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Subcommittee hears TANF, FIP, SNAP and emergency assistance details and caseload trends
Summary
House Fiscal Agency presented program details for TANF, the Family Independence Program, SNAP and other public assistance programs, including eligibility rules, caseload trends and how state maintenance‑of‑effort choices affect funding.
House Fiscal Agency analysts described Michigan’s use of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant and the major public assistance programs that rely on it or on other federal funds. Cassidy Elkman told the subcommittee Michigan’s annual TANF grant is $773 million and that the state and local mix of spending and maintenance‑of‑effort (MOE) choices determines how federal dollars are drawn down.
Elkman said the state and federal TANF/MOE combined appropriations exceed $1.3 billion for fiscal year 2024–25 and that recent policy choices redirected some MOE away from K‑12 at‑risk and school‑readiness programs; an increase in the state earned‑income tax credit was counted as MOE in the current budget. She also briefed members on the Family Independence Program (FIP), the state’s cash assistance program for households with dependent children: a family of three would qualify in the current year with income under about $925 per month and assets under $15,000 (and real property under $200,000), Elkman said.
The analysts summarized caseloads and benefit changes: FIP monthly caseloads are estimated at 11,448 households for the current fiscal year; a recent 18.5% increase in FIP payment standards and an expanded child supplement raised expenditures by nearly $40 million in the current year. Food Assistance Program (SNAP) caseloads rose during the pandemic and are about 19.2% above pre‑pandemic levels; Elkman cited a current monthly SNAP caseload around 754,475. State Disability Assistance caseloads are lower than a decade ago, with a current monthly estimate of about 2,129 cases.
On policy mechanics, presenters said TANF requires states to include work requirements in their plans, and that Michigan recently restored the federal 60‑month lifetime limit on TANF rather than the previously lower 48‑month limit. Committee members asked about the state option to allow up to 20% of cases to be exempted for hardship; presenters replied Michigan does not take that option. Analysts also reviewed energy assistance programs: federal LIHEAP and state Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP) combine to support direct energy payments, weatherization, and related services; roughly $225 million gross was appropriated for energy assistance in FY 2024–25.
