My son who has downs syndrome will soon be 18 and will be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). We live in Maryland and want to know what size his SSI check will be. Can anyone help? Also, are there additional funds available for rent? We have been advised to request this.

Thanks

Would it be SSI ? Or SSDI ?

I don't think SSA covers rent......Are you thinking of Section 8 housing ?

For SSI amounts for a Maryland resident:

From http://www.workworld.org/wwwebhelp/s...t_maryland.htm

Payment Levels

State Supplementation
Combined Federal/State
Living Arrangement
Individual


Care Home: [b]

I. Minimal supervision
$66.00
---
$703.00
---

II. Moderate supervision
175.00
---
812.00
---

III. Extensive supervision
463.00
---
1,100.00
---

IV. Specialized and intensive supervision
666.00
---
1,303.00
---

Assisted Living [b]
184.00
---
821.00
---


Rehabilitative Residence
184.00

821.00

Hi,

Thank you for the response and the Maryland link. It is very useful. The link shows several care home supplements depending on the severity of supervision needed. My son should fall into a care home with minimal supervision or with moderate supervision. It is our intent to have him live with us until he can better care for himself. We were advised several years ago to charge him rent after he turns 18. How do we qualify to be his care home?

Thanks

I have no idea

SSI is a federal benefit, many states add a supplement to it.....that chart shows what Maryland 'adds' to the federal benefit. You should check with your state government for the specifics about how to get your home approved. Is your son in a program now ? Fellow parents or staff there shoukd be able to point you in the right direction for help.

There are more knowledgable posters here who work(ed) in the system, but I'm not sure how much they would know about Maryland's specific benefits either.

Best of luck to you !

Hello Finz,

Thanks again for the information. We are just getting started and my son is not in the system. I will make inquires w/the state and some of the parents who have children w/handicaps (although I don't know if any of them are in the system as they are younger then my son).

------------------------------------

Oh, for some reason I assumed that you had 'a source' pointing you in the right direction (I hope that doesn't sound snarky)......maybe it was a general impression because you specifically asked about SSI.

Are you sure he would be on SSI (for the disabled and low income) ? Or should it be SSDI (permanently disabled before age 18, collect under a parent's work record) ?

I don't know the answer on that.......I'm just a disabled person collecting SSDI, not one of our resident experts.......but I would have thought he would be on SSDI for now......and then maybe eligible for section 8 housing or SSI (if his SSDI was low enough) once he moved out.

Have you called SSA's 1 800 # yet ?

Hi again Finz,

He is not in the SSDI and currently not in SSI. Under SSI he will be eligible for it when he turns 18. We, my wife and I, are reviewing what we can find on the WEB before we approach our local SS office to discuss.

thank you

I wanted to add that I just was accepted today. I was told that someone would be calling me and ask what bills I have and if I pay rent. My mom doesn't charge me rent... because I have no income and don't have any to give her.. but we were told to say that my mom would like to charge $200 a month for rent, and that will increase the amount of SSI that I get.

She said, whether the rent is $200 or $500, they only give about $200... so that is a good amount to give them when they ask about rent. They wouldn't give $500 extra just because someone claimed that they paid that much rent. So stick around the $200 mark and hopefully he will get that to give to you. At least that is what I was told this afternoon by the lady who works for them.

I personally think you should give an honest answer, not one designed to fit what you think fits a regulation. I think you should come to an agreement with your mother who provides the food and shelter and your mother should determine what she thinks is a fair amount to pay, regardless of how it affects SSI benefits.

SSI does consider free food or free shelter to be a form of in-kind income but places a maximum dollar value on that which is 1/3 of the federal benefit rate, currently $244 and some cents. So if the value of your free food or free shelter exceeds the maximum value, then the only countable portion is the maximum value.

One way to determine your fair share of your mother's household expenses is to pay your pro-rata share of the household rent, food, and utility bills.

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0500835001
https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0500835160

That's exactly what I am doing--telling the truth.

I was advised to say that I will be paying rent.. and I will be. There's no lie in that.

I haven't been able to pay rent because I have no income.. but my mom and I have already made an agreement that I would stay here for free, but as soon as I had a source of income, that I would pay rent and some of the bills. It's just me and her here, and my half would be about $300. While I won't get that much from SSI, I was told to suggest $200 as an amount, and asked my mom if it would be okay if I gave her the $200 a month and then paid one of the big bills. Our two biggest are the internet/cable bill and the electric bill. Both range from $100-150 a month. So I would be paying less than half of the mortgage, and half of the major bills (not including her personal bills, such as her cell phone and credit cards).

If I wasn't going to give her the rent, or if I wasn't going to pay for a bill, I wouldn't tell them that I would. I would never lie about all of this because I know you can get in a lot of trouble--and there is absolutely no reason to lie.

But I am just taking what was suggested by the lady I spoke with and using that as a guide as to how to split up the major bills (mortgage, electric, and internet/cable).