With a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicating that the number of children with mental health conditions is increasing, it would not be surprising that the number of children applying for disability benefits is also increasing.
]]> According to the CDC, approximately one-fifth of all children in the United States has some kind of mental illness. While this number likely includes both children with relatively minor disabilities and those with severe disabilities that would certainly qualify for Supplemental Security Income benefits, just the increase in numbers alone is enough to raise concern.It is estimated that children with mental health conditions will rack up $247 billion in medical bills and other services each year. This does not include disability benefits, which can hopefully be used to defray some of the cost of caring for these children.
With attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affecting 6.8 percent of children, it is the most prevelant mental health condition with which children are dealing.
Source: Fox News, "Up to 1 in 5 children suffer from a mental disorder, CDC says," May 17, 2013
]]>Major depressive disorder need not be permanent, although there can be several episodes throughout individual's life. Because of its fickle nature, it is important that anyone unable to work due to severe depression contact a disability benefits attorney to work through what will be necessary to successfully apply for benefits.
]]> One of the pieces of evidence that the Social Security Administration may start to require is a blood test that will help diagnose someone with depression. The blood test is known as the MDDScore, named after the acronym for "major depressive disorder." An individual's body chemicals are measured and used within a mathematical equation to come up with a score that will indicate whether the individual has major depressive disorder.Even if the test is not required when applying for Social Security disability insurance benefits, it may be an important piece of supporting evidence. Unlike the more traditional interview-based diagnosis, this test is biological and is impartial. Ultimately, however, a disability benefits attorney can help to determine what evidence will be most important in creating a successful application.
Source: WFTV, "Head-depression blood test," May 15, 2013
]]>One of the reasons for the long delays, says a group of administrative law judges, is a quota system that they say has been in place since 2007. What this quota system does is force judges to spend only a certain number of days on each stage of a disability application. If the judges take longer than the allotted time, they could face punishment and other negative repercussions.
]]> Although the quota system would seem like it would make the disability benefits process faster, judges are saying that the short time frames are forcing them to be hasty in their decisions. They are concerned that they are incorrectly granting disability benefits to those people who don't deserve them, and denying benefits to those who do.Just because an administrative law judge has denied you benefits, however, does not mean that there is no way to get them. By working with a Social Security disability benefits attorney, you can determine how to appeal an unfavorable decision and what evidence you will need to be successful. Disability benefits can be extremely tricky to obtain, but they are absolutely essential to anyone who is unable to work.
Source: The Baltimore Sun, "Judges sue Social Security over 'quotas' on disability decisions," Yvonne Wenger, April 28, 2013
]]>The chair of this independent federal council wants to see increases of the amount of money a recipient can have in their accounts to $10,000 with room for future increases due to inflation.
]]> This proposed increase amount might seem drastic to some people, but taking into consideration how long it has been since the last increase, this limit increase could greatly benefit many families.People who receive Supplemental Security Income have likely had to fight just to receive the benefits that they do get. Sometimes their eligibility is called into question, and sometimes they are denied initially for benefits.
There are a wide range of problems and difficult cases that are handled by the Social Security Administration, and sometimes people's claims are denied despite a true need for benefits.
Speaking with an experienced Social Security disability attorney might be a wise decision for anyone who is trying to file for benefits. They can help make sure they person's paperwork is properly filed, and help them appeal if they are denied. These benefits are crucial for many families and it is important that they are able to protect and preserve their benefits.
Source: disabilityscoop.com, "White House Urged To Raise SSI Limits," Michelle Diament, April 19, 2013
]]>It was not until 2008 that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began to track how well workers with disabilities were doing in the labor market. That was also the beginning of the Great Recession, which was perhaps not the most auspicious time to commence statistical records, and unsurprisingly, the numbers tell the tale of falling rates of employment for the disabled.
]]> In 2008, there were 27.3 million disabled and 21.7 percent were either employed or looking for work. By 2013, the BLS found 28.9 million disabled, but only 18 percent were still in the labor force.The disabled face challenges from lacking transportation or education to employers' unwillingness to offer reasonable accommodation for disabled workers. Many disabled could work with minimal and inexpensive accommodation.
Some disabled workers apply for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) benefits, but that can be difficult, as the application is demanding, and only about 30 percent of claims are approved for benefits. If your disability makes it impossible for you to work, you may be eligible, and working with an experienced SSDI attorney can help improve your likelihood of approval.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "With disability, finding a job is tough," Ann Belser, April 26, 2013
]]>Both men and women can be the victims of military sexual trauma, though most victims tend to be female. In many cases, the trauma inflicted by the sexual abuse is so severe that it impedes the victim's ability to lead a normal and healthy life.
]]> Many survivors of military sexual trauma do not realize that the condition makes them eligible to receive veterans' disability benefits. The Veterans' Administration has a special set of criteria for processing these claims that recognizes the reality of the situation survivors are facing.For example, the VA recognizes that many people do not report sexual assault or harassment, either because they are embarrassed or because they are afraid of the repercussions. As such, the agency does not require a report to have been made in order for benefits to be issued. Instead, claimants are allowed to provide evidence of behavior changes to back up their allegations of abuse. Some of the accepted evidence includes the following:
Survivors of military sexual trauma need to know that help is out there. Disability benefits can provide the financial support survivors need so they can work on getting better.
Source: The Tennessean, "Female vets face unique disability challenges," Brett Buchanan, April 13, 2013.
For more information about collecting disability benefits for military sexual trauma, please visit our website.
]]>In an attempt to help assuage some of this criticism and reaffirm its commitment to helping the nation's veterans and their families, administration officials announced at a press conference last Friday that the President's proposed budget for the 2014 fiscal year will include $63.5 billion in discretionary funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
]]> Some of these proposed funds would be allocated in the following manner:Furthermore, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough announced that the President is also planning to propose making two tax credits concerning the hiring of veterans permanent. Set to expire this year, these tax credits can reach all the way to $9,600 for those employers who hire disabled veterans who were previously unemployed for over six months.
While veterans' groups stated that the proposed funds were much appreciated, they also argued that the entire issue of the backlog in disability compensation for veterans was never really about money.
"Really what we're talking about is execution," said Paul Rieckhoff, the executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
It is worth noting that McDonough indicated that administration is currently in discussions with officials from the Social Security Administration and Department of Health and Human Services to learn more about how they manage claims.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, who was also present at the press conference, informed the assembled media that the department was still on schedule to have the entire backlog eliminated by 2015.
Our firm is dedicated to helping with VA disability claims and appeals. Please visit our website to learn more about your rights and your options.
Source: The New York Times, "Veterans' programs are set for raise in spending plan," James Dao, April 45, 2013
]]>While the process took a bit longer than he had hoped for, the SSA met that goal at the end of last year, bringing the ranks of those judges, who hear Social Security disability appeals, to a total of 1,566 nationwide.
The Supreme Court calls the SSA "probably the largest adjudicative agency in the western world." Not only does it handle Social Security disability claims and appeals, which include both SSDI and SSI, but it also manages the vast Social Security old age and retirement programs. As many who have applied for Social Security disability know already, the agency has been so backlogged that, in 2011, Astrue testified, the average wait time for a Social Security disability appeal hearing with an ALJ was 353 days.
Here in Charlotte, unfortunately, the SSA reports that the average wait time was still at 15 months, as of February. Nationwide, the number of hearing requests for Social Security disability appeals is expected to reach 830,000.
]]> "The number of administrative law judges has a major impact on how quickly decisions on SSDI claims can be made," said one SSDI claim representative. "Increasing the number of judges who can hear cases is one strategy to help the SSA manage the large backlog of SSDI claims."If Congress doesn't add at least some funding, however, the SSA expects to have a hard time maintaining this level of staffing. Currently, the hiring of any additional judges has had to be put off until at least 2014. According to the agency's most recent performance plan, the only option for the SSA, if it hopes to continue reducing the backlog in appeals hearings in the meantime, will be to bring back recently retired judges.
Sources:
The VA is installing a new computer system to help manage claims and to speed up claims processing. Unfortunately, when VA officials ran a demonstration of the new system for congressional staff members, the system did not work. The glitch has apparently been fixed, and the system is now up and running in 20 regional VA offices.
]]> According to a growing number of lawmakers at the state and federal levels, the fault, dear VA, lies not with the computer system but in your agency's policies and procedures. One member of Congress told Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki that the agency's excuses are wearing thin. He and others, he said, "are losing patience as we continue to hear the same excuses from VA about increased workload and increased complexity of claims." The fact remains that veterans are waiting an inexcusably long time to have their claims processed.In the early days of this decade, about 180,000 veterans waited 125 days or more to have their claims adjudicated. The number is now 600,000. In the past four years, the length of time it takes to process a claim from filing to first benefit payment has increased by 2,000 percent. On average, it takes 279 days to process a claim, even longer if it's a first-time claim.
Still, the VA is processing more than 1 million claims every year, and that number is climbing as well.
Source: Arizona Daily Star, "Veterans Affairs chief vows to end disability-claims backlog in 2015," Associated Press, March 25, 2013
Our firm helps veterans with first-time disability claims as well as appeals. For more information about our practice, please visit the If you would like to learn more about our Charlotte-based practice, please visit the North Carolina veterans disability claims page of our website.
]]>It was a massive undertaking, made all the more difficult by the sense of urgency on one side and the need to be respectful of passengers on the other. While the agency met its objectives in that first year, in many ways it has spent the last 10 years trying to rectify the missteps of 2002, especially with regard to the rights of individuals with special needs.
]]> A recent situation provides a glaring example of how wrong-headed some of the policies and procedures have been. TSA agents told a couple that their daughter, a three-year-old in a wheelchair, would have to be patted down. The parents objected, and, as more agents and managers got involved, the mother recorded the incident on her cell phone. At one point, an agent said TSA needed to check the wheelchair for "chemicals." In the end, the little girl was spared the pat down, and TSA issued a formal apology to the family.About a month after the incident -- which, by the way, was made infamous on YouTube -- TSA has announced that it will now have a "passenger screening specialist" available at each checkpoint during normal airport hours. The agency said that 2,600 members of its local and headquarters staff have received four hours of training on how to work with passengers who have disabilities and certain medical conditions. TSA developed the training with the help of disability advocacy groups, according to the press release.
TSA's interest is not just in serving the travelers with disabilities better. According to a representative, the program's objective is also to keep security lines moving by resolving issues as quickly as possible. The representative added that passenger screening specialists will be able to provide pro-active assistance, though he also said that anyone who needs special attention should request a passenger screening specialist upon arrival at the airport.
Sources:
Disability Scoop, "TSA Offers Extra Help For Travelers With Special Needs," Shaun Heasley, March 5, 2013
Disability Scoop, "TSA Apologizes For Disability Screening Debacle," Michelle Diament, Feb. 22, 2013
Earlier this month, the Fayetteville Observer reported that there are currently 7,000 veterans who have been waiting a year or more for the North Carolina-based U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs regional office to make a decision on their disability claims. Data from veterans service groups shows that the wait time has been at least two years for more than 700 vets.
]]> The Observer also reported that veterans in North Carolina now face longer waits for case decisions than they did six months ago as the VA tries to manage its backlog of claims. The VA has said it hopes to eliminate its backlog by 2015, but as more veterans are filing claims and the average number of disabilities per claim is increasing, so is wait time.Disability claims at the VA's Winston-Salem regional office, which handles most of North Carolina cases, now take 341 days on average to process, which is up from 329 days in September. This accounts for the second-longest wait time in the VA's southeastern region, the Observer reported. Additionally, the Winston-Salem office is getting about 570 more claims per month than it was six months ago.
Some good news is that the VA implemented a computer program for filing claims two months ago that should speed up the claims process once it's fully implemented. Additionally, the Winston-Salem office has hired another 25 people over the past six months who are trained to make claims decisions.
But even with the new help, the assistant director of the Winston-Salem regional office admits that the current wait times are unacceptable. "We recognize that the current average wait times are not acceptable, and we are taking measures to improve our processing time," the assistant director said.
Source: Fayetteville Observer, "North Carolina veterans waiting longer on Veterans Affairs claims," John Ramsey, March 1, 2013
]]>One of the most important tax tips for people with disabilities to be aware of is that many disability-related benefits should be excluded from a person's gross income when it comes to taxes. Veteran's Administration disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income are among the types of disability benefits that are excluded. This is a good thing for those who collect such benefits, because it means that less of their income is taxable.
]]> Additionally, those who are blind are likely entitled to a higher than average standard deduction, and those who have a physical or a mental disability that limits their ability to work might qualify to claim certain business expenses. These expenses must, however, be necessary for the person to work.In addition to these tax benefits, those with certain disabilities may be wise to deduct medical expenses. There is also a tax credit for those who are under 65 and have retired on total and permanent disability.
Taxes, of course, remain complicated for many of us and many people with disabilities may be wise to work with a professional to ensure their taxes are filed properly and that they are able to take advantage of all of the benefits to which they are entitled. The same is true when it comes to obtaining Social Security disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income. It can be very difficult in many cases to receive the benefits that one qualifies for without working with an advocate.
Source: Clarksville Online, "IRS says Tax Benefits available for those with Disabilities," March 1, 2013
The federal government recently removed a significant employment barrier that people with disabilities faced here in North Carolina and throughout the country. The government cancelled its policy that required people with physical, intellectual or psychiatric disabilities to provide certification of their readiness to return to or enter the workforce in order to apply for a job with the government.
]]> Under that policy, people who have disabilities were forced to provide documentation from a disability benefit agency or a medical or rehabilitation professional vouching for their ability to perform the specific jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has now called the policy an "unnecessary burden," and announced that people with disabilities can apply for government jobs without jumping through that hoop.While this does take away one problem that those with disabilities face when going back to work, several issues do still remain. One problem facing those who receive SSDI or SSI benefits is what might happen to the benefits should they start earning an income. In many cases, the income may not be enough to survive on, so SSDI or SSI benefits may still be needed.
In some cases, it may be possible to continue receiving a reduced disability benefit if one returns to work. However, the law surrounding this is very complex, and there may be an income ceiling at which point disability benefits might be cancelled. Additionally, there are rules surrounding the reporting of earned income when one is receiving benefits. Those who would like to return to work but are worried about a potential impact on their disability benefits may be wise to consult their Social Security disability attorney.
Source: Disability Scoop, "Hiring Requirements Eased For Those With Disabilities," Michelle Diament, Feb. 25, 2013
]]>Both parents and their children likely understand the increase in costs that comes with sharing a home. Grocery bills, utilities, even insurance premiums will go up. The federal government estimates that these kinds of expenses will go up about 23 percent when one person is added to a two-person household. The elderly, though, are contributing to the household accounts, too, with their Social Security benefits.
]]> Social Security retirement benefits are the same regardless of where the elderly parent lives. That income really does transfer dollar-for-dollar to the new household. Medicare benefits, too, are unchanged.Not so for Supplemental Security Income. The federal program is designed to help low-income individuals who are elderly, blind or who have another disability cover their basic needs. Among those basic needs is rent -- and moving in with the kids can reduce the need for rent and, so, the SSI benefit amount.
Say Mom moves in with Daughter. Daughter can afford the apartment on her own, but she's counting on Mom's Social Security retirement and SSI benefits to help with other costs. And it would never occur to her to charge her mother rent.
SSI will interpret the rent-free living as in-kind support and maintenance. Mom's benefits will be cut accordingly.
Neither can Daughter depend on Mom's food stamps to stay the same. Food stamps are calculated on household income, and Daughter's paycheck would be included.
Families should make every effort to understand SSI and other federal benefits programs before an elderly parent moves in. Consulting with an experienced Social Security benefits attorney is one way to do that.
Source: Dallas News, "Making room for Mom and Dad in your home," Pamela Yip, Feb. 22, 2013
Our Charlotte, North Carolina, firm works with families on Supplemental Security Income matters similar to the one discussed in this post. If you would like to learn more about our practice, please visit our Supplemental Security Income page.
]]>This not only hurts people who can't work because of a disability, but it puts future generations at risk. If the system does not change, all too soon people with qualifying disabilities will not be able to collect benefits, even if they have paid into the system for years.
]]> Part of the reason is just demographics: Baby Boomers are getting older. That takes them out of the workforce and their taxes out of the Social Security system. It also means the largest generation will start collecting retirement and disability benefits supported by a smaller workforce. It does not help that Boomers have more chronic health problems than the generation before them.What the data does not show is an uptick in claims since the 2008 recession. Critics had speculated that people without disabilities were applying for benefits as a way to replace income lost through unemployment or under-employment. Analysts say there is no evidence that this happened or that a significant percentage of people who are receiving benefits are, in fact, not qualified.
The truth is, applying for Social Security Disability Insurance can be complicated, and most first claims are denied. That is why workers who believe they may qualify should work with an experienced adviser. When making an initial claim or appealing a denied claim, success often hinges on understanding the fine print and knowing the process well.
Source: The Public Record, "PENSIONS: Why Social Security Disability Is Growing," Michael P. Boyle, Feb. 7, 2013
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