Miller v. Wisconsin Dept of Health & Social Servs.

95CV2488 (Wis. Cir. Ct. Dane County Mar. 25, 1996). ; Clearinghouse Number: 51147

Description

Children of AFDC Applicant Whose Husband Works in Another County Are Not Deprived of Parental Support

Abstract

The court has affirmed the decision of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to deny AFDC benefits to petitioner. After receiving AFDC benefits in Racine County, where her husband is employed, petitioner moved to Dane County and applied for benefits. DHSS denied her application after finding that her children were not deprived of parental support. On appeal, petitioner argued that her husband was an absent parent as defined by the Social Security Act and its implementing regulations and that DHSS incorrectly counted him as a member of her household. The court found that DHSS’s decision was supported by substantial evidence. Petitioner’s husband has sent her money and visited the family twice since they left Racine County, sends the children money for clothes, shoes, and toys, and is named as an emergency contact on the children’s school enrollment forms. The court also noted petitioner’s testimony that she can count on her husband to help with any problems with her children and his statement that he feels responsible for the children while they are in Dane County. The court rejected petitioner’s assertion that DHSS required total cessation of parental contact to support a finding of deprivation of parental support and found that the hearing examiner correctly articulated the purposes of the AFDC statute. The court also rejected the assertion that the hearing examiner merely looked at what her husband could do and failed to evaluate whether he was actually providing care and support.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Petitioner represented by Jack Longert, Legal Action of Wisconsin, 31 S. Mills St., P.O. Box 259686, Madison, WI 53725-9686, (608) 256-3304.
Docket Date
1996-03-25 00:00:00+00:00