Supplemental Security Income Disabled Child (SSIDC) benefits are monthly checks paid to financially needy disabled children for their care and support. However, this check is paid to cover the child’s rent, utilities, and food. No minor child is responsible for these bills! Disabled children require assistive devices (specialized equipment needed because of their disability), tutors, medications, and medical treatment for their conditions. These benefits can and should be paid through Medicaid. Therefore, change SSIDC benefits to ensure the child is entitled to Medicaid only, NOT a monthly check.
Paying parents a paycheck for having a disabled child encourages parents to have disabled children and keep them qualified for benefits. There is no incentive to teach the child how to function, grow, and learn to work within their disabilities because there is a constant fear the parents will lose that check. This also rewards parents who have multiple disabled children because it’s a $967 check per month per child with no cap. There are parents with 6 disabled children getting $5,802 per month and receive Medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance, discounted utilities, free cell phones, and more. This is a clear incentive to have more disabled children and live off the government.
The biggest problem is that this severely disadvantages the disabled child. They didn’t get the assistance and care they really needed. When they turn 18, they don’t qualify for disability benefits anymore. (Adult disability benefits are much stricter) This child has no real life skills to survive or make it in the world. Some turn to the easy answer to survive: have disabled children to live off the government once again.
A parent doesn’t choose to have a disabled child, and having said disabled child is probably going to take a toll on their ability to hold a normal full time job which is why they would probably need/use the check for other things too. While I see your point in some of the matter I think this was worded poorly and would create hardship for many families in America.
I do not have any disabled children, but that’s my opinion.
Agreed! I have to go up to my child’s school daily, sometimes twice, to help him when he stems & the staff (who are wonderful!) aren’t able to help fully depending on the situation. He also gets excellent support & learning skills from his core teachers/team at school, from his counselor, and it’s taught and used at home as well. I didn’t ask for him to be born with all that he has to fight through, and it’s heartbreaking seeing him struggle and wishing he didn’t have to. Also, he’s not capped at the $900 and whatever. Because of my income in my home, his SSI is less. And it helps to have the things he needs at home to help him through, etc.
I understand that this is worded very harshly because this is the majority of cases that we see at the Social Security Administration. The $900 is not used to enable the parent to have additional time to assist their disabled child or for the medical care the child needs to improve and function within their disability. Disabled children need Medicaid to help them get the best medical care at the lowest cost. If we need to ensure that after school programs are available to disabled children so the parents can continue to work full time, then it can be included in the Medicaid coverage. Adding this assistance makes more sense than what the SSIDC check is officially categorized as - to be used for the household bills for a disabled child. No, a parent does not choose to have a disabled child but they do choose to have a child. A parent is expected to cover the regular household bills for any of their children, not just an able-bodied child. We need to stop using the $900 to incentivize anyone and give disabled children what they really need - medical and education assistance.