PUBLIC BENEFITS LAW
Prepared by:
Jessica L. Webster, Policy Advocate
Legal Services Advocacy Project
651-222-3749, ext. 102
jlwebster@mnlsap.org

MINNESOTA FAMILY INVESTMENT PROGRAM (MFIP)

I. CHILD UNDER 12 MONTHS EXEMPTION
Chapter 301, Article 1, Sections 12 and 15 (SF 2855)
Amends Minn. Stat. § 256J.561, subd. 3; Minn. Stat. § 256J.95, subd. 11
Effective August 1, 2010

Clarifies that the 12 month exemption from work participation requirements for parents with a child under one year of age is available only once in a caregiver's lifetime. Limits the exemption in a two-parent household to only one parent in any one month. Requires an MFIP participant to meet with a job counselor the month after the month the child reaches 12 months of age.

II. DISQUALIFICATION
Chapter 301, Article 1, Sections 2, 4, and 14 (SF 2855)
Amends Minn. Stat. §§ 256.98, subd. 8; 256J.24, subd. 3; and 256J.95, subd. 3
Effective August 1, 2010

Clarifies that a disqualification for wrongfully obtaining assistance covers participants in the Work Participation Cash Benefit Program in MFIP

III. FAMILY CAP
First Special Session, Chapter 1, Article 18, Section 3 (HF 1)
Amends Minn. Stat. § 256J.24, subd. 6
Effective September 1, 2010

Clarifies that a pregnancy that did not result in a live birth cannot subsequently be counted against a woman under the family cap in MFIP.

IV. HARDSHIP EXTENSIONS
First Special Session, Chapter 1, Article 18, Section 4 (HF 1)
Amends Minn. Stat. § 256J.425, subd. 3
Effective August 1, 2010

Clarifies hardship extension eligibility for MFIP participants with a low IQ or learning disabilities, requiring that a qualified professional must consider whether the participant's condition restricts the range of employment the participant is able to perform or interferes with the participant's ability to obtain or maintain suitable employment for 20 or more hours per week.

V. MFIP HOUSING PENALTY
Chapter 301, Article 1, Section 8 (SF 2855)
Amends Minn. Stat. § 256.37, subd. 3a
Effective August 1, 2010

Lowers the standard for avoiding the MFIP housing penalty for participants with physical or mental obstacles by providing that a participant is not subject to penalty if the illness, injury, or incapacity "severely limits" (rather than "prevents") the person's ability to obtain or maintain suitable employment.

VI. MFIP YOUTH/CAREGIVER SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
First Special Session, Chapter 1, Article 25, Section 15
Appropriations Article
Effective May 21, 2010

Requires the Department of Human Services to contract with the Department of Employment and Economic Development to use up to $6 million in Federal TANF emergency funds for summer employment for MFIP youth and caregivers (under age 25) in families with incomes below 200% of FPG.

VII. WORK PARTICIPATION CASH BENEFIT
First Special Session, Chapter 1, Article 18, Section 5 (HF 1)
Amends Minn. Stat. § 256J.621(a)
Effective October 1, 2010

Reduces the monthly work participation cash benefit from $50 to $25 per month.