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All of the benefit information below has been complied by COPS, a support group for police survivors.
(Rev. 09/04)
STATE OF MICHIGAN
BENEFITS
To obtain certified copies of registered personal documents, contact the county clerk’s
office, or the State of Michigan: Vital Records Requests, PO Box 30721, Lansing MI 48909,
517-335-8666. Records are available on-line from the Michigan Department of Community
Health: www.michigan.gov/mdch
STATE DEATH BENEFITS
Public Act 46 of 2004, the Public Safety Officers Benefit Act, provides compensation to the
dependents of public safety officers who are killed or who are permanently disabled in the line of
duty. The state shall pay a benefit of $25,000 to 1 of the following:
1. If the deceased public safety officer leaves a surviving spouse, to that surviving spouse.
2. If the deceased public safety officer does not leave a spouse, to his or her dependents.
3. If the public safety officer does not leave a surviving spouse or any surviving dependents,
payment shall be made to the estate of the deceased public safety officer.
4. If the public safety officer is permanently and totally disabled, to the spouse, but if there
is no spouse, to the dependents, and if there are no dependents, then to the entity
providing care to the permanently and totally disabled public safety officer.
The benefit shall be paid in addition to any other benefit that the beneficiary receives due to the
death of the public safety officer. This Act is retroactive and is effective October 1, 2003.
PA 46 defines a public safety officer as “any individual serving a public agency in an official
capacity, with or without compensation, as a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, rescue squad
member, or ambulance crew member. A law enforcement officer includes police, corrections,
probation, parole, bailiffs, or other similar court officers.
Line of Duty means either of the following:
� Any action which an officer whose primary function is crime control or reduction,
enforcement of the criminal law, or suppression of fires is obligated or authorized by rule,
regulations, condition of employment or service, or law to perform, including those
social, ceremonial, or athletic functions to which the officer is assigned, or for which the
officer is compensated, by the public agency he or she serves. For other officers, line of
duty means any action the officer is so obligated or authorized to perform in the course of
controlling or reducing crime, enforcing the criminal law, or suppressing fires.
� Any action which an officially recognized or designated public employee member of a
rescue squad or ambulance crew is obligated or authorized by rule, regulation, condition
of employment or service, or law to perform.
The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) division of the Michigan
Department of State Police is responsible for the administration of this program. Call Dave King
at (517) 322-6433.
(Rev. 09/04)
2
HEALTH BENEFITS
Varied, depending upon the individual municipal or county department. Benefits for spouse and
children may expire within days of an officer’s death.
A Michigan Department of State Police spouse is covered for life; dependent children are
covered until age 18; this may be extended beyond age 18 if dependent children remain in
student status or have a permanent disability.
Contact: Michigan Department of Civil Service, Capitol Commons Center, Suite 102, P.O.
Box 30002, Lansing, MI 48909; (517) 373-1846.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
Workers’ Compensation coverage is compulsory for employers with 3 or more employees in
Michigan; however, waivers are allowed.
Benefit is 80% of worker’s spendable earnings for a spouse or a spouse with child(ren) with a
minimum weekly benefit of $362.48 and a maximum weekly benefit of $653.00 for a
maximum period of 500 weeks. Burial allowance is $6000.
Children receive benefits until 16, 18 if full-time students, or longer if disabled,
notwithstanding the 500-week limit.
To receive workers’ compensation benefits, the surviving spouse must take the initiative and file
a workers’ compensation claim. If a claim is disputed, it may be necessary for the spouse to seek
the services of a workers’ compensation attorney. The initial hearing on disputed claims is before
the Board of Magistrates and is subject to review by the workers’ compensation Appellate
Commission.
Contact the Bureau of Workers’ Disability Compensation, P.O. Box 30016, Lansing, MI
48909, telephone (888)- 396-5041.
PENSION BENEFITS
Public Act 8, 2002, amended 1937 PA 345 to, among other things, prohibit the denial of pension
benefits to the spouses of public safety officers killed in the line of duty who remarry.
The remarriage of a surviving spouse shall not render the surviving spouse ineligible to receive a
pension described in section 6(1)(i) or a duty death pension described in section 6(2)(a). A
surviving spouse whose pension as described in either of those sections was terminated due to
the surviving spouse’s remarriage shall be eligible to receive that pension or duty death pension
beginning on the first day of the month following the month in which written application for
reinstatement is filed with the board, but shall not be eligible to receive the pension or duty death
pension attributable to any month beginning before the month of reinstatement under this
section.
(Rev. 09/04)
3
Beginning on the effective date of the amendatory act that amended this subsection, [May 20,
2003] the provisions of subsection (1) that apply to a surviving spouse who is eligible to receive
the pension or duty death pension described in section 6(1)(i) shall apply to a municipality upon
approval by resolution of the governing body of the municipality.
Beginning on the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection, [May 20, 2003]
a surviving spouse who is eligible to receive a duty death pension described in section 6(2)(a)
and who remarries after that date shall not be denied a duty death pension by a municipality
because of that remarriage.
Members of the State Police Retirement System may contact Ms. Rita Pontz, Secondary
Complex, General Office Building, 3rd Floor, 7150 Harris Drive, P.O. Box 30171, Lansing, MI
48909; 1-800-381-5111. Even prior to Public Act 8 of 2002, surviving spouses of state police
officers were not denied pension upon remarriage.
EDUCATION BENEFITS
Public Act 195 of 1996, the Police Officer’s and Firefighter’s Survivor Tuition Act, provides for
the waiver of tuition at public community and junior colleges and state universities for the
surviving spouse and children of Michigan police officers and fire fighters killed in the line of
duty. The program is intended to provide an educational benefit to the spouse and children of
police officers and fire fighters who made the ultimate sacrifice for their communities and the
citizens of Michigan. Beginning with the academic year 1996/97, tuition is waived for eligible
survivors enrolled in classes leading to a certificate or undergraduate degree.
The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) division of the Michigan
Department of State Police is responsible for the administration of this program.
Persons wishing to participate in this program must submit an application prior to the start of
the academic year. The Act has specific eligibility requirements; therefore, potential applicants
are encouraged to read the following information carefully before applying.
APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
To be eligible, the person applying must be the spouse or child, natural or adopted, of a Michigan
police officer or firefighter who was killed in the line of duty. A child must be less than age 21
at the time of the police officer’s or firefighter’s death.
The deceased police officer must have been a sheriff or sheriff deputy, village or township
marshal, a police officer of any city, village, or township, an officer of the state police, or any
other police officer trained and certified pursuant to the Commission on Law Enforcement
Standards Act. The death must have been the direct and proximate result of a traumatic
injury incurred in the line of duty.
(Rev. 09/04)
4
TUITION WAIVER REQUIREMENTS
Eligible surviving spouses and children must meet the following requirements:
� Apply, qualify, and be admitted in a program of study leading to a certificate or degree
at a Michigan public community college, junior college, or a state university.
� Be a legal resident of Michigan for 12 consecutive months preceding application.
Dependent students shall use the parent’s residency status.
� Provide satisfactory evidence to the Michigan Department of State Police that the
applicant is an eligible child or surviving spouse of a police officer or firefighter killed
in the line of duty.
� Apply for the first time before the age of 21, if the student is the child of a deceased
police officer or firefighter.
� Be certified by the financial aid officer of the eligible college or university that the
waiver is needed to meet education expenses. The child’s or surviving spouse’s family
income, excluding any income from death benefits attributable to the police officer’s
or firefighter’s death, must be below 400% of the federal poverty level.
� Maintain satisfactory academic progress for each enrolled term or semester as defined by
the institution of attendance.
� Have not received a bachelor’s degree
� Have received a tuition waiver for less than 124 semester hours or 180 term hours, and
for less than a maximum of 9 semesters or the equivalent number of terms.
[The 400% of the federal poverty level should not deter an eligible recipient from applying. For 2003-2004,
400% of the federal poverty level for a family of three was $61,040; for a family of four, it was $73,600.
Family income from death benefits attributable to the officer’s death IS EXCLUDED when calculating
income.]
LIMITATIONS
The eligible college or university may waive tuition only for courses applicable toward a
certificate or degree in the program in which the applicant is enrolled. Tuition may be waived for
not more than 9 semesters or the equivalent in terms. Tuition may be waived only to the extent
that the tuition is not covered or paid by any scholarship, trust fund, statutory benefit, or
other source of tuition coverage.
Contact the Survivor Tuition Waiver Program, Michigan Commission on Law
Enforcement Standards, Michigan Department of State Police, 7426 North Canal Road,
Lansing, MI 48913, telephone (517) 322-3968.
POLICE CORPS SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS
The Police Corps was created to help address violent crime by increasing the number of officers
with advanced education and training who are assigned to community patrol. The central
component of the Police Corps is the provision of financial assistance and basic police training to
college students who agree to serve as officers for four years, along with financial assistance to
participating police departments and sheriffs’ offices. A second component offers noobligation
college scholarships to children of law enforcement officers killed in the line of
duty.
(Rev. 09/04)
5
If a local, state, or Federal law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty after the state in
which he or she serves joins the Peace Corps, his or her dependent children may be eligible for
college scholarships. [In Michigan, the death must have occurred since April, 1997.] To be
considered “dependent” at the time of the parent’s death, the student must be under 21 or be
receiving more than one-half of his/her financial support from his/her parents.
Eligible dependent students receive up to $3,750 per year to cover educational expenses for the
current academic year. Dependents may pursue any course of study at any accredited institution
of higher education. Allowable educational expenses include tuition, fees, required books, and
transportation between home and school. Full-time students also may claim reasonable expenses
for room and board.
A student may receive up to $15,000 under the program. The application process for dependent
child scholarships is non-competitive. Interested dependents should contact the “lead agency” of
the state in which their parent served. A brief application form must be completed.
Contact: Ferris State University School of Criminal Justice is the lead agency in Michigan.
Contact Frank Crowe at (231) 591-2710, Email: mpc@ferris.edu or visit
www.ferris.edu/education/michiganpolicecorps.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
Established in 1984, Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. (COPS), is a national, non-profit
organization that works with law enforcement agencies, police organizations, mental health
professional, and local peer-support organizations to provide assistance to surviving families of
law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. COPS has become a “lifeline” to police
survivors nationwide.
For the Michigan chapter of COPS, contact:
Mrs. Diane Philpot, President, MI-COPS, PO Box 928, Suttons Bay, MI, 49682; 877-4MICOPS;
survivor@mi-cops.org; www.mi-cops.org
MI-COPS assists surviving families with stipends to attend National Police Week events in
Washington, D.C., in the year that the officer is honored. MI-COPS also gives stipends to
surviving family members who attend the survivor retreats put on by COPS each year.
All of the benefit information above has been complied by COPS, a support group for police survivors.
Contact the National Office of Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. for additional information, or to support any of COPS' programs.
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Web site copyrighted © 2005 by Lydia Warner Miller