Federal judge stops Michigan from terminating welfare recipients from cash program

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/federal-judge-stops-michigan-from-terminating-welfare-recipients-from-cash-program/2011/10/04/gIQARHhhLL_story.html



LANSING, Mich. — A federal judge on Tuesday halted a major round of cuts in Michigan’s welfare program in a move that advocates for the poor say may give thousands of people another month of assistance.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Paul Borman found that the state did a poor job of notifying people they would no longer receive cash benefits and ordered Michigan to send another round of notices.

The stricter four-year cap on cash payments that took effect Oct. 1 was the latest effort to reduce welfare benefits in Michigan. The new law, approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and GOP Gov. Rich Snyder, is expected to reduce the number of children and adults receiving cash assistance by nearly a fifth, from more than 221,000 to around 180,000.

Borman issued a temporary injunction stopping the law. He said new notices must include information on a recipient’s right to ask for a hearing to appeal the loss of benefits and the reason for the change. The original notice wasn’t sent to recipients until Sept. 11, less than three weeks before their assistance ended.

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