Burdensome IDHS Office-Visit Requirements Prevent Eligible People from Receiving Benefits

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law’s welfare advocacy attorneys have been working for years to eliminate burdensome Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) requirements that prevent low-income people from accessing benefits for which they are eligible. Such a requirement is exemplified in the case of Sherry Howell, a single parent living in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Howell contacted the Shriver Center for help in completing an application for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Howell needed help in completing the IDHS 10-page application because she has dyslexia. Although she could have asked for assistance from an IDHS office, the only office that would serve her was in Skokie, approximately 30 miles away from her home. To reach this office is a hardship for Howell, who does not have a car. The only public transportation that could take her to the Skokie IDHS office was the Metra train, which would require her to travel all the way into Chicago and back out to Skokie—a trip of at least 2.5 hours each way.

Nevertheless, Howell was determined to reach the Skokie IDHS office for her TANF eligibility interview. She hoped that participating in the TANF program would help her reach her goals: overcoming her learning disability, developing reading skills, becoming job-ready, finding work, and becoming self-sufficient. However, when she appeared for her eligibility interview, an IDHS worker told her that in order to receive TANF she would need to return to the Skokie office for various job search activities on at least four subsequent occasions. Noting that Howell lived quite a distance from the Skokie office and that it would be a hardship for her to return, the worker urged Howell to withdraw her TANF application. The worker further advised Howell to find a job. Howell explained to the worker that she wanted to become employed but that she first needed help in overcoming her disability and lack of job skills. The worker did not refer Howell to any services in her area.

Howell filed an appeal concerning this incident and submitted another TANF application. In this second application, Howell specifically requested that IDHS excuse her from unnecessary office visits and instead refer her to service providers (such as the Adult Educational Development program at Harper College) closer to her home. At press time, Howell had received no response to her second application; she is hopeful that IDHS will ultimately provide her with assistance. 

Sherry Howell’s story is not unique. It is consistent with many stories that the Shriver Center has heard over the years about individuals who cannot make repeated trips to IDHS offices and cannot access benefits as a result. IDHS has policies in place to excuse customers from office visits under certain circumstances, but often customers do not benefit from these policies. The Shriver Center wants to know if you were unable or anyone you know was similarly unable to access benefits due to excessive office-visit requirements. Please contact Elizabeth Mazur at 312.263.3830 ext. 225 for more information or to report new cases.