SSI Children Entering Foster Care 447-10-20-20-10

(Revised 11/1/10 ML #3249)

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Some children are already recipients of SSI when they enter foster care. It is critical, and it is North Dakota policy, that such children must be thoroughly evaluated for IV-E eligibility. Receipt of SSI payments alone never makes a child ineligible for IV-E, regardless of the SSI amount received.  

 

In some instances a parent or a disabled child may receive SSI while the remaining members of the family receive AFDC. To comply with federal law, an SSI recipient shall not be regarded as a member of the assistance unit for purposes of computing the AFDC grant. Consequently, assets and/or income which are owned solely by the SSI recipient, including that portion of income which is disregarded by the Social Security Administration in determining SSI entitlement, may not be considered available to the AFDC family. Similarly, income, which is earmarked for members of the AFDC unit, including income earned by the eligible AFDC caretaker, must be applied against the family’s needs with no portion of such income being “deemed” to the SSI recipient. However, income, liquid assets, and/or real and personal property owned jointly by the SSI recipient and AFDC applicant/recipient are to be apportioned equally on a 50-50 basis between the SSI and AFDC units, unless otherwise indicated.

 

NOTE:  RSDI, SSA, and SSDI payments are computed as income to the family in determining IV-E eligibility.  SSI is not to be confused with RSDI, which is Retirement, Survivors’, and Disability Insurance administered by the Social Security Administration. RSDI is sometimes referred to as SSA (Social Security Administration payments) or SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance payments). These are non-means-tested benefits paid to adults and children as survivors or dependents of a deceased or disabled person who has paid into the Social Security Trust Fund.  

 

SSI payment receipt does not disqualify a child for IV-E.  On the contrary, SSI eligibility is a good indicator (although not a guarantee) that a child entering care will meet the means test for IV-E eligibility during the removal month, since that child has previously passed the similar SSI means test. To be IV-E eligible, of course, the home of removal must still, during the petition month, meet the AFDC means test and deprivation test, plus the IV-E legal status test and judicial language test.  

 

When an SSI child enters foster care, the agency must apply to become the SSI Representative Payee for the child and must then elect either to receive the SSI payment or claim IV-E funds for the cost of the child’s care. (See 447-10-20-20-20.)