Michigan Family Independence Program (FIP) cash assistance (2026)

The FIP payment standard behind a $583 check

MDHHS calls the maximum grant the payment standard. Your countable income is subtracted from it, and what remains is the grant ⁠². The grant is meant to cover shelter, heat, utilities, clothing, food and personal care. MDHHS bars its use for lottery tickets, alcohol, tobacco, gambling and a list of nonessential businesses ⁠¹³⁠⁷.

A single parent with two children is an “eligible grantee” group of three. A grandmother who cares for two grandchildren and is not asking for cash for herself uses the “ineligible grantee” column for a group of two: $325 ⁠¹.

The payment standard drops by $25 if a child in the group is under an immunization penalty ⁠³. When an application is approved partway through a month, the first payment may cover only the second half of the next month and is halved ⁠³. Benefits go onto the Michigan Bridge Card.

Two deficit tests instead of a published income limit

MDHHS does not publish a dollar income limit for FIP. A family qualifies only if its budgetable income falls below the payment standard, and the earned income deduction is smaller at application than after approval ⁠²⁠³:

1. Qualifying deficit test (at application)

   MDHHS subtracts $200 from each earner’s gross pay, then 20% of the rest. The remaining income must leave a deficit of at least $1 under the payment standard ⁠³⁠².

2. Issuance deficit test (every benefit month)

   MDHHS subtracts $200 from each earner’s pay, then 50% of the rest. The grant is the payment standard minus this income, and if it comes to less than $10, no FIP is paid ⁠³⁠².

3. Child support income test

   If certified child support is more than $50 a month, the support (less $50) plus other income must stay below the payment standard. A case closes if support collected exceeds the grant by $50 for two months in a row ⁠².

For a parent with two children, the first test means gross earnings of roughly $927 a month or more stop an application. Once the family is approved, wages up to about $1,346 a month still leave a grant of at least $10. Example: a parent earning $600 a month has $200 deducted, then half of the remaining $400, so $200 counts and the grant is $583 − $200 = $383 ⁠³. Up to $50 a month of voluntary child support is excluded ⁠².

What counts against the $15,000 asset limit

For FIP, MDHHS looks at only a few asset types: cash (including checking and savings), investments, retirement plans, trusts, and real property ⁠⁴. The limits are:

• $15,000 or less in cash, investments and retirement plans combined;
• $200,000 in real property, valued at fair market value ⁠⁴.

Vehicles are not on the list of assets FIP considers, so a car does not count against the limit ⁠⁴. MDHHS tests assets for the benefit month, and you pass if countable assets are at or under the limit on at least one day of that month. At application, MDHHS will not approve future months if assets are over the limit on the processing date ⁠⁴.

Michigan’s move from 48 to 60 months

FIP time limits apply to each adult, not to the children ⁠⁵:

• One 60-month count. As of April 1, 2025, Michigan law (2024 P.A. 138) raised the state lifetime limit from 48 to 60 months, matching the federal 60-month TANF limit. The old 48-month limit still applies only to people whose application was filed, and whose case was denied or closed for hitting 48 months, before March 22, 2025 ⁠⁵.
• Months that do not count toward the state limit. Months when an adult is deferred from PATH for domestic violence, age 65 or older, a verified disability or incapacity lasting more than 90 days, or caring for a disabled spouse or child in the home ⁠⁵.
• Months that always count. Months spent under a PATH, FAST or self-sufficiency plan sanction are added to the state count ⁠⁵.
• Out-of-state months. TANF received in other states counts. MDHHS’s central office verifies those months before approving FIP. An adult who arrives with 60 months from another state is not eligible ⁠⁵.

Michigan has no hardship extension beyond the limit. Once a FIP time limit is reached and the case closes, the adult cannot requalify by later meeting an exemption ⁠⁵. Two-parent cases are state-funded and do not use federal months, but they still count toward the state limit ⁠⁵.

PATH hours, deferrals and Michigan’s three-strike sanctions

Every work-eligible adult is referred to PATH when they apply. The FIP application can be approved only after the person starts the 10-day application eligibility period (AEP) by the date on the DHS-4785, PATH Appointment Notice, completes it, and keeps participating ⁠⁷. The last day to show up at PATH is 15 calendar days after the referral, and you can call before then to reschedule ⁠⁸. MDHHS must help with child care or transportation barriers before it can require attendance ⁠⁷.

Required hours for single parents depend on the youngest child’s age ⁠⁶:

• 20 hours a week if the youngest child in the group is under 6;
• 30 hours a week if the youngest child is 6 or older;
• two-parent families share a combined 35 hours, or 55 hours if they receive Child Development and Care payments ⁠⁶.

Applicants already working at least 40 hours a week at minimum wage are not referred to PATH ⁠⁸. One parent of a baby under 2 months old, and a mother recovering after birth, are disregarded for up to two months. A single parent caring for a child under 6 who cannot find adequate child care within 10 days can be deferred for 90 days, or until the child turns 6 or care is found ⁠⁸.

Refusing PATH activities without good cause closes the whole FIP case. The first time, the case closes for at least three months; the second time, for at least six months; the third time, for life ⁠⁹. Ask for a hearing and write “Expedited Hearing E&T” at the top if you think good cause was ignored ⁠⁹.

Car repairs and other Direct Support Services

Michigan does not pay a lump-sum diversion grant. Its Bridges Eligibility Manual has no diversion item. What it does have is Direct Support Services (DSS), paid by MDHHS or PATH to remove a barrier to work, at local office discretion and within each office’s yearly allocation ⁠¹⁰:

• Vehicle repair: up to $2,000 in total over any 12 months for the car you use to get to work or PATH ⁠¹⁰.
• Vehicle purchase: up to $5,000, once in a lifetime, if public transit cannot get you to a verified job and you have a valid Michigan driver’s license; insurance, plates and sales tax are covered separately ⁠¹⁰.
• Other help: transportation, work clothing, tools and physical exams ⁠¹⁰.

DSS is not an entitlement, and anyone found guilty of an intentional program violation in the past five years cannot get it ⁠¹⁰.

State Emergency Relief when rent is the crisis

For a one-time housing emergency, MDHHS runs State Emergency Relief (SER). You do not need to be on FIP to apply, and the same MI Bridges application covers it. SER relocation services can pay rent arrears (including court costs in an eviction judgment), first month’s rent, a security deposit or moving costs ⁠¹⁴. The fiscal-year maximums are $410 for one person, $520 for two, $620 for three, $740 for four, $870 for five and $1,040 for six or more ⁠¹⁴. SER is paid only if it resolves the emergency. Net income above the need standard ($625 a month for a family of three) becomes a copayment you must pay first, and cash assets over $15,000 usually lead to denial ⁠¹⁵.

Applying for FIP through MI Bridges, step by step

1. Collect proof for everyone in the home

   Gather pay stubs, child support records, bank and retirement balances, any property deeds, and the months and states where you received cash assistance before ⁠⁴⁠⁵.

2. Apply on MI Bridges or with the MDHHS-1171

   A MI Bridges application is treated the same as the paper form, and one filing can cover FIP, Food Assistance, Medicaid and SER. Answer the work and self-sufficiency questions fully, because MDHHS uses them to spot deferral reasons before it refers you to PATH ⁠⁷⁠¹².

3. Complete the interview and sign the DHS-1538

   All adults sign the Work and Self-Sufficiency Rules, which cover PATH, sanctions, the 60-month limit and banned uses of cash ⁠⁷. Tell the specialist about any child care or transportation barrier.

4. Start PATH by the date on the DHS-4785

   Complete the 10-day AEP and keep attending. FIP is denied automatically if PATH attendance is not recorded by the 17th day after referral ⁠⁷.

5. Cooperate with the Office of Child Support

   Without good cause, noncooperation closes FIP for at least one month. Good cause can include domestic violence ⁠¹¹.

6. Watch for the decision

   MDHHS must approve or deny FIP within 45 days of the application date ⁠¹².

7. Appeal within 90 days

   You have 90 calendar days from the date of the notice to ask for a hearing. If you ask within 10 days of the date a notice reducing or ending benefits was issued, your benefits continue at the old level until the decision ⁠¹³.

Child support passed through to FIP families

FIP families must assign their court-ordered child support to the state ⁠¹¹. But since Jan. 1, 2023, current court-ordered support paid for a child on FIP has gone to the parent as a child support client participation payment (CPP), rather than being kept by the state. Families also keep refunds, reimbursements and support for periods when the child was not on FIP ⁠¹¹. Support still counts in the child support income test described above ⁠². Parents not on FIP can open a case with the MDHHS Office of Child Support online or at 866-540-0008 ⁠¹¹.

For other help in this state, see all Michigan assistance guides or compare cash assistance across states.