Welfare Cuts – Michigan

Posted on October 7, 2011 by townsend

• Delay in welfare cuts could cost Michigan $2.5 million, By Karen Bouffard, October 6, 2011, Detroit News: “The delay in ending welfare to nearly 41,000 Michiganians could cost the state at least $2.5 million. The Department of Human Services must rewrite and resend letters to everyone who was scheduled to lose their cash assistance on Saturday after U.S. District Judge Paul Borman on Tuesday blocked the cutoff of benefits. After the letters are sent, clients have 10 days to appeal the move. ‘We are working diligently to comply with Judge Borman’s order,’ DHS spokeswoman Colleen Rosso said Wednesday. ‘I anticipate that the notices will be mailed in the coming days, but will have a more definitive time frame (today).’ Republicans, who have control of the Legislature and the Governor’s Office, figured savings from the cuts into the budget for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1…”
• Judge delays welfare cuts, says state didn’t follow the rules, By Kathleen Gray, October 4, 2011, Detroit Free Press: “A federal judge ordered the state Tuesday to temporarily stop enforcing a new law ending cash assistance to 11,162 poor Michigan families who have collected welfare for at least 48.months. The state did a poor job of notifying the recipients, giving them less than three weeks to plan for the end of assistance, Borman wrote in his opinion, granting a temporary restraining order against the cuts. The state passed a law in July that capped cash assistance at 48 months during a recipient’s lifetime. It was supposed to take affect Oct. 1, but U.S. District Judge Paul Borman in Detroit delayed the implementation until he ruled. The 11,162 families represent about 40,000 people, two-thirds of whom are children or teenagers…”