When the new stipulations take effect in April, thousands of students who obtained the debit card-like Bridge Cards will have the benefits revoked.

Old guidelines applied by the department stipulated simply being a college student allowed eligibility.

Under the new guidelines, circumstances where continued use by students will be permitted include having children while working at a low-paying job, a department release said.

Christina Fecher, a DHS spokeswoman, said the decision brings the program in-line with federal guidelines that require eligibility to extend beyond being a college student. No numbers for how much money the move will save are available, Fecher said.

The department’s decision has some students crying foul, such as advertising senior Josh Broecker.
Broecker, who has had a Bridge Card since September, said he understands some students might abuse the program, but students by and large cannot afford food despite many state officials’ assertions that students should obtain assistance from family.

“My parents help me out with some stuff, but they can’t afford to help me out with everything,” Broecker said. “Money you get from working in the summer only lasts for so long.”

The DHS is not the only entity looking to nip Bridge Card abuse in the bud. A number of legislators have introduced bills aimed at tying up what they say are loose ends within the program.

State Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, said the DHS should have been applying the standards announced Wednesday long ago. He said although the decision could have lashed out more broadly at abuse by people other than college students, the message was sound.

“They weren’t really following federal law appropriately,” said Meadows, who has introduced legislation aimed at preventing people with cash benefits under the Bridge Card program from using the money to gamble and purchase alcohol and tobacco. “Coming into compliance with it will probably take care of the issue.”

The DHS’ announcement elated state Rep. Joseph Haveman, R-Holland, who introduced legislation last week that would make people claimed on their parents’ income tax forms ineligible for Bridge Card assistance.

“With the stroke of a pen, everything’s changed,” said Haveman, who said he still is pondering whether to continue pressing his legislation. “We don’t want to teach these kids that they’re entitled to something just because it’s a government program.”

But for Broecker, what once was one less thing to have to worry about soon will become a whole new problem.

“I just really don’t have the extra money for groceries,” he said.