Data Provider:NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
Life
Area: Economic Security
Definition:
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides monthly cash benefits to aged, blind and disabled persons with income and resources below certain limits. Unlike state-administered public assistance programs, SSI is administered by the federal Social Security Administration according to uniform national standards. Children in New York State receive SSI if they meet the blindness or disability criteria, and in addition, meet the income and resource requirements for eligibility. Although SSI income and resource standards are low, they are generally higher than those for public assistance. Moreover, cash benefits paid on behalf of the child are significantly higher than public assistance benefits received for children.
Significance:
SSI benefits are intended to meet the basic economic needs of the child, not to provide special services that may be required by children with disabilities. Therefore, the number and percent of children receiving SSI due to blindness or disability serve primarily to count the additional children, other than those receiving public assistance, that are dependent on the government for their basic support needs.
Note:
A disabled child receiving SSI in a family that receives public assistance (either Family Assistance or Safety Net assistance) is counted among children receiving SSI and will not appear in the counts of children receiving public assistance for the same time period. However, many of the children that receive SSI are part of households that receive food stamps and are therefore included in the counts of children receiving food stamps in this report.
Also note that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 required a more stringent test for some types of childhood disabilities. This change was applied to new applicants as well as those receiving SSI at the time.
Findings:
A very small share of children and youth receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in NYS, as in other states. Only 1.8 percent of persons less than 20 in NYS received SSI at the end of 2008. The rate was higher in NYC (2.3 percent) than in Rest of State (1.4 percent).
Low rates of SSI receipt were found in the highly suburban counties of Putnam (0.3%), Nassau (0.5%), Rockland (0.6%) and Suffolk (0.7%). Relatively high rates of SSI receipt occurred in some of the highly rural counties in NYS, such as Fulton, Chemung, Chenango and Montgomery counties. Relatively high rates were also found in several of the counties that comprise New York City, including the Bronx, New York, and Kings counties. The highest receipt of SSI occurred in the Bronx, where 4.0 percent of children and youth received SSI at the end of 2007.
The number and percent of persons less than 20 that received SSI in New York State increased between 2000 and 2008. In November 2000, 72,310 children and youth received SSI (or 1.4%). By the end of 2008, the share of children and youth receiving SSI increased to 1.8%, an increase of 18,155 children. Between 2000 and 2008, the rate of increase in New York City and Rest of State was similar to the rate of increase for the state as a whole.
KWIC
Indicator(s) and Narrative For: