By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-994935.mp3
LANSING, MI –
The state Department of Human Services plans to use a so-called "rocket docket" to dispose of more than a thousand challenges filed by families about to lose cash assistance welfare benefits. The hearings will take place Monday and Tuesday at 26 DHS offices across Michigan. More from Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta.
More than a thousand households have challenged the cutoff of cash assistance after hitting a four-year lifetime cap. They will have to show at 8 AM on their appointed day to wait their turn to explain why they should not lose their benefits, says DHS Director Maura Corrigan.
"Everybody will have a hearing in front of an administrative law judge and they'll be able to present their case," she says.
Corrigan says everyone will walk out with an answer - even if it's not the one they were hoping for. People who don't show up, automatically lose their appeal Corrigan says she wants to end drawn-out appeals where people continue getting paid for months or years after their benefits have run out.
Critics say the state is acting with too much haste while Michigan still has one of the nation's highest jobless rates.