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DHHS tells appropriations subcommittee it serves millions through SNAP, Medicaid, diaper and weatherization programs
Summary
Dwayne Haywood, senior deputy director at Michigan DHHS, briefed the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Human Services on program scope, recent funding and service counts for SNAP, Medicaid, State Emergency Relief, a diaper initiative and the weatherization program; committee members asked for additional cost and impact data.
Dwayne Haywood, senior deputy director for the Economic Stability Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Human Services during a committee meeting that the department administers a suite of programs that serve millions of Michigan residents, including SNAP, Medicaid, State Emergency Relief (SER), child daycare subsidies, the Family Independence Program (FIP), State Disability Assistance, a diaper initiative and a weatherization program.
Haywood said the department “cover[s] 83 counties, with a hundred offices” and processes millions of program registrations each year. He described program scale and recent funding levels: the state administers about 1.3 million average monthly SNAP recipients with an average monthly benefit of about $250; in 2024 the summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program issued about $120 million to more than 1 million children; and the Michigan Medicaid program covers more than 2.6 million residents, including roughly 1 million children, about 300,000 people living with disabilities and about 168,000 seniors.
The presentation also covered two safety-net lines administered through SER. Haywood said SER receives roughly 16,000 energy-related applications on average and that SER payments run from November until funds are exhausted; the department averages about $1.7 million per week in SER payments. Non-energy SER assistance covers water bills, home repairs, burial, rent to prevent eviction and relocation costs; homeless-prevention assistance can include security deposits and first-month rent.
Haywood described the diaper initiative and recent increases in funding. He said 2024 funding totaled $4.4 million and served more than 10,000 households with more than 74,000 diaper packs and over 40,000 wipes packs. With higher funding in 2024–25, he reported the program increased to $6.4 million; from October through March the program had served about 4,500 households and distributed roughly 20,000 diaper packs and 13,000 wipes packs so far in the fiscal period.
On weatherization, Haywood said Michigan’s program is about 40 years old and operates through 23 community action agencies that cover all 83 counties. Eligibility is set at up to 200% of the federal poverty guideline, and funding sources include the U.S. Department of Energy, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Federal Recovery Fund dollars and, at times, the state General Fund. He said the program averages about 1,700 dwellings weatherized per year but with additional funds the department’s target is 3,000 dwellings annually. Haywood said, by the agency’s count, about 29,000 dwellings have been weatherized historically. For FY 2024–25 he reported total funding of $74 million and provided counts the department is tracking for homes ready for weatherization and already weatherized.
Committee members asked follow-up questions. Representative Longjohn asked about the health impacts and downstream medical costs associated with SNAP; Haywood replied he would gather detailed figures but said nutrition education is part of SNAP and the department is “gearing towards a healthy, healthy environment.” Representative Kelly asked whether “home stabilization” is the same as pre-weatherization; staff clarified there are two separate line items. Representative Kelly also asked for an average cost to make homes ready for weatherization; Haywood said he did not have that number in the briefing and would provide it after the meeting. Representative Beeson asked whether SNAP benefits that can be used for food-service purchases and delivery for seniors and people with disabilities would continue; Haywood said the state is operating under a waiver and intends to continue that policy “at least until, the foreseeable future.”
At the start of the meeting Representative Jim Kelly moved to approve the minutes of the March 25 meeting; with no objections the minutes were approved by the committee.
The department indicated it will return to the committee with requested cost and impact figures for weatherization readiness and for SNAP’s health-care impact if federal program changes affect food assistance.
