Bruce Henricks gave the Mower County Board of Commissioners a recent report on funding for families.

Henricks is the executive director of the Mower County Department of Human Services.

During a regular visit with the county commissioners at their Tuesday meeting, Henricks reported on the Minnesota Family Investment Program.

MFIP is the current version of welfare or pubic assistance.

As of September 2002, the latest reporting period, there were 264 total cases of Mower County residents receiving MFIP grants. Fully, 220 of the grants go to single parents.

According to Henricks' report, the average monthly grant to all recipients is $567.

Caregivers, who are not parents, receive an average monthly grant of $651. One- parent recipients receive an average monthly grant of $551 and two-parent homes receive average monthly grants of $645.

There were 131 recipients, who had worked hours during the month surveyed (Sept. 2002). A total of 108 recipients reported budgeted earnings during the period.

Twenty-eight of the recipients received only food assistance and 67 were involved in some sort of employment service activities such as job search and training or education.

Forty of the grants recipients were exempt from work activities. The majority were those providing care to a child under the age of 1 year old and those seriously ill or injured.

No less than 59 grant recipients had their monthly grants reduced.

According to Henricks, 54 recipients of the monthly grants received child assistance only. The break-down included 28 who were SSI caregivers, 12 who were non-citizen caregivers and 12 who were relative care cases.

The average monthly MFIP grants for child-only assistance were $284 in cash and $168 for food for an average monthly grant of $451.

The report was made for "information only" purposes, according to the DHS director and the county commissioners took it under advisement.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com