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Snyder
signs
welfare
bills,
cutting
cash
payments
to
families
LANSING,
Mich. –
Gov.
Rick
Snyder
today
signed
legislation
that
will
enforce
a
four-year
lifetime
limit on
cash
assistance,
bringing
Michigan
in line
with
other
states
and
ensuring
limited
resources
are
available
to those
who are
truly in
need.
“We are
returning
cash
assistance
to its
original
intent
as a
transitional
program
to help
families
while
they
work
toward
self-sufficiency
and also
preserving
our
state’s
integral
safety
net for
families
most in
need,”
Snyder
said.
“Affected
recipients
are
able-bodied
and have
had at
least
four –
some as
long as
14 or
more –
years to
transition
to
independence.”
The
state's
four-year
limit on
cash
assistance
will be
more
strictly
enforced
beginning
Oct. 1,
but the
state
will
still
allow
exemptions
to this
limit
for
those
who have
a
disability
and are
unable
to work.
Recipients
who care
for a
disabled
spouse
or
child,
those
who are
65 or
older
and do
not
qualify
for
Social
Security
benefits
or the
benefits
are too
low, or
those
involved
in
domestic
violence
situations
that
involve
law
enforcement
may also
be
temporarily
exempted.
The
state of
Michigan
also has
a number
of
programs
available
to help
recipients
step
toward
independence,
including
food
assistance,
Medicaid,
child
care and
emergency
services.
In
addition,
the
Michigan
Department
of Human
Services
is
working
with
nonprofit
organizations,
the
faith-based
community
and
other
community
partners
to
provide
recipients
with a
soft
landing
in the
transition,
Director
Maura D.
Corrigan
said.
That
includes:
•
Appointments
with
caseworkers
for all
affected
clients
to
connect
them
with
resources;
•
Extending
housing
and job
placement
assistance
to three
months
beyond
October
for
those
actively
seeking
employment;
•
Trained
job
navigators
who will
serve as
mentors
in
preparing
for and
searching
for
employment;
and
•
A jobs
bank
where
employers
can
report
open
positions.
“Michigan
continues
to face
financial
challenges,
and the
fiscal
reality
is that
we
cannot
afford
to
provide
lifetime
cash
assistance
to
recipients
who are
able to
work,”
Corrigan
said.
“Enforcing
lifetime
limits
for cash
assistance
ensures
that
available
funds
are
targeted
toward
those
recipients
who need
a
helping
hand
while
they
find
employment.”
The new
law also
eliminates
a
disincentive
to
working
or
seeking
opportunities
to earn
more. To
initially
qualify
for cash
assistance,
a family
of three
can earn
no more
than
$814 per
month,
with a
maximum
cash
assistance
benefit
of $492
a month.
Once
they’ve
qualified,
they
will now
be able
to earn
more
income –
up to
$1,164 –
and
still
receive
state
help.
House
bills
4409 and
4410,
sponsored
by Reps.
Kenneth
Horn and
Sharon
Tyler,
are now
Public
Acts 131
and 132
of 2011.
For more
information,
visit
www.michigan.gov/welfarereform.
The
governor
today
also
signed
legislation
that
allows
the
Court of
Appeals
to
continue
charging
fees
that
were
scheduled
to be
reduced
starting
in Oct.
2012.
Continuing
the fees
at the
current
level
was
included
in the
governor’s
Fiscal
Year
2012-2013
budget.
House
Bill
4731,
sponsored
by state
Rep.
Kevin
Cotter,
is now
P.A. 130
of 2011.
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