DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES  
ECONOMIC STABILITY ADMINISTRATION  
FAMILY INDEPENDENCE 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 400.3101 and R 400.3104 of the Michigan Administrative Code are amended, as follows:  
R 400.3101 Definitions.  
Rule 1. (1) As used in these rules:  
(a) "Administrative recoupment" means a process by which a group's benefits are reduced to  
make payments on an over issuance.  
(b) "Application" means an application for the family independence program.  
(c) "Application filing date" means the date the department receives a signed  
application document that contains the minimum required information.  
(d) "Authorized representative" means an individual who is not less than 18 years of age and  
who 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 being, a guardian, spouse, or relative outside the group.  
(e)"Client error" means over issuances that are caused due to the action or inaction  
of a client or authorized representative. An over issuance resulting from a department  
action being deleted due to a client's hearing request is client error if the client withdraws  
the request, fails to appear for the hearing, or the department is upheld in the hearing decision.  
(f) "Collection actions" means the department processes initiated to maximize the  
recovery of over issued benefits.  
(g) "Department” means the department of health and human services.  
(h) “Disqualification" means a department penalty action assessed for noncompliance with a  
family independence program requirement and results in the ineligibility of the noncompliant  
individual.  
(i) “EBT” means electronic benefit transfer.  
(j) "Eligible child" means a child who is part of a group that receives assistance under the  
family independence program.  
(k) “FIP” means family independence program.  
(l) "Immunizations" means all immunizations recommended by the department.  
July 8, 2024  
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(m) "Institution" means an establishment that furnishes food, shelter, and some medical  
treatment or services to more than 3 individuals who are unrelated to the proprietor of the  
establishment.  
(n) "Intentional program violation" means the intentional withholding or misrepresenting of  
information by a client or authorized representative for the purpose of obtaining benefits that the  
client or authorized representative would not otherwise be eligible for. Over issuances become  
intentional program violations if the client or client's authorized representative is found  
responsible for an intentional program violation by a court, as a result of an administrative  
hearing, or due to signing an agreement form.  
(o) "Mandatory vendoring" means department payment of assistance amounts,  
without client request, directly to the client's landlord, mortgage holder, land contract  
holder, or the providers of the client's home heating and electricity services.  
(p) "Minimum wage" means the lesser of the federal or state minimum wage.  
(q) "Monthly payment amount" means the amount of assistance paid to the group  
after deductions for vendoring and any department recoupment.  
(r) "Over issuance" means an issuance of more benefits than a client is eligible to receive.  
(s) "Over issuance period” means the time period during which an over issuance occurs.  
(t) "Pay period" means the half of the month from the first of the month to the fifteenth of the  
month or from the sixteenth of the month to the end of the month.  
(u) “Payment standard” means the maximum monthly amount for the approved ongoing  
monthly certified group size.  
(v) "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) Unemployment compensation benefits.  
(vi) Child support payments.  
(vii) Pension payments.  
(viii) Disability or retirement benefits.  
(ix) Earned but unpaid wages.  
(x) Strike pay.  
(xi) Vacation pay.  
(xii) Supplemental unemployment benefits.  
(xiii) Supplemental security income.  
(xiv) Other financial benefits for which potential eligibility exists and may reduce the family  
independence program benefit, other than state-funded, needs based programs.  
(w) “RCA” means refugee cash assistance.  
(x) "Recoupment" means a department action to identify and recover a benefit over  
issuance.  
(y) "Redetermination" means a review of continuing eligibility for the family  
independence program.  
(z) "Reinstatement" means restoring a closed assistance case to active status  
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without a new application or redetermination form.  
(aa) "Repayment" means an action by the client to pay back benefits received.  
(bb) "Restricted payments" means the meeting of client shelter, heat, and utilities  
obligations through mandatory vendoring or third-party payments.  
(cc) "Returned warrants" means uncashed warrants received by the local department  
office or treasury.  
(dd) “SDA” means state disability assistance.  
(ee) "Stop payment" means a department directive to treasury to not honor a  
warrant.  
(ff) "Striker" means an individual who is involved in any of the following situations:  
(i) An employee strike.  
(ii) A concerted work stoppage, including a stoppage when a collective bargaining  
agreement expires.  
(iii) A work slowdown.  
(iv) Interruption of work activities or employment operations.  
(gg) "Third-party payments" means department payment of the 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.  
(hh) "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.  
(ii) "Treasury" means the department of treasury.  
(jj) "Under issuance" means that a group has received less cash assistance than it is eligible to  
receive.  
(kk) "Verification" means documentation or other evidence to establish the accuracy of the  
client's verbal or written statements.  
(ll) "Voluntary vendoring" means a payment system where, at the group’s request, the  
department sends part of the group’s cash assistance directly to the provider of shelter, heat, or  
electricity.  
(mm) “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.  
(nn) "Warrant date" means the date shown on the 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 that the warrant is mailed by the department.  
(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 400.3104 Replacement policies for warrants and EBT thefts.  
Rule 4. (1) A group is eligible for replacement of unendorsed warrants reported lost, stolen, not  
received, or destroyed if 1 or more of the following conditions are complied with:  
(a) The group completes a stop payment or replacement request affidavit. For a stolen  
warrant, a group shall file a police report, unless replacement of the warrant is made after  
recovery of the warrant amount.  
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(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 to be a warrant that is 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 a 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 endorsing both the  
original and replacement warrants, the department shall recover the over issuance 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 can only be approved up to 4 times the payment standard or the amount  
that was fraudulently removed, whichever is less.  
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