The Social Security Administration
(SSA) proposes to pilot an administrative change in the
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, in which we allow a
psychiatrist or psychologist to use a Presumptive Disability
Recommendation Form to recommend SSA make Presumptive Disability
(PD) payments to homeless individuals with schizophrenia or
schizoaffective disorder. The purpose of the pilot is to determine
whether the use of the recommendation form improves the quality of
the evidence supporting the application, as demonstrated by a
higher allowance rate at the initial level of application. PD is a
policy allowing an individual applying for SSI based on a
disability to receive up to six months of payments prior to SSA's
final disability determination. For SSA to confer a PD, there must
be strong evidence that we would find the individual disabled.
Applicants are not required to pay back this money if SSA
ultimately denies their applications, as long as SSA did not deny
the applications for nonmedical reasons. SSA field offices
generally make PD findings only for specific disability categories,
which do not include schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.
This pilot allows field offices in San Francisco and Santa Cruz to
make PD findings for applicants who are homeless and who have a
diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. We
partnered with the San Francisco City and County, and Santa Cruz
County social and health services agencies to conduct this pilot.
We chose them because they already are conducting, as part of their
regular work, all of the services necessary to support the pilot.
These agencies identify homeless individuals, help those
individuals through the SSI application process, and ensure the
applicants have all of the medical evidence necessary to support an
SSI application. The only change to their regular work protocol
they will need to make for the SSA PD form pilot will be to fill
out a schizophrenia PD recommendation form for those amongst their
adult clients who are homeless and have schizophrenia or
schizoaffective disorders. The form follows SSA's Listing of
Impairments, which provides the criteria necessary to meet SSA's
definition of impairment. In addition, the form helps medical staff
provide the correct information for a sound and prompt PD
determination. Respondents are medical staff from the San Francisco
City and County, and Santa Cruz County social and health services
agencies who help homeless SSI applicants with schizophrenia or
schizoaffective disorder complete SSI applications.
US Code:
42
USC 1310 Name of Law: The Social Security Act
This new program increases the
public reporting burden. See chart above for the burden
figures.
$0
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Faye Lipsky 410 965-8783
faye.lipsky@ssa.gov
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.