Social Security Proposes Update To SSI Calculation

by Michelle Diament | August 29, 2023
Sign on door of Social Security office

The Social Security Administration is proposing a change to the way it treats rental subsidies for Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. (Disability Scoop)

The Social Security Administration uses a different standard to determine Supplemental Security Income benefits for people living in certain states. Now, the agency wants to update its rules to treat beneficiaries nationwide more equitably.

The agency is proposing a new rule to modify how it alters benefit payments for those who receive what’s known as “in-kind support and maintenance” in the form of a rental subsidy.

Under current rules, SSI benefits are reduced if a person is paying rent or shelter expenses that are lower than the current market value, or what they would pay on the open market. This is significant in cases where a person with a disability is renting from a family member, for example, who charges them a reduced rate.

But, due to court rulings, the agency uses a less stringent standard in seven states — Connecticut, New York, Vermont, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Texas. In these states, benefits are not reduced if a person is spending more than a third of their income on housing even if their rent is less than the current market value.

The proposed rule published this month in the Federal Register seeks to expand the more lenient standard already in place in seven states to the entire country.

Read on at https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2023/08/29/social-security-proposes-update-to-ssi-calculation/30520/?fbclid=IwAR217SfpXpAsDLOBCIuDhOtrLbmvV7EEBwWAT8X0X3siTNqjAxj-qpSo9jM

Federal Register link if you would like to make a comment or read the details, see https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/24/2023-18213/expansion-of-the-rental-subsidy-policy-for-supplemental-security-income-ssi-applicants-and#open-comment

 

Learning Community via Zoom (Oct 18, 2023)

Learning Community via Zoom on Oct 18, at 7pm. ASL and CC available. RSVP or for more info at https://picofdel.org/event/early-hearing-detection-intervention-ehdi-learning-community

About this online Learning Community event:
To learn a language—be it aural or sign—children must have exposure to language that is rich in quantity and quality. Language nutrition emphasizes the importance of parents, other family members, and educators to talk, interact, read, and engage with their children. This is important for all children, but it is critical for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Register via https://picofdel.org/event/early-hearing-detection-intervention-ehdi-learning-community

Learning Community Flyer – October 18 2023

 

Educators highlight need for deaf instructors, ASL interpreters

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students — and students who want to learn American Sign Language — has come a long way in the last few decades, but instructors and administrators think we have still have a long way to go.

In 1986, about 1% of high schools in the country offered ASL classes as a foreign language credit. An effort in the 1990s and early 2000s to create academic guidelines for ASL, using deaf instructors and ASL-trained teachers, has made a huge difference.

As Mark Thomas, the principal of Northview High School, explained, ASL is now the second most popular foreign language among students in his district.

There are more than 225 students in Kent County who are deaf and/or hard of hearing, according to Paul Dymowski, director of center programs and services for Kent Intermediate School District. Northview High School serves a diverse cohort of deaf students, and it’s also a hub for Kent ISD’s Total Communication Program.

According to Dymowski, Kent ISD offers two main programs: the Total Communication Program, which focuses on ASL, and the Oral Deaf Program, which focuses on listening and language skills.

Thomas acknowledged the value of these courses but told News 8 of the formidable challenge of securing qualified instructors. He described it as akin to “finding a doctor or a nurse in a certain specific type of medicine.”

Read on at https://www.woodtv.com/news/kent-county/educators-highlight-need-for-deaf-instructors-asl-interpreters/?fbclid=IwAR1II0KAE5DXrb4lLKTPinYX22Arl5GWmVuXaB0K_HPIEpvkm7yi8w0v0Ts