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Department
of Human Services Families
First Online Policy Manual Deprivation Incapacity |
Revised: |
15.4.3 |
PROCEDURES |
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Incapacity is deemed to exist, and may be
approved at the county level, only when an individual receives one the
following benefits: ·
RSDI or SSI
based on his/her disability; ·
VA benefits
based on his/her 100% disability; ·
Black Lung
benefits based on his/her own condition; If a recipient whose incapacity was
verified by receipt of RSDI, SSI, VA, or Black Lung disability benefits loses
these benefits, this is not acceptable proof that incapacity no longer exists
for Families First purposes. These
recipients will remain eligible for Families First benefits if they continue
to claim incapacity, while obtaining and submitting the necessary medical and
medical-social information to substantiate their claim. Action to secure this information and
submit it for evaluation must be taken promptly. This provision does not apply to
applicants. Applicants must follow the
normal process for establishing incapacity prior to approval. Eligibility on the basis of incapacity may
be approved or continued at the local level without additional medical
evaluation for an individual who received RSDI or SSI disability payments
when the payment changes from disability to retirement benefits without a
break in benefits. This occurs at age
62 for RSDI and age 65 for SSI. The
Department of Human Services supervisor must approve the incapacity in this
situation and there must be verification that the individual was receiving
disability benefits prior to the change. The Medical-Social Information Interview
Guide will help the caseworker in securing the appropriate medical-social
information. The Medical Social
Information Guide must be completed and submitted in its entirety. However, the following questions should be
answered to ensure that the caseworker obtains and submits the needed
information to the appropriate individuals for incapacity determination. ·
Did the
caseworker interview the incapacitated person? If not, why? Who was interviewed? What is the relationship of the interviewee
to the incapacitate person? ·
Did the
caseworker properly document the required information such as name, SSN,
grade level attained, birth date, etc.? ·
Was a
complete employment history obtained specifying type of work activities? ·
Was
information obtained about all of the individual’s complaints? |
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