Court Ruling provides Retroactive Benefits to Some Relative Caregivers Caring for Children with Siblings on SSI

A recent court ruling means more money for some kinship families who have a child receiving SSI and another child who is receiving a “child only” grant. Like most court rulings, it can get complicated, but here is the scoop, put as simply as we can say it.

First, an example: Mary Smith has taken care of her grandchildren James and Tommy for the last five years. James and Tommy are brothers. It has been a struggle because Mary is retired and on a fixed income and James is disabled. James receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Mary was managing to make ends meet with the help of a “child only” (non-parent) public assistance grant that she received from the County. In July of 2004, Mary received a notice that created great hardship for her. The notice said that Tommy’s “child only” public assistance grant was going to be reduced by nearly $200 because of a new regulation that based the reduction on the presence of a sibling receiving SSI. This made it very hard for Mary to make ends meet.

But the court ruling in the case of Doe vs. Doar said that the regulation violated a law that protected a child’s rights to SSI benefits. The court ordered local social service districts to provide retroactive monetary awards for relative caregivers like Mary who have siblings in their care and who had their “child only” grants reduced because of the presence of a sibling receiving SSI. The court case challenged a policy of the Pataki administration that reduced the public assistance in households with children where at least one household member received SSI. The Court’s order applies primarily to parents living with their own children, but it will affect relative caregivers in certain situations like the one that was just described.

Here is what relative caregivers need to know:
Where at least one of the siblings cared for is on Supplemental Security Income (because of a disability) and at least one other sibling receives public assistance, the household will be covered by the court order in Doe.

In such cases, local social services districts must review the case back to July, 2004, and restore unlawfully reduced benefits to any affected household that still has an open public assistance case. This must be done by March 13, 2008. Any relative caregiver who thinks that they are covered by the Doe court order and who does not receive a retroactive award by March 13 should contact their social services worker. If this does not resolve the matter, contact the NYS Kinship Navigator for guidance.

In order for Doe to apply to a non-parent relative caregiver, all of the following must be true:

  1. The children in the relative’s care must be siblings or half siblings;
  2. One of the children received or receives SSI;
  3. One of the children receives a “child only” (non-parent) public assistance grant;
  4. At sometime during or after July, 2004, the “child only” public assistance grant was reduced because of the presence of the SSI child.

 

Susan Antos is a staff attorney at the Empire Justice Center, specializing in public benefits issues, including child care and other benefits available to non-parent caregivers. The Empire Justice Center is a support center for legal aid and legal services offices across the state with offices in Rochester, Albany and White Plains. You can learn more about the work of the Empire Justice Center at www.empirejustice.org.