LANSING, MI (AP)-- State Human Services Director Maura Corrigan denies the state is dragging its feet over restoring welfare benefits to thousands cut off because they exceeded a five-year time limit.
Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Geoffrey Neithercut has set a July 16 hearing to determine if the department is in contempt. He ruled in March that Michigan can't take away welfare benefits under the five-year federal limit if recipients still qualify for cash assistance under state law and ordered the benefits reinstated.
Corrigan told the Associated Press on Thursday that re-enrollment is not automatic and that the department is working as quickly as possible.
The Center for Civil Justice says only about 100 families of the 11,000 who lost benefits have had them restored. It wants Neithercut to hold the DHS in contempt.
