Lansing— The state Department of Human Services reissued notices Thursday to 11,162 families slated to lose their cash assistance, but the NAACP said their letter still doesn't fulfill a judge's requirements.
DHS planned to cut the families' benefits on Oct. 1 because they exceeded a 48-month retroactive time limit signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder in early September. U.S. District Judge Paul Borman blocked the move on Oct. 4, saying the state hadn't provided adequate notice.
Borman ordered DHS to rewrite the notice and give clients 10 days from the date they sent it out to file an appeal before their benefits are cut off. Butch Hollowell, general counsel for the NAACP, said he would file an amicus brief in federal district court this morning to challenge the new notice.
"We're seeking to go before Judge Borman to ask that the court require the state to give people their due process rights," Hollowell said. "Every notice that they have sent out has not come close to meeting minimum legal standards."
Hollowell will release details of the filing at a press conference this afternoon in Detroit, where he will be joined by NAACP President Rev. Wendell Anthony and other clergy and social services providers alarmed that roughly 41,000 individuals will lose benefits.
DHS issued a press release Thursday saying the notices cite the appropriate legal authority as well as more prominent language on the appeal process, as required in the ruling.
DHS had argued before the judge that adequate notice was given in three letters sent to clients. Borman found the letters were not clear and did not include adequate information on the reason for the change and how to appeal. DHS also said social workers made at least three attempts to phone each of the families slated to be cut off.
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