How to Appeal a Michigan Benefit Denial as a Kinship Caregiver

The Notice That Starts the Clock

When MDHHS denies a benefit application, reduces your benefits, or closes your case, they send a Notice of Case Action — commonly called a NOCA. This notice arrives by mail or through your MI Bridges account and states what action was taken and why.

Read the reason line carefully. For kinship caregivers, the most common denial reasons are:

• Missing verification documents (the caseworker asked for something and didn't receive it within the deadline)
• Incorrect household classification (the caseworker counted the caregiver's income in a case that should be child-only)
• Failure to meet an interview or appointment
• Incorrect determination that the child doesn't reside with the caregiver

Each of these adverse actions can be challenged through an administrative hearing request.

The 12-Day Rule

You have 90 days from the date on the notice to file a hearing request. But there's a critical deadline within that window: if you file within 12 calendar days of the notice date, MDHHS must continue paying your existing benefits while the appeal is pending. This is called "aid continuing."

Miss the 12-day window and you can still file an appeal, but you lose the right to keep the existing benefit level while the hearing is pending. The noticed action can take effect during the appeal.

The 12 days count from the date printed on the notice, not the date you received it in the mail. If a notice is dated October 1 and you receive it October 4, you have until October 13 to file and preserve aid continuing. Check your MI Bridges account and your mailbox frequently during any active application or redetermination period.

Filing the Hearing Request

Use MDHHS form DHS-18 (Request for Hearing). You can submit it:

• Through MI Bridges (electronic submission)
• By mail to your local MDHHS county office
• By fax to your local MDHHS county office
• In person at the county office

When filling out the form, be specific about what you're contesting. If the denial was for FIP because the caseworker counted your income, write that you applied as an ineligible grantee under BEM 210 and that your income should be excluded from the child's eligibility calculation. If documents were listed as missing, identify which documents you submitted and when.

Save a copy of everything you submit, including the date and method of submission. If you fax the form, keep the fax confirmation page. If you submit through MI Bridges, save the confirmation screen.

Before the Hearing

You have the right to review your complete MDHHS case file before the hearing. Request it from your local office — they must provide access. The case file often reveals whether the caseworker made a procedural error, applied the wrong BEM policy, or failed to enter documents that were actually submitted.

You can also:

• Submit documentary evidence (bank statements, upload confirmations, birth certificates, whatever supports your case)
• Bring witnesses who can testify about the child's living situation or your relationship
• Have a lawyer, legal aid representative, or advocate present on your behalf

Michigan Legal Help and the Michigan Poverty Law Program offer free representation to eligible low-income families in administrative hearings. The MSU Kinship Care Resource Center (1-800-535-1218) can help connect you with an advocate.

What Happens at the Hearing

An Administrative Law Judge from the Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules (MOAHR) conducts the hearing. Most hearings are held by phone, though in-person hearings can be requested.

The hearing is less formal than a courtroom proceeding, but the ALJ follows the specific BEM, BAM, and RFT policies that were in effect on the date of the action. This means the decision is based on what the policy manual says — not on a caseworker's interpretation or an office's informal practice.

The ALJ will ask the MDHHS representative to explain the basis for the denial. You (or your advocate) then have the opportunity to present your side, submit documents, and explain where the agency's determination was incorrect.

The written hearing decision explains the result and any action MDHHS must take.

If You Lose — and the Recoupment Risk

If the ALJ rules against you and you received "aid continuing" during the appeal, MDHHS can recoup those benefits — meaning they'll recover the amount paid during the appeal period from future benefits. This is a real financial risk, and you should weigh it before filing for aid continuing if your case is weak.

If MDHHS counted your retirement income against a child-only FIP application, explain that you applied as an ineligible grantee under BEM 210 and include any supporting case records or notices.

The Financial Help for Grandparents and Relatives Raising a Child in Michigan guide includes a hearing request tracker and Notice of Case Action log so you can organize every document and deadline in one place before the hearing.

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