclusion, reduce poverty, and increase coordinated service delivery across programs and agencies.

Correct the title.