Bill Text: MI HB5512 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Human services; services or financial assistance; eligibility for family independence program assistance benefits; deny for certain noncompliance with child support provisions. Amends secs. 57 & 57g of 1939 PA 280 (MCL 400.57 & 400.57g).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-12-18 - Assigned Pa 375'14 [HB5512 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2013-HB5512-Chaptered.html

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Act No. 375

Public Acts of 2014

Approved by the Governor

December 17, 2014

Filed with the Secretary of State

December 17, 2014

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2016

STATE OF MICHIGAN

97TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2014

Introduced by Rep. Kurtz

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5512

AN ACT to amend 1939 PA 280, entitled “An act to protect the welfare of the people of this state; to provide general assistance, hospitalization, infirmary and medical care to poor or unfortunate persons; to provide for compliance by this state with the social security act; to provide protection, welfare and services to aged persons, dependent children, the blind, and the permanently and totally disabled; to administer programs and services for the prevention and treatment of delinquency, dependency and neglect of children; to create a state department of social services; to prescribe the powers and duties of the department; to provide for the interstate and intercounty transfer of dependents; to create county and district departments of social services; to create within certain county departments, bureaus of social aid and certain divisions and offices thereunder; to prescribe the powers and duties of the departments, bureaus and officers; to provide for appeals in certain cases; to prescribe the powers and duties of the state department with respect to county and district departments; to prescribe certain duties of certain other state departments, officers, and agencies; to make an appropriation; to prescribe penalties for the violation of the provisions of this act; and to repeal certain parts of this act on specific dates,” by amending sections 57 and 57g (MCL 400.57 and 400.57g), as amended by 2011 PA 131.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 57. (1) As used in this section and sections 57a to 57v:

(a) “Adult-supervised household” means either of the following:

(i) The place of residence of a parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of a minor parent.

(ii) A living arrangement not described in subparagraph (i) that the department approves as a family setting that provides care and control of a minor parent and his or her child and supportive services including, but not limited to, counseling, guidance, or supervision.

(b) “Caretaker” means an individual who is acting as parent for a child in the absence or because of the disability of the child’s parent or stepparent and who is the child’s legal guardian, grandparent, great grandparent, great-great grandparent, sibling, stepsibling, aunt, great aunt, great-great aunt, uncle, great uncle, great-great uncle, nephew, niece, first cousin, or first cousin once-removed, a spouse of any person listed above, a parent of the putative father, or an unrelated individual aged 21 or older whose appointment as legal guardian of the child is pending.

(c) “Child” means an individual who is not emancipated under 1968 PA 293, MCL 722.1 to 722.6, who lives with a parent or caretaker, and who is either of the following:

(i) Under the age of 18.

(ii) Age 18 and a full-time high school student.

(d) “Family” means 1 or more of the following:

(i) A household consisting of a child and either of the following:

(A) A parent or stepparent of the child.

(B) A caretaker of the child.

(ii) A pregnant woman.

(iii) A parent of a child in foster care.

(e) “Family independence program assistance” means financial assistance provided to a family under the family independence program.

(f) “Family independence program assistance group” means all those members of a program group who receive family independence program assistance.

(g) “Family independence program” means the program of financial assistance established under section 57a.

(h) “Family self-sufficiency plan” means a document described in section 57e that is executed by a family in return for receiving family independence program assistance.

(i) “JET program” means the jobs, education and training program administered by the Michigan economic development corporation or a successor entity for applicants and recipients of family independence program assistance or a successor program. A reference to the JET program means the PATH program.

(j) “Medical review team” means the team composed of a disability examiner and a physician as a medical consultant who certifies disability for the purpose of eligibility for assistance under this act.

(k) “Negative action period” means the time frame a client is given notice for a benefit decrease or closure of the family independence program benefit.

(l) “Minor parent” means an individual under the age of 18 who is not emancipated under 1968 PA 293, MCL 722.1 to 722.6, and who is either the biological parent of a child living in the same household or a pregnant woman.

(m) “PATH program” means the PATH: partnership. accountability. training. hope. work partnership program.

(n) “Payment standard” means the standard upon which family independence program assistance benefits are based.

(o) “Program group” means a family and all those individuals living with a family whose income and assets are considered for purposes of determining financial eligibility for family independence program assistance.

(p) “Recipient” means an individual receiving family independence program assistance.

(q) “Substance abuse” means that term as defined in section 100d of the mental health code, 1974 PA 258, MCL 330.1100d.

(r) “Substance abuse treatment” means outpatient or inpatient services or participation in alcoholics anonymous or a similar program.

(s) “Supplemental security income” means the program of supplemental security income provided under title XVI.

(2) A reference in this act to “aid to dependent children” or “aid to families with dependent children” means “family independence program assistance”.

Sec. 57g. (1) Except as provided in subsection (5), if a recipient does not meet his or her individual family self-sufficiency plan requirements and is therefore noncompliant, the department shall impose the penalties described under this section. The department shall implement a schedule of penalties for instances of noncompliance as described in this subsection. The penalties shall be as follows:

(a) For the first instance of noncompliance, the family is ineligible to receive family independence program assistance for not less than 3 calendar months.

(b) For the second instance of noncompliance, the family is ineligible to receive family independence program assistance for not less than 6 calendar months.

(c) For the third instance of noncompliance, the family is permanently ineligible to receive family independence program assistance.

(2) For the purposes of subsections (1) to (4), “noncompliance” means 1 or more of the following:

(a) A recipient quits a job.

(b) A recipient is fired for misconduct or absenteeism.

(c) A recipient voluntarily reduces employment hours or earnings.

(d) A recipient refuses a bona fide offer of employment or additional hours up to 40 hours per week.

(e) A recipient does not participate in PATH program activities.

(f) A recipient is noncompliant with his or her family self-sufficiency plan.

(g) A recipient states orally or in writing his or her intent not to comply with family independence program or PATH program requirements.

(h) A recipient refuses employment support services if the refusal prevents participation in an employment or self-sufficiency related activity.

(3) For any instance of noncompliance, the recipient shall receive notice of the noncompliance. The recipient shall have not less than a 12-day negative action period before the penalties prescribed in this section are imposed. If the recipient demonstrates good cause for the noncompliance during this period and if the family independence specialist caseworker and the PATH program caseworker agree that good cause exists for the recipient’s noncompliance, a penalty shall not be imposed. For the purpose of this subsection, good cause is 1 or more of the following:

(a) The recipient suffers from a temporary debilitating illness or injury or an immediate family member has a debilitating illness or injury and the recipient is needed in the home to care for the family member.

(b) The recipient lacks child care as described in section 407(e)(2) of the personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996, 42 USC 607.

(c) Either employment or training commuting time is more than 2 hours per day or is more than 3 hours per day when there are unique and compelling circumstances, such as a salary at least twice the applicable minimum wage or the job is the only available job placement within a 3-hour commute per day, not including the time necessary to transport a child to child care facilities.

(d) Transportation is not available to the recipient at a reasonable cost.

(e) The employment or participation involves illegal activities.

(f) The recipient is physically or mentally unfit to perform the job, as documented by medical evidence or by reliable information from other sources.

(g) The recipient is illegally discriminated against on the basis of age, race, disability, gender, color, national origin, or religious beliefs.

(h) Credible information or evidence establishes 1 or more unplanned or unexpected events or factors that reasonably could be expected to prevent, or significantly interfere with, the recipient’s compliance with employment and training requirements.

(i) The recipient quit employment to obtain comparable employment.

(4) For all instances of noncompliance resulting in termination of family independence program assistance for any period of time described in subsection (1), the period of time the recipient is ineligible to receive family independence program assistance applies toward the recipient’s 48-month cumulative lifetime total.

(5) Family independence program assistance benefits shall be denied or terminated if a recipient fails, without good cause, to comply with applicable child support requirements including efforts to establish paternity, and assign or obtain child support. The family independence program assistance group is ineligible for family independence program assistance for not less than 1 calendar month. After family independence program assistance has been terminated for not less than 1 calendar month, family independence program assistance may be restored if the noncompliant recipient complies with child support requirements including the action to establish paternity and obtain child support. As used in this subsection, “good cause” includes an instance in which efforts to establish paternity or assign or obtain child support would harm the child or in which there is danger of physical or emotional harm to the child or the recipient.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect January 1, 2016.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor