DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES  
ECONOMIC STABILITY ADMINISTRATION  
STATE DISABILITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM  
Filed with the secretary of state on April 30, 2025  
These rules take effect immediately after filing with the secretary of state unless adopted  
under section 33, 44, or 45a(9) of the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA  
306, MCL 24.233, 24.244, or 24.245a. Rules adopted under these sections become  
effective 7 days after filing with the secretary of state.  
(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 400.3151 and R 400.3169 of the Michigan Administrative Code are amended, as  
follows:  
R 400.3151 Definitions.  
Rule 1. (1) As used in these rules:  
(a) “Administrative hearing” means the impartial review by an administrative law  
judge of a department decision that a client believes is illegal or unsatisfactory. Both the  
client and the department may present evidence in support of their respective positions.  
(b) "Administrative recoupment” means a process by which a group’s benefits are  
reduced to make payments on an overissuance.  
(c) "Application" means a signed and dated statement on a form prescribed by the  
department that an individual wishes to receive state disability assistance.  
(d) "Application filing date" means the date an application with minimum required  
information is received by the department.  
(e) "Authorized representative" means an individual who is not less than 18 years of  
age and applies for assistance on behalf of a client or otherwise acts on a client's behalf,  
or both. The individual may be, but is not limited to, a guardian, spouse, or relative  
outside the group.  
(f) “Client” means an individual applying for, currently receiving program benefits,  
inquiring about benefits, or is part of the program group.  
(g) "Client error" means the department has taken all actions required under normal  
processing procedures but the client has given incorrect or incomplete information or  
failed to meet other requirements which impact the amount of program benefits and the  
error has not been determined as intentional. An overissuance that results from  
department action being discontinued due to a client's administrative hearing request is  
client error if a client withdraws the request, fails to show for the administrative hearing,  
or the department's action is upheld at the hearing.  
July 9, 2024  
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(h) “Department” means the department of health and human services.  
(i) "Disqualification" means a department penalty action for an individual who is  
ineligible for program benefits because an eligibility factor has not been met or because  
the individual refuses or fails to cooperate in meeting an eligibility factor.  
(j) "Domiciliary care" means a type of care given to residents in a special living  
arrangement whose principal need is supervision and who are generally able to perform  
the basic activities of daily living, such as eating, bathing, and dressing.  
(k) “EBT” means electronic benefit transfer.  
(l) "Group" means the state disability assistance group.  
(m) “FIP” means family independence program.  
(n) "Institution" means an establishment that furnishes food, shelter, and some  
treatment or services to more than 3 individuals who are unrelated to the proprietor.  
(o) "Intentional program violation" means an action that occurs when a client or  
authorized representative intentionally withholds or misrepresents information for the  
purpose of obtaining benefits that the client or authorized individual would not otherwise  
be eligible. An overissuance becomes an intentional program violation if a client or  
client's authorized representative is found to be responsible for an intentional program  
violation by a court, or as a result of an administrative hearing or has signed a  
disqualification agreement.  
(p) "Mandatory vendoring" means an agency payment of assistance amounts,  
without client request, directly to the client's landlord, mortgage holder, or land contract  
holder and to the providers of the client's home heating and electricity services.  
(q) "Monthly payment amount" means the amount of assistance paid to a group  
after deductions for vendoring and any department recoupment.  
(r) "Overissuance" means that a group receives more benefits than it is eligible to  
receive.  
(s) "Overissuance period” means the time period during which the overissuance  
occurred  
(t) "Pay period" means the first to the fifteenth of the month or the sixteenth to the end  
of the month.  
(u) “Payment standard” means the maximum monthly amount for the approved ongoing  
monthly certified group size.  
(v) "Personal care" means assistance that is provided to an individual who needs help in  
performing personal daily activities, such as cooking, eating, grooming, shopping, and  
taking medication.  
(w) "Potential benefits" means any of the following benefits:  
(i) Retirement, survivors, and disability insurance.  
(ii) Worker's compensation benefits.  
(iii) Veterans administration benefits.  
(iv) Railroad retirement benefits.  
(v) Pension payments.  
(vi) Disability or retirement benefits.  
(vii) Earned but unpaid wages.  
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(viii) Strike pay.  
(ix) Vacation pay.  
(x) Supplemental security income.  
(xi) Family independence program benefits.  
(xii) Other than state-funded, needs-based programs, other financial benefits for  
which potential eligibility exists and which may reduce the state disability assistance  
program benefit.  
(x) "Program group" means those individuals living together whose income and assets  
must be counted in determining eligibility for state disability assistance.  
(y) "Provider" means an individual or agency that furnishes services to a client.  
(z) “RCA” means refugee cash assistance.  
(aa) "Recoupment" means the process by which the department recovers an  
overissuance of program benefits.  
(bb) "Redetermination" means a review of continuing eligibility for state disability  
assistance.  
(cc) "Repayment" means an action by a client to pay back benefits received.  
(dd) "Restricted payments" means mandatory payment made to an individual other than  
the client in the form of vendor payments or third-party payments due to a third-party  
resource disqualification or money mismanagement.  
(ee) "Returned warrants" means uncashed warrants received by the local department  
office or treasury.  
(ff) “SDA” means state disability assistance.  
(gg) "Special living arrangement" means any of the following:  
(i) An adult foster care facility.  
(ii) A county infirmary.  
(iii) A substance abuse treatment center.  
(iv) A home for the aged.  
(v) A long-term care facility.  
(vi) A hospital.  
(hh) "State disability assistance group" means the members of a program group who  
receive state disability assistance.  
(ii) "Stop payment" means a department directive to treasury to not honor a warrant.  
(jj) "Third-party payments" mean an agency payment of a client’s entire assistance  
benefit, without client request, to an agency or individual outside the eligible group for  
management of the assistance on behalf of the group.  
(kk) "Third-party resource" means an individual, entity, or program that is, or might be,  
liable to pay all or part of a group member's medical expenses.  
(ll) "Treasury" means the department of treasury.  
(mm) "Underissuance" means that a group receives less cash assistance than it is  
eligible to receive.  
(nn) "Verification" means documentation or action taken that provides evidence  
establishing the accuracy of a client's verbal or written statements.  
(oo) "Voluntary vendoring" means a payment system whereby, at the group’s  
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request, the department sends part of the group’s cash assistance directly to the provider  
for payment of the group’s shelter, heat, or electricity.  
(pp) “Warrant” means a written order to pay that instructs a federal, state, or county  
government treasurer to pay the warrant holder on demand or after a specific date.  
(qq) "Warrant date" means the date shown on a warrant. For regular client and  
vendor warrants, the warrant date is the expected date of delivery. For replacement  
warrants, the warrant date is the date the warrant was mailed.  
(2) Terms defined in the social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.1 to 400.119b,  
have the same meaning when used in these rules.  
R 400.3169 Replacement policies for warrants and EBT thefts.  
Rule 19. (1) If a group reports an unendorsed warrant lost, stolen, not received, or  
destroyed, the group may have the warrant replaced if all the following criteria, as  
appropriate, are met:  
(a) The group completes a stop payment or replacement request affidavit. For stolen  
warrants, a group shall file a police report, unless replacement of the warrant is made  
after recovery of the warrant amount.  
(b) A client or provider shall contact the post office to verify delivery of a warrant  
that was issued but not received. If delivery is verified, the warrant is considered  
lost. If delivery cannot be verified, the warrant is considered not received. For warrants  
considered not received, a client or provider shall complete a stop payment or  
replacement request affidavit.  
(c) Under any of the following circumstances, a warrant must be replaced only  
after recovery of the original warrant amount:  
(i) Replacement is requested more than 30 calendar days after the warrant date.  
(ii) The client has previously requested a replacement after cashing the original  
warrant.  
(iii) A police report was not filed on a stolen warrant.  
(iv) The case is closed, or closure is pending.  
(v) The warrant to be replaced is a replacement warrant or a vendor warrant.  
(2) If a warrant is cashed by a recipient of cash assistance, the department  
shall not take action on a request to stop payment on the cashed warrant and a  
replacement warrant must not be issued.  
(3) A warrant that is lost or stolen after endorsement must be replaced only if the  
warrant is later returned or voided.  
(4) If a replacement warrant is issued for a warrant that was cashed and the client  
claims that the warrant copy signature is not that individual’s signature, the client shall  
sign an affidavit that the signature is not the client's signature.  
(5) If a replacement warrant is issued for a warrant that was cashed and the client  
fails to keep an appointment to view the warrant, refuses to sign the affidavit, or admits,  
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endorsing both the original and replacement warrants, the department shall recover the  
overissuance from the group.  
(6) A group currently receiving ongoing FIP, RCA, or SDA may receive a replacement of  
its FIP, RCA, or SDA that was fraudulently removed from its EBT account. Both of the  
following conditions apply to a fraudulent removal from an EBT account:  
(a) A group is only eligible to receive this payment 1 time in a 12-month period.  
(b) Replacement funds will only be approved up to 4 times the payment standard or the  
amount that was fraudulently removed, whichever is less.  
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