Illinois diaper allowance bill could be debated in House before deadline

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — The Illinois House Human Services Committee discussed new details for a plan to help low-income families with a diaper allowance Wednesday morning.

Rep. Lakeisha Collins (D-Chicago) and Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) are the lead sponsors of a plan to help struggling parents or guardians get some relief from the high prices.

Under their plan, people living at the federal poverty level with children three and younger could be eligible for a diaper allowance of $30 per month. Their proposal is modeled after legislation in California and Washington.

However, the Illinois Department of Human Services would like to see the allowance come in the form of a voucher for families to bring to grocery stores and other retailers. Some lawmakers noted Wednesday that they are concerned a voucher system will confuse families who would rather use their Link card.

"The more barriers we put in front of people to access basic necessities, the more people won't access them," said Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago). "And it's my understanding that WIC is an underutilized program and there's a lot of people who are eligible for it but don't even know about it."

Collins stressed that she personally struggled with diaper costs when she first started having children, so she would never try to create new barriers for low-income families.

Diapers — Advocates told the House Adoption & Child Welfare Committee Tuesday that their plan could ensure providers no longer turn away children due to a family's inability to provide diapers.

Meanwhile, House Republicans are concerned the state won't be able to determine the annual cost for this plan. Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee) explained the price of diapers increases depending on the size and age of babies.

House Bill 1347 passed unanimously out of the House Human Services committee. The plan now heads to the House floor for second reading, but Collins promised that she will work on negotiating an amendment before the bill moves to the Senate.

"There is a Senate version and it will be coming over to the House," Collins said. "I'll make sure if this version doesn't work, the next version will. I thank the department for giving their input on this version of the bill. But, I do think that the Senate version will probably be more accessible for families."

The House deadline for 3rd reading is Friday. Meanwhile, the Senate deadline for 3rd reading is March 31.