Page 28

Minnesota Family Investment Program Minnesota House Research Department Page 28 a state to spend 75 percent to 80 percent of the amount it spent in federal fiscal year 1994 under its old AFDC and related programs, including Child Care Assistance to eligible families.50 In 2001, the legislature placed two-parent MFIP families in a separate state program, which means that assistance paid to these families is paid for using state-only dollars. Previous to TANF’s reauthorization under the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, these two-parent families were not included in the federal two-parent family work participation rate of 90 percent. This resulted in a reduction of the state’s required MOE from 80 percent to 75 percent. With the passage of the DRA, these two-parent families were included in work participation rates. In response, the legislature in 2006 moved two-parent families to a new program that is no longer used for TANF/MOE purposes. In state fiscal year 2024, the required minimum MOE amount was $174.7 million per year. The state currently uses general fund spending on MFIP cash assistance benefits, MFIP and Basic Sliding Fee Child Care, and the state working family tax credit, as well as general fund spending on state and county administrative costs and employment services, to meet its TANF/MOE requirement. According to DHS, for state fiscal year 2023, total expenditures for MFIP and DWP were $313.2 million. Expenditures were $157.6 million for the cash portion of the grants and housing assistance grants and $155.6 million was for the food portion. Of the total, $90.6 million was financed with federal TANF funds, $154.8 million was from federal SNAP funds, and $67.8 million was from state appropriations. Fiscal Year 2023 MFIP Expenditures TANF SNAP General Fund Total $90,606,466 $154,792,105 $67,793,199 $313,191,770 Recipient Profile In fiscal year 2023, a monthly average of 66,671 people were receiving MFIP assistance. According to DHS, in December 2022, about 65 percent of these MFIP cases had one eligible parent, about 8 percent had two eligible parents, and about 27 percent were cases with no eligible parent in the household.51 Families enrolled in MFIP had an average of 2 children. The median age of a child enrolled in MFIP is 6 years old.52

50 42 U.S.C. § 609 (a)(7). 51 Examples of situations where no eligible parent is included in an MFIP case are: the parent receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and is not included in the MFIP grant; it is a child-only case where MFIP benefits are paid only for a child in the household. 52 Minnesota Family Investment Program and Diversionary Work Program: Characteristics of Cases and People, Department of Human Services, February 2024.