Legislative report
Family Independence Program
On March 10, 2011 state Representative Kenneth Horn (R-Frankenmuth) introduced a bill to amend the Social Welfare Act. The bill passed the Michigan Senate and is currently awaiting signature from Governor Rick Snyder.
Family Independence Program
The Family Independence Program, or FIP, is a cash assistance program for low income families who are making efforts to achieve financial independence. The FIP, administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS), was designed to provide short-term aid to families while helping recipients meet their long-term economic goals through job training. Individuals receiving FIP aid must participate in the Jobs, Education, and Training (JET) program or equivalent job training activities in order to receive their benefits. DHS then works with the recipients to setup the family self-sufficiency plan to reduce long-term dependency on financial assistance.
House Bill (HB) 4409
Under HB 4409, an individual cannot collect FIP assistance for longer than a cumulative total of 48 months. The bill eliminates the exemptions extending the benefits past the 48 months. If however, the recipient is still attending high school or is a minor parent under the age of 16, they may accept FIP assistance without participating in the JET program. The months that the recipient is exempted from the JET program do not count towards the 48 month limit.
The bill also institutes stiffer penalties for not adhering to the family self-sufficiency plan:
· The first instance of noncompliance results in a 3 month suspension of benefits;
· The second instance results in a 6 month suspension; and
· The third instance results in a cancellation of benefits.
Recipients may not buy alcohol, lottery tickets, tobacco, or any other nonessential items as part of the new bill. DHS is required to reassess a recipient’s eligibility every 12 months after the initial application for benefits.
Under the original act, DHS determined the eligibility of recipients using a formula based on the size of the family and the family’s earned income. To calculate how much the family was eligible to receive, DHS would disregard $200 and then 20% of the family’s earned income thereby allowing families to collect more FIP assistance. Under the HB 4409, the family still disregards $200 and 20% at the initial application, but once the recipient has been approved, the family can then disregard $200 and 50%, consequentially collecting more FIP assistance.
The new bill will also create other reforms. Recipients of FIP assistance can no longer claim their 19 year old children as part of their household and cannot collect benefits for them. The state of Michigan will also do a federal background check to check immigration status for applicants that indicate they are not citizens.
The 48 month benefits cap will result in the closure of more than 12,600 FIP assistance cases and save Michigan taxpayers $63.5 million. Also by excluding 19 year old children from the family unit, Michigan will save approximately $1.1 million. However, by disregarding $200 and 50% from the earned income Michigan will pay an additional $10 million to FIP recipients.
