Ottakee Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I just applied online for my 18dd. I have no doubts she will qualify---cognitive impairment along with many health issues and seizures. My question is how long this might take to get approved and anything that might make it go quicker? I will be bringing in all of her documentation in tomorrow for them to photocopy---copies of neuropsych evals, medical tests, IEP, adoption papers with her special needs listed, her court ordered guardianship papers, etc. Anything else I need to know/do? I know I need to set up yet another bank account for this. but need to make sure I have it worded correctl, etc. We did this 8 years ago for our son.........but that was 8 years ago and a lot less was done online then, it was all real paperwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 My daughter's approval took about 4 months. I had the paperwork all prepared and ready to go, and had called a month ahead of time to make an appointment immediately after her birthday. Her case worker was very pleasant and helpful, but said that there really isn't anything that we can do to make things go more quickly. The bank should be able to help you with the right type of account. If there is a significant amount of money in her name, you'll want to get an attorney to establish a special needs trust account for her. You should also provide any documentation of your dd's account/financial information with your documentation. Good luck. I had heard that this was an agonizing process, but it was fairly straightforward for my daughter. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 It is retroactive back to the date of application. We were so lucky in that our son's was approved in a week, yes, a WEEK. It was very clear cut though due to his degree of special needs. This dd has the same level of cognitive impairment and has added health issues so it should not be a problem, just time. We do have a special needs trust already set up and she only has $5-10 in the bank so that is not an issue. It is just getting the right account set up with me as the payee (and guardian), etc. Right now I have 3 accounts for my special needs brother I manage, 2 for dh and I , 1 for special needs son, and then the girls basic little accounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Well, we are officially in the SSI hamster wheel of paper work. I went in today to drop off papers and then told that the application from yesterday was not right. I got an appointment to fill out the new application right away. Did that but they didnt' like that we don't have a mortgage and therefore don't want to count homeowners insurance as an expense as since the mortgage is paid off that is "optional"????? Then I need to set up a rep payee account at the credit union in order to complete her application......................so I travel to the credit union to set that up...........but I can't set up one until I am APPROVED as rep payee,............which comes after her application is approved...........which can't be done until we complete it..........which needs the bank account set up............see the circle here. Bank lady is calling SSI tomorrow (as they close at 3pm) to see if I am approved so we can do the bank account tomorrow after all. Then dd needs a different bank account with a debit card not tied to above account. So she need to sign for a checking account, except we have guardianship of her and she can not legally do her own banking, yet the bank doesn't recognize guardianships......................so we are just both signing the application so at least one of us will be legal :-) After all of that (plus a stop at the court first to do my ds's guardianship report for the court) I was tired and I went to Arby's and bought myself a combo meal and ate it in the peace and quiet of the parking lot before heading home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Ugh. Hugs. When you're in the middle of the process, it's maddening. Hang in there. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 So, what kind of support can you get from SSI disability? I will have this path in 2 1/2 years (AAAAAAA!!!!) with my son who qualifies for everything and anything due to his multiple special needs. I'm asking because we are trying to move and not all states have the financial support we have received here. It would add another layer to where we can live. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 SSI is just a monthly check, other supports come more locally. You can apply for a child under 18 for SSI for a monthly amount and Medicaid depending on the level of their needs, etc. Not sure if family income matters before age 18 or not. They have decided it is great that we dont' have a mortgage as then they don't have to count our home owners insurance as a monthly household expense as it is "optional". I think I might double check on that one :-) Today they did decide that they can process her application and once we have approval for me to be payee then I can set up the bank account. Hard to set up a bank account with out that payee approval first. On the positive side, the guy we talked to said it would be a quick and easy approval based on her IQ (moderately impaired) and medical issues. I think the horror stories of things taking forever are more for adults with questionable problems, not for children with cognitive and/or severe physical impairments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I'd expect you're going to get initially denied, and denied again, and you'll have to appeal to see a judge to get it approved for someone so young unless she's hospitalized 80% of the time and/or literally can't complete any daily functions (bathroom, dressing, etc) herself. It's easiest to hire an attorney; they tend to know the exact keywords needed to get approved quickly, and you don't need to pay them until you've won. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 I am sure that it is legally optional but the guy said we could charge her a portion of the cable (we don't have), internet, etc. but then not the insurance. To me, insurance is more of a necessity than cable TV. The hardest part is that the CMH worker (from local agency) said we should be charging our son much more as that is the true value of his living arrangements here.........so basically 2 very different opinions on what is "fair".......as in off by about $400/month difference. Also, we are nearing the day of having our house paid off, and I'm under the impression that homeowners insurance is indeed optional if you no longer have a mortgage. So I'm not so sure the SSI office is wrong in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 It may be different in our case, because it was my husband and not a child, but it took less than six months and was retroactive to when we applied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 I'd expect you're going to get initially denied, and denied again, and you'll have to appeal to see a judge to get it approved for someone so young unless she's hospitalized 80% of the time and/or literally can't complete any daily functions (bathroom, dressing, etc) herself. It's easiest to hire an attorney; they tend to know the exact keywords needed to get approved quickly, and you don't need to pay them until you've won. We were already "pre=approved" and final approval should come soon. Given her diagnosis it is not questionable if she will get it or not, it is just the process that is maddening. My son (moderate cognitive impairment) was approved in a week. These are kids that will never drive, never live on their own, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 We were already "pre=approved" and final approval should come soon. Given her diagnosis it is not questionable if she will get it or not I think this helps. Also it helps that you've got all of the documentation together and ready to go. They've really got a lot of i's to dot and t's to cross in order to approve an application, from the sounds of it. I spent days playing phone tag with one woman just so she could ask me a very simple question, and my dd's diagnosis and need for support are not questionable. Bureaucracy at its finest. Hang in there. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 For similar programs (my son's special Ed class for instance), every 4 years he has to have a large team of professionals to evaluate if he still qualifies. I understand the need to make things the same across the board, but there should be the "look and see" kids. You just show up in a room with a group of professionals, they look at your kid for 5 minutes and say, "obviously they qualify". You could have a line of kids in wheelchair just plowing through the room all day. There is probably someone who would be offended. They can go through the paper trail. Some of these paper trails seem ridiculous to me. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 For similar programs (my son's special Ed class for instance), every 4 years he has to have a large team of professionals to evaluate if he still qualifies. I understand the need to make things the same across the board, but there should be the "look and see" kids. You just show up in a room with a group of professionals, they look at your kid for 5 minutes and say, "obviously they qualify". You could have a line of kids in wheelchair just plowing through the room all day. There is probably someone who would be offended. They can go through the paper trail. Some of these paper trails seem ridiculous to me. Beth I understand the reasoning behind this as some kids in special education just need extra help/special tutoring and then catch up and can do fine. Kids like your son though just don't and won't ever (based on your comments above). Same with my son that we have partial guardianship of..........every 5 years we have to pay $600 for someone to come and test him and then go back to court to say that yes, he is still impaired and in need of guardianship. he has a cognitive impairment and fetal alcohol and it just isn't going to "get better". Even the judge said he wished he could give us permanent guardianship but legally can't so we do this every 5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueTaelon Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 For similar programs (my son's special Ed class for instance), every 4 years he has to have a large team of professionals to evaluate if he still qualifies. I understand the need to make things the same across the board, but there should be the "look and see" kids. You just show up in a room with a group of professionals, they look at your kid for 5 minutes and say, "obviously they qualify". You could have a line of kids in wheelchair just plowing through the room all day. There is probably someone who would be offended. They can go through the paper trail. Some of these paper trails seem ridiculous to me. Beth I get where your coming from but what if your kid is the next Stephen Hawking? Side by side they can look the same but without testing or the right supports these kids get missed and sadly a tester can miss the fact the kid is smarter then he is if he just makes assumptions and someone else catches the fact the kid is gifted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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