Survey of disabled children under SSI program

The Office of Research and Statistics, under a contract with Urban Systems Research and Engineering, Inc., performed a national personal survey of blind and disabled children receiving supplemental security income (SSI) benefits. The purpose of the survey was to provide descriptive characteristics of the children and their families as well as assess SSI's effect on them. The survey has provided the research community with some interesting results. Not all children in the program live in families. Almost 15 percent of the children surveyed were not living with their parents; many of them were in foster care families or group homes. SSI children live in low-income families. Almost two-thirds of them live in families with annual income (including the child's benefit) of less than $7,000. Not only are the children handicapped, but a sizable number of children are in households where another person is also disabled and/or receiving SSI payments. Three-fourths of the families have had exposure to the welfare systems. Many of them have received or are receiving benefits from one or more of the following programs-- AFDC, Medicaid, and food stamps. Many families report that they are satisfied with SSI because in many instances the amount of the benefit meets the needs of the child and the program is administered with few forms and by staff who treat them courteously. A summary of the survey report is presented in the article that follows.