A recent article published by Disability Scoop this month may receive mixed emotions from our readers who value the fact that they have access to government assistance and rely on disability benefits to help supplement their incomes to maintain a healthy standard of living. But the aim of a recent program may ruffle a few feathers, especially when it comes to the topic of losing access to these benefits.
We’re talking about the Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income, or PROMISE, program. It’s an initiative designed by the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services and aims to wean children with disabilities off of Supplemental Security Income benefits by the time they reach adulthood. But like we said before, not everyone will like what the program is trying to do.
The plus side to the program is that states are offered grant money that can be used towards services and support that provide help to children and their families in the areas of education and career growth. The main aim is to give children with disabilities the necessary tools in life to be successful in the workforce and not dependant on SSI benefits.
But looking at the program from the other side, people might argue that the PROMISE program assumes that these children, when they reach adulthood, will no longer need SSI benefits. In some cases this may be true, but in others it may not. Many people have had to fight hard for access to their benefits and the thought of losing them would make anyone nervous.
While the program promises an easy transition back into the SSI program if you choose to leave, this could still mean a long wait on an application when you reapply and in the end, you might be turned down for benefits, which could lead to an appeal. It’s a risk many of our readers here in Illinois might not want to take when it comes to their own situation.
Source: Disability Scoop, “States Get Millions To Wean Kids Off SSI,” Shaun Heasley, Oct. 8, 2013
Tags: benefits
