I read somewhere that you could be paid to care for a family member who is disabled. I know spouses can't but what about a daugther...I'm having problems figuring out where to find this info......

You certainly can in Australia Tammi, so it's highly possible.
Any person who cares for another for a certain number hours per week, is eligible.

Do check, because I don't know the different rules between our different countries.

Try this website.......http://www.ssa.gov/

There's lots of information here.

Its supposed to be possible. But I don't know how it works. I do know its hard to get this to work.

I would also call and ask for someone that is very knowledgeable in Disabilities.

Donna

I have to add, I was attending as a set up booth for a resource and workshop. This last Saturday, and had a SSA worker very knowledgeable
explaining to my son he needed to apply he might be eligible.

Thanks for all your suggestions...The SS website has changed a lot and it’s hard to figure things out. I was also wondering about benefits for my daughter while she is in school fulltime.

The Olhipie is at the point of needing 24 hour care. His short-term memory is bad. I am able to go to the grocery for a quick trip but not long. He will forget things we talked about earlier in the day. It hurts me to see this very intelligent man and to watch little pieces of him just go…it’s very hard.

I'll keep looking...thanks again.

There are no benefits paid directly by the Social Security Administration to care providers of the disabled. However, your county or state may have a program that pays care providers a salary for a set amount of hours of work a month. In California the program is called In Home Supportive Services and it is administered through the county welfare office. Your local office could be called Social Services, Human Assistance, Public Assistance, etc. Eligibility for being paid as a care provider may be based on the income level of the disabled person. The point is to provide assistance in their own home to keep a disabled or elderly person out of a nursing home for as long as possible.

Medicare would be of assistance if he was under hospice care. You could look into Medicaid assistance, but I doubt there would be any payment under that.

Benefits for children end when the child turns 18 unless they are still in high school full time. If they are still in high school, benefits end with high school graduation or age 19, whichever comes first. Decades ago there were benefits paid for college students, but that has been eliminated. Adult children who are unmarried and found disabled before age 22 can sometimes get benefits on a parent's record.

Hey Tami,

I'm heading out and didn't have a chance to really look at this site but thought I would send it to you... There may be some information here.

Utah Division of Child and Family
http://www.hsdcfs.utah.gov/

Utah Clicks
https://utahclicks.org/uas/


Abbie

Awww Tammy, I was just this morning trying to find legislation on caregivers. I received my SS statement and it says I have lost any and all disability benefits due to not working for the past 6 years. My retirement is pretty bad as well. Jim stopped working at a young age so his is low as well. So I started my search and so far I have hit too many walls.

I am about to send out letters to my local reps as well as Washington DC. I believe caregivers who "give" their time for free should somehow be allowed to retain their SS benefits and gain the necessary points to do so. One way is for caregivers to pay the SS fees each month so they can retain their benefits. I mean, if we are saving the community money by doing this why shouldn't we at least be able to retain our SS benefits and gain points like everyone else?

For us, I retired to care for Jim and the VA helps me do so through a program called aide and attendance. This means Jim requires 24 hour care for basic daily activities such as bathing, dressing, etc. But the money they give is in Jim's name, not mine. I've often questioned this because if they would tax it and allow me to pay into my SS I wouldn't be losing my benefits. But that's the way it's done.

There is one bill floating around that includes paying caregivers. I'll post it here so maybe you can write this person sponsoring the bill and explain your situation. Please also write all of your state reps because this is a problem that has slept long enough.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-769

Sandy

I hope you get some help with this. I wish I knew some way to help you also.

Donna

What you are asking for is yet another level of government bureaucracy with various levels of staff who will evaluate whether or not the level of care you are providing someone you love is worth taxpayer dollars. I can understand the desire to have this kind of program, but just who is supposed to pay for it? The Social Security system has come a long long way from the basic premise of supplying an income to elderly working people in their retirement years to keep them out of the poorhouses (literal, not figurative poorhouses). Funding. Where does the money come from and who decides who can qualify and what happens when you get turned down. Sounds a lot like the broken Social Security system we already have. But at least there is a plan in place for paying the cost. The cost will soon outgrow the income, and there is no agreement on how to fix that.