Family Support Subsidy Project
Project Description:
For more than a decade, Michigan has provided a cash subsidy to needy families through the Michigan Family Subsidy Act. This Act allows the state to pay direct cash subsidies to families of children with severe disabilities. This subsidy is designed to help parents pay for extra expenses incurred in having a child with severe disabilities. The monthly subsidy amount is $212 for eligible families. In 2001, 5,397 children participated in the program. In the early 1990s, the findings of a workgroup coordinated by the Autism Society of Michigan called for the expansion of the defnition of eligibility for the subsidy. In preparation for the development of supportive legislation for such an expansion, the draft definition of eligibility had to be validated and the number of eligible families had to be reliably estimated. To accomplish those activities, the Developmental Disabilities Council commissioned a study to be implemented by the Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI). The study concluded that the subsidy eligibility should be extended to students calssified as Physically or Otherwise Health Impaired (POHI), Emotionally Impaired (EI) both under specific criteria determined by the Multidisciplinary Education Team, and restrictions for students with Autism should be removed. At that time, it was estimated that these changes in eligibility would result in the inclusion of an additional 3,300 more families into the program. In 2001, the DD Council commissioned DDI to update their initial Family Support Subsidy Study by analyzing the impact of IDEA97 definitional changes, providing information on subsidy expansion cost, and proposing an income index for recipients. A one-year study was implemented with the following activities: 1) review issues in definitions related to IDEA97 legislation to propose language to continue current recipients and provide language to expand to those intended for the initial expansion effort; 2) update the numbers of students in various categories based on the most current data from the state Department of Education; 3) provide data regarding various indexing standards; and 4) update the 1993 report on the Family Subsidy Study.
Keyword(s):
Family support; subsidy; expansion
Core Function(s):
Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Child Care-Related Activities
Target Audience:
Family Members/Caregivers
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
State
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
