Luke Shaefer, Detroit Free Press: “In a lot of our programs, especially cash assistance, some states make it much much much much harder to get benefits and some states make it easier,” said H. Luke Shaefer, director of Poverty Solutions and a professor of social justice and social policy at University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy.
He said Michigan has worked very hard to ensure the process of applying for public assistance is not as laborious as it was. The application, which used to be around 45 pages and took residents 45 minutes to an hour to fill out, is now 18 pages and demands around 20 minutes.