Truant kids to cost families state aid

Michigan parents whose children don't attend school will lose welfare cash benefits under a new state policy that takes effect Oct. 1.

Starting Monday, the Michigan Department of Human Services will require children ages 6-15 to attend school full time to keep their family eligible for cash benefits. If a child doesn't, the entire family becomes ineligible.

The policy change was prompted by Gov. Rick Snyder, who called earlier this year for a crackdown on truancy and the cycle of crime it creates. It takes effect two days before Michigan's fall Count Day, when attendance is used to determine 90 percent of a school district's per-pupil funding from the state.

For the 2011-12 school year, 93,408 cases of truancy were reported in Michigan schools, an increase of nearly 10,000 from the previous year, which had 83,491.

The policy is expected to affect the vast majority of the state's 59,000 welfare cash-assistance cases and its 162,655 recipients. The average eligible household in Michigan receives $463 a month from the state.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120925/METRO/209250373#ixzz27SKFFMK3