How to Get Disability Benefits for Children

Disability benefits for children exist as part of a program called Supplemental Security Income, or SSI. SSI is a federal program that gives benefits to disabled people, depending on financial need. The program is managed by the Social Security Administration, and funding comes from the general tax fund, not from Social Security taxes like SSDI. The amount of SSI benefits your child may receive varies from state to state, as many states add some of their own funding to what the federal government sends. While this compensation can provide you with money you need to care for a disabled child, filing for disability benefits can be an arduous task that will require a lot of documentation.

Requirements for Proving Disability

There are several key requirements in place if you want to file for disability benefits for your disabled child. One requirement is that the child is under the age of 18 and living at home. However, if the child attends school and returns home during holidays or breaks, he/she might still qualify as being under your control. If the child is working, he/she cannot learn more than $1000 a month. This is the limit for 2011 and is subject to change yearly. If he/she makes more than $1000 a month, then he/she would not be considered disabled. Some parental income is also "deemed" to the child (assumed to be used to support the child), so family resources and income are taken into consideration as well. To be considered disabled, the child’s impairment also needs to have lasted for 12 months, be expected to last at least that long, or be a terminal condition. Your child also must show “marked and severe functional limitations,” meaning his/her daily activity must be severely affected. 

Filing for Disability 

It is important to note that in addition to the above requirements, the SSA also has some specific guidelines regarding what disabilities allow a person to qualify for benefits. The SSA has published a book titled Disability Evaluation Under Social Security, which is also called the Blue Book, that lists disabling conditions that are often severe enough to allow those impaired with them to receive benefits.  Some that are listed for children include:

• Cystic fibrosis
• ADHD 
• Autism
• Down syndrome 
• Cerebral palsy
• Muscular dystrophy 
• Leukemia
• HIV infection
• Low birth weight

In each category, the SSA sets forth the criteria for establishing the severity of the condition. This criteria must be met. If the condition or conditions are not listed, then the child’s condition will be evaluated to see if is equal in severity to one of the listed disabilities.  

In order to qualify for disability benefits, the claims you make about the child’s condition and symptoms need to be backed up with documentation. This may include medical documents, test results from physicians and/or schools, or teacher and family questionnaires. 

After the paperwork is filled out, the SSA will forward it to the Disability Determination Services in the state where you live. They will take over the case and make the decision on your child’s eligibility for benefits. It will take several months for the application to be processed, and once the child is declared eligible, benefit payments will start the next month.          

Receiving Benefits 

During the time that benefits are paid, periodic reviews must be held. This is to ensure that the child is still disabled. How often these reviews are performed will depend on each individual case and the severity of the disabling condition. If improvement is expected, then the review may take place within 6 months or up to 18 months. If there is a chance for improvement, but it cannot be predicted, then the reviews will be at three-year intervals. If there is little expectation that the condition will improve, then a review will be scheduled every seven years.   

Benefits will stop when your child turns 18 and at that time, he/she will need to be evaluated as an adult, as the rules and guidelines are different. At this point, the income and resources of the family are no longer considered for eligibility.   

Getting Help

If you wish to apply for SSI benefits for a disabled child, you should consider seeking legal help. There are attorneys who specialize in disability cases and who can help you make sure you do everything in your power to get the child the necessary benefits.