FAQ

For applicants that have received SSI prior to incarceration, a new application must be submitted if the applicant was incarcerated for more than 12 months.

Absolutely!

SOAR case workers can submit the SSA-1696: Appointment of Representative form to the SSA field office, and then begin communicating with SSA/DDS about the status of the application and any additional information needed. They can gather medical records, write a Medical Summary Report, and assist with SSA forms

You can learn more about this by reviewing the article, "Prior or Pending Applications."

BIA GA is a federally funded program administered through a local agency or tribe that provides needs-based cash assistance. This income is counted on a dollar-for-dollar basis when calculating the SSI benefit amount.

Yes, you will need to submit the completed SSA-1696: Appointment of Representative form to the local SSA field office. I recommend faxing it and then calling within 1-2 days to confirm that it was received and added to your client's record/claim.

Ask the SSA field office if they completed both an SSDI and SSI application during the phone interview and if they need anything else for the claim to be complete. You can also ask whether they would like you to submit the medical records and MSR directly to them or to wait until the claim gets moved over to DDS for medical review.

I recommend staying in close contact with SSA to find out who the DDS analyst is, especially if you or your client don't receive any mail from DDS within a few weeks.

When SSI recipients are incarcerated for a full calendar month, (e.g., March 1-March 31), their benefits are suspended. If they are released in less than 12 consecutive calendar months, their benefits can be reinstated upon release. They need to bring official release papers from the institution to the local Social Security office. SSA will review their new living arrangement and reinstate payment. If SSI recipients are incarcerated for 12 consecutive calendar months or more, their SSI benefits are terminated and they must reapply.

Yes! We have a sample application packets for an Adult SSI/SSDI applicant and a Child SSI Applicant available for your review.

We also have sample Medical Summary Reports.

There is a form called the SSA-7050 which you can submit to Social Security for your client to get an itemized statement of their past earnings and employer information; however, it costs $92 to get this record. Here is a link to the SSA-7050: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-7050.pdf

Generally, we recommend asking the person to name the information about their past jobs within the past 15 years (position, place worked, dates worked, etc.) to the best of their recollection. Then, in the Remarks section of the Adult Disability Report (SSA-3368), you can explain that the work information was provided to the best of the applicant's recollection and may not be completely accurate.

There is a form called the SSA-7050 which you can submit to Social Security for your client to get an itemized statement of their past earnings and employer information; however, it costs $92 to get this record. Here is a link to the SSA-7050: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-7050.pdf

Generally, we recommend asking the person to name the information about their past jobs within the past 15 years (position, place worked, dates worked, etc.) to the best of their recollection. Then in the Remarks section of the Adult Disability Report (SSA-3368 form) you can explain that the work information was provided to the best of the applicant's recollection and may not be completely accurate.

If a person is guarded when you are interviewing them for the MSR, you can explain to them the importance of you gathering this information and providing it to Social Security as part of the SSI/SSDI application process. If they still don't want to provide you information then you can document in the MSR the person's guarded nature, their behavior and symptoms you observe, and document that you believe it to be due to the symptoms of their mental illness (paranoia, delusions, suspiciousness, etc.). You can try to obtain the information you need for the MSR from the person's medical records and if they are willing to sign ROIs, you can attempt to interview collateral sources such as family, friends, case managers, etc. to obtain information to include in the MSR. 

Please see our suggestions from the field on our COVID-19 resources page: /article/covid-19-resources-soar-providers

In Q58 on the SSA 8000, SSA is trying to determine whether a SNAP application is needed. If the family is receiving SNAP benefits you would mark YES here. That way, SSA will know that a new application does not need to be completed.