DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PROGRAM
POLICY ADMINISTRATION ECONOMIC STABILITY ADMINISTRATION
FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Filed with the secretary of state on
These rules become effective on October 1, 2024.
(By authority conferred on the department of health and human services by section 6 of The social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.6)
R 400.3009 of the Michigan Administrative Code is amended and R 400.3010 is rescinded, as follows:
R 400.3009 Child support;
good cause claim and determination; exceptions to
cooperation
requirement. required offer of service.
Rule 9. The department shall offer services to establish paternity and obtain child support to the client if the food assistance program group includes a child or children, but the food assistance program group does not include 1 or both parents of the child or children. The department shall provide comprehensive information about paternity and child support services to ensure the client can make an informed decision about whether to pursue or not to pursue those services.
(1) A client shall take
all action required by 1939 PA 280, MCL §400.1 to
400.122 to establish
paternity and obtain support.
(2) A client may claim
good cause for not taking the action specified in subrule (1) of
this rule. Good cause
includes any of the following reasons:
(a) The child
entitled to support was conceived due to incest or forcible rape.
(b) Legal
proceedings for the adoption of the child entitled to support are pending
before a court.
(c) A client is
currently receiving counseling from a public or licensed private social
agency to decide if the
child entitled to support should be released for adoption and the
counseling has not
continued for more than 3 months.
(d) Physical or emotional
harm may result if the client or child has been subject to
or is in danger of any of
the following:
(i) Serious
physical harm to the child entitled to support.
(ii) Serious
physical harm to the client.
(iii) Serious
emotional harm to the child entitled to support that actually harms the child's
ability to function in
everyday life.
(iv) Serious
emotional harm to the client that actually harms the client's capacity to
adequately care for the
child entitled to support.
(e) Sexual abuse
(f) Sexual activity
involving a dependent child.
(g) Being forced as
the caretaker relative of a dependent child to engage in
nonconsensual sexual acts
or activities.
(h) Threats of, or
attempts at, physical or sexual abuse.
(i) Mental abuse.
(j) Neglect or
deprivation of medical care.
(3) A client's
cooperation in establishing paternity and obtaining support is not
required if good cause
exists for not cooperating, but a support action may proceed if the
FIA department determines
that the action would not endanger the child entitled to
support or the client.
(4) If a client is
informed of the right to claim good cause and decides to make the
claim, then he or she
shall do all of the following:
(a) Specify the
type of good cause.
(b) Specify the
persons covered by the good cause reason.
(c) Provide written
evidence to support the claim within 20 calendar days of filing the
claim. The time period
shall be extended up to 25 calendar days if the client has
difficulty obtaining the
evidence.
(5) The department
shall make a good cause determination within 45 calendar days of
the client's written
claim, unless the client w as granted an additional 25-calendar-day
extension to the original
20-calendar-day limit and more information is needed that
cannot be obtained within
the 45-calendar-day limit.
(6) The department
shall make a good cause determination based on 1 of the
following findings:
(a) Good cause does
not exist and the client must cooperate.
(b) Good cause does
exist and the client's cooperation in obtaining support is not
required.
(c) Good cause does
exist, but a support action can proceed without the client and
without endangering the
client or the child entitled to support.
R 400.3010 Imposition
of support disqualification; removal of support
disqualification.-Rescinded.
Rule 10. (1) Failure
to cooperate in obtaining support without good cause shall result
in disqualification and a
minimum of a 1-month period of ineligibility for the person who
failed to cooperate.
(2) The remaining
group members may receive full program benefits, if eligible.
(3) If the family
independence program (FIP) closes due to child support noncooperation, the last
FIP grant is budgeted in the FAP budget for 1 month.
(4) The
noncooperative person shall remain disqualified until he or she cooperates
and takes action to
establish paternity or obtain support.