Social Security Disability is a program that is designed to provide income to people who are unable to work because they have a disability. This program is available for adults and children. Parents can apply for benefits for their children who have disabilities. Here is a quick guide that can help you get started.
Trying to navigate your way through the application process for Social Security Disability benefits can be overwhelming. In general, government websites that are designed to give people information about how to qualify for benefits are written in language that is extremely difficult to understand.
Don’t let this intimidate you! If your child truly has a disability, then he or she should qualify for disability benefits. Obviously, kids can’t fill out these forms themselves, so parents have to advocate for them. Parents of kids who have certain types of disabilities struggle with the cost of treatment. Disability benefits can help to pay for some of those bills.
You should start by visiting the federal Social Security website. From there, you have to click on a link that will take you to a new page that describes how to apply for disability benefits for a child (who is under the age of eighteen).
The first step is to review the “Child Disability Starter Kit”. It is supposed to answer frequently asked questions about how to apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for children. There will be a worksheet that you can use that will help you understand the information you need to gather in order to start this process.
The second step says to contact Social Security “right away”. They want you to do this so that you can find out if the income and resources of you (the parent or parents), and of the “child”, (who could be old enough to potentially have a job), are within “allowed limits”. You also have to contact Social Security in order to officially start the process of applying for Social Security Disability benefits.
Third, you have to fill out the Child Disability Report. You can do this online. After you fill it out, you will be asked to sign a form. Doing so will give your child’s doctor, or doctors, permission to give information about your child’s health, and about your child’s disability, to the the people at Social Security. They need this type of information in order to make a decision about whether or not your child is eligible to receive Social Security Disability benefits.
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