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Strict new truancy penalty

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    Michigan to cut welfare if kids miss school

  • Duration 4:24
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Do you want -- welfare check well here's the catch now the state of Michigan refusing to cut checks to parents.

If their kids cut too much school it's a hard -- approach to increase attendance but not everyone agrees with it.

Joining me -- -- they -- Thompson deputy director of field operations at the Michigan department of human services.

And Maureen Taylor who works Michigan's welfare rights organization good morning it's.

Good morning -- Sharon let me start with you -- know that you say that you're just expanding.

An initiative.

How does welfare correlate with kids going to school.

Well one of the things we want to ensure that we are breaking generational poverty it does start with the children.

Because of their regularly attending school.

Then they're going to graduate.

And they will become successful adults that's where it starts that.

And we want to ensure that all children have an opportunity to become successful that's my understanding -- that if they -- ten days or more.

The benefits are cut option in your office we'll go and try and work with them.

Well I actually -- truancy rate is defined by the individual school district.

But what we will do is at the initial application of benefits.

If -- -- -- -- applying for benefits and at the child sixteenth seventeenth and eighteenth birthday we will verify that parents school will get that information.

-- from the school itself and we will look at it that says that the children are regularly attending school it will continue at that says that they are not regularly attending school and left there excused absences -- It but such as illness right and we will terminate benefits marine I know that your -- -- why.

Well this is an insidious -- -- -- current constant.

Unconscionable -- to tip to try to -- stereotype.

That don't support say notion.

That welfare recipients on lazy -- motivated we don't care about our children.

We don't value education.

It's a stereo typical approach and what to do is is a continuation.

Of the F -- And gets poor women and poor children not an attack against poverty data problems with -- and -- -- is no.

Gold spitz is that welfare recipients.

And their children -- -- in terms of not attending school.

If they isn't truancy problem -- -- -- -- in the empirical data that indicates that there what we should be doing is finding out reasons why kids that -- not going to school.

The department of human services would be better served if in fact -- Cherilus she's a wonderful person.

If she can figure out a way to break out.

Food stamps right now that there well coming in at about a hundred -- A bottom dollar and 29 -- today her personal -- so this is -- issue was just they reappearing.

-- it is do you believe that kids will get a better education if they actually show up for school.

I believed that all education is important and -- education is a way out of poverty.

I do not believe that in order to make education available to key is to what we have to do was threaten the parents threatened to rest of the family with cutting -- benefit.

It's but we've seen them at two different art in new York and seeing where they -- kids go to school it's about the incentive to get them there.

Do you see this as an incentive for parents to pay more attention and make sure that their kids actually no no no I do not -- -- pure and simple punishment.

No other group of people is being targeted.

In Michigan to say what about all the kids that I'm not.

Well I'll household family members and -- I don't wait for anything additionally you're one of the direct I understand your point and get child responds -- ran out of time pitcher.

Okay what I want to say is that you did ask the question in regards to what can we do to help.

Implants say an -- Haniyeh in Detroit we have dedicated social workers that have been placed an elementary school.

They're -- -- try to be.

Pro active instead of reactive they will look at what the corps -- of the reason is as to why children and school to try to help them we don't -- -- cut benefits.

However we still want to ensure the children -- school and we were built we can't to try to help them.

To get there it means that we need to rally around so to see you.

To see what -- to see what the root cause is we re trying to do that to get -- in school the program starts October 1 you heard bush side Cheryl and marine.

Thanks so much for joining us fox.

And he.

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