C. Benefits from the Social Security Administration

1. Child receives income from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI)

A child entering DFPS conservatorship may be entitled to various benefits through the Social Security Administration (SSA).^[119] If the child is currently receiving benefits, DFPS must promptly notify SSA that the child is under DFPS conservatorship so that DFPS can apply to become the representative payee of the child's benefits.^[120] Once SSA approves DFPS to be the child's representative payee, DFPS will generally remain the payee until DFPS conservatorship ends or until the young adult exits extended foster care. Regional SSI Coordinators oversee this process of applying for the transfer to DFPS as the representative payee. When a child or young adult exits foster care or extended foster care, the child's caregiver or the young adult must go to an SSA office to request the transfer of SSI or RSDI benefits to the caregiver or the young adult as payee.

2. SSI for a child in traditional foster care

Children in foster care may qualify for the federal benefit of Supplemental Security Income due to a mental or physical disability. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is available to disabled children who have limited income and resources. For a child in foster care, the DFPS SSI Coordinator may apply for SSI benefits for a child who is also eligible for Title IV-E foster care assistance. If DFPS claims Title IV-E foster care assistance for the child's maintenance payment, DFPS cannot use the child's SSI benefit to offset the Title IV-E foster care payment.^[121]

The decision to apply for SSI while a child is in foster care is based upon the amount of the child's foster care payment. For children in the legacy area, DFPS claims Title IV-E funding for a child above the “Basic” service level; upon implementation of Texas Child-Centered Care (T3C), the regional eligibility specialist should be consulted with questions regarding funding reimbursement. For children in CBC catchment areas, DFPS claims Title IV-E funding for all children because the IV-E match for SSCC foster care rate is higher than the maximum SSI benefit amount.

3. SSI for a child in a relative or kinship placement

As noted above, for a child in traditional foster care, the decision to apply for and claim SSI benefits is dependent on the child's Title IV-E eligibility status, but DFPS does not make foster care payments to non-licensed or kinship caregivers. The caseworker should contact the DFPS regional SSI Coordinator to inquire about applying for Social Security benefits.^[122]

4. SSI Applications for youth aging out of care

While under the conservatorship of DFPS, the SSI Coordinator submits SSI applications on behalf of the youth. Under DFPS policy, if a youth in care has a disability and may be eligible for SSI, the DFPS caseworker should contact the regional SSI Coordinator to discuss applying when the youth turns 17 years old. Since youth may not meet the adult definition of disability, SSI applications should be filed well before a youth's 17th birthday to prevent delay in application processing and additional delays if an unfavorable decision needs to be appealed.^[123] SSA requires each SSI recipient or potential recipient who is 18 years old to be evaluated according to adult listing of impairments.^[124] Aside from individual identification, DFPS state office sends a quarterly report to regional SSI coordinators identifying youth in foster care who are 17 years old and are potentially eligible for SSI, regardless of their eligibility for Title IV-E assistance.^[125]