Supplemental Security Income for Children with Disabilities
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: April 29, 2021
During our careers, we’ve helped many people receive Social Security. We know the positive effects of receiving these crucial benefit payments. We’ve seen how Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments can help keep children and teenagers with disabilities out of poverty. Many eligible children under age 18 continue to benefit from SSI’s monthly payment, which can be up to $794 in 2021.
SSI helps low income families care for their children with mental or physical disabilities. We know it can be difficult to meet a child’s disability-related needs. SSI can help meet these and other needs to ensure the best outcome for the child. These needs might include:
- Adaptive clothing or eating utensils.
- Toys.
- Learning materials.
- Home accessibility modifications.
- Food supplements.
- Power for the child’s medical equipment.
- Specially trained child care.
Many parents and caretakers of children with disabilities lose work hours and income because of their children’s care needs. In addition to helping a child with disability-related needs, SSI can lessen the income gap so the child and family are able to thrive. SSI can cover the child’s share of household expenses for basic needs like food, rent or mortgage, and utilities. These benefits also can pay for clothing, school supplies, and other necessities.
In most states, children who are eligible for SSI will also be eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid pays for basic health care and prescription drugs at little or no cost. It’s also used for other services that are “medically necessary” to meet the child’s disability-related needs.
It takes some work to apply for SSI and provide the needed documents. The rules about showing disability and income eligibility are complicated. However, we want families to know they can appeal a decision if they are turned down. They may even get help with the appeal—and maybe at no cost.
Families can still apply for SSI even while Social Security offices are unable to welcome walk-in visitors. You can get started at the SSI for Children page. There, you’ll learn about applying for SSI, and you’ll have access to the Child Disability Starter Kit and Child Disability Report form.
We’ve seen SSI help many families raising children with disabilities. SSI was there for them and their families’ security—and it’s there for your family, too.
Please share this information with your family and friends, and help us spread the word about SSI for children!
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Tags: Children, People Facing Barriers, SSI
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Miguel P.
My Dependent son who is suffering from Autism Syndrome Disorder and was approved by SSA as a disabled child. He is currently receiving SSI. As an aging retired veteran his Tricare coverage will expire soon and his medications and Special educations will be a big hurdle to the family’s budget. I am 75 yrs old. Is there any help available to sustain the costs of these mounting expenses from SSA? I am appealing, can SSA help to ease my mind to these battle? Is he allowed to be in Free Medicare A and B. These unforseen dilemna is creating a unthinkable stress on my part. Please……I need some help.
V.V.
Hi Miguel, thanks for using our blog. If you’re receiving a Social Security benefit, your son may be due Disabled Adult Child benefits on your record. Higher benefits might be payable and entitlement to Medicare may be possible.
To inquire about potential benefits for your son, you can call us at 1-800-772-1213 for assistance or you can call your local Social Security office. Please look for the general inquiry telephone number at the Social Security Office Locator. The number may appear under Show Additional Office Information. Please be aware that our call wait times are longer than normal. We hope this information helps.
narendra k.
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rahul
nice post Jonathan,
everyone have own responsibility to take care.
Samantha S.
Very nice post Jonathan, I found it explanatory and informative, keep sharing the best content,
Take care and stay positive,
best regards
Samantha S.
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Athena B.
Unfortunately the SSI program violates the Olmstead Decision in which the Supreme Court stated that a person with a disability should never face an unwanted confinement when they can receive home and community based services to help remain at home. The one way a disabled child can receive SSI if their parents have too much income or resources, is to be confined in a hospital or facility for intellectually disabled or mentally retarded for a month to disregard parental income and be placed in their own budget unit – even though this same child is considered severely disabled and receives a Medicaid Waiver for Home and Community Based Services. The parents have signed a special choice of living statement to keep them at home in lieu of institutional care. Why is proof that this child has been determined to need institutional care not enough to automatically trigger SSI payments and disregard parental income?????
Many families live in fear of losing SSI benefits every day due to receiving some unexpected payment…one of my clients actually was told by their rep payee social worker that they should not have taken the extended Covid 19 unemployment benefit to save their home, because it triggered SSI overpayments that they are expected to repay!!! Honestly how can you ask for repayment of SSI payments that were essential to stabilize this family and keep a disabled child in his home! The overpayments will have to be paid with Covid 19 relief funds! That is despicable! Why is the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder not making this debilitating disability an automatic SSI compassionate approval? The SSA is over scrutinizing the wrong protected class and skirting the boundary of discrimination, especially when our government sends more than ten year’s worth of SSI payments for a hundred thousand recipients to countries like Pakistan for Gender Studies… Time to revamp this program and care for those who need it the most!
Athena B.
And why isn’t there a special weighted tax credit for raising a disabled child?
Why can a parent never see the actual computations used to determine the monthly SSI benefit for their disabled child?
Why is the monthly benefit so low as to keep that child’s family in poverty conditions? It hasn’t been substantially raised since the 70s!
$794.00 doesn’t go far when special needs products and services are so expensive. You realize that this amount only equates to one parent working 12 hours a week at $15/hour minimum wage…but most families with a disabled child require at least one parent to stop working in order to provide care and supervision as well as run the child’s therapy schedule, and deal with the school. We need to raise this pittance to a more realistic amount to actually stabilize these families and to give disabled adults a little more than poverty living conditions when SSI is their only income.
Please petition your Congressional Representatives to revisit the SSI benefit and to bring it into the 21st century.
Cathy V.
I’m in the same boat..
I’m a single divorced unemployed woman since 2013 raising my 21 year old daughter by myself, her father is a 30 year military veteran, retired 4 years ago, we were married his entire career and then some, my daughter is my youngest of 4 and my 3 older sons are all on their own for the past 8 years…
I need some kind of relief…
I was a dod employee on the Newport Naval base, has to quit while he went to Iraq for an entire year…
Never went back to work because he said, I didn’t have to
Then he walked out 2 years later, never came back
Beth B.
My son now gets part of my husband’s Social Security so his SSI will be taken away of 6/1/21
I didn’t know that his SSI would be taken away because he will be receiving part of my husband SS
GiGi
SSI is income dependent. The most disabled children will not qualify based on family income. Retirement benefits are not based on income because the benefits are based on wages earned and payments into social security fund.
V.V.
Thank you for your question, Beth. If receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits, a change in income can affect SSI benefits. This is because the amount of an SSI benefit is based, in part, on the income and resources available to the individual receiving SSI benefits. Check out our Understanding SSI web page for additional details regarding income. We hope you find this information helpful.
Edna E.
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MGCleaning
Disability is very common among the children. Usually we noted that mostly in child birth children are disable but at that time people take no tension to treat this disability so we must make such environment to take necessary steps regarding. Instead of all these things we also need to clean the environment End of Lease Cleaning therefore best services with great package are available.
Grannie
My grandson has a developmental delay, Takes OT, Diagnosed with a learning disability, has programs to read his lessons to him be cause of Auditory Processing Disorder, has a program to speak into because of Spatial Motor Dysgraphia’, HAS Eosinophilic Esophagitis and certain foods scar his esophagus and stomach, Moderate asthma Autistic and STILL I’m trying to appeal a denial. Almost died at a school from anaphylaxis exposure food allergen because the schools cannot seem to get it right and he was food bullied. . We CharyerSchool him to keep him safe.
Sulemani n.
ILove Demain dey my family from god thanks very much for your support
Gigi
The family has to be low- income to qualify no matter how disabled the child may become. If the family does not meet the criteria of being “low income “ a denial of that claim is issued.
Jackie
One of my sons was denied and he has ADHD. I know other parents who children have the same condition and they receive disability. I am reapplying now but I’ll have a lawyer this time if he’s rejected again.
paul
Why would you think the ADHD qualifies for SSI? Your son does not have to stay home or have special qualifying care. ADHD individuals, including adults, simply take simple medication. Yes I am ADHD and live a normal life.
George D.
Not everyone with ADHD is able to tolerate medications for the disorder and some medications may be contraindicated for some patients due to other health conditions. As well, children may have special needs at certain stages of development. There are other factors as well. Even if a person can tolerate certain medications, not everyone responds to them in the same way.
Debbie F.
My son got to the point where he got a judge. He has a fractured back and proof. Plus the big thing he has severe anxiety problems he’s been to a place where you think your going to try suicide.. hes been to so many hospitals it’s crazy. They said she could get the judge to reconsider or try again my god we have done ev
Debbie F.
Please help hunter freyermut is his name it’s not fair I know people with less problems trust me he had alot of documantation