425-4        REVIEW OF BLINDNESS OR DISABILITY DECISIONS

425-4 A.    SSA AND SSISupplemental Security Income DETERMINATIONS

The Social Security Administration periodically reviews blindness or disability decisions that allow the payment of SSASocial Security Administration disability or SSISupplemental Security Income benefits.  Review of SSASocial Security Administration or SSISupplemental Security Income blindness or disability decisions is not necessary for APAAdult Public Assistance purposes.  If DPADivision of Public Assistance receives information indicating that SSASocial Security Administration or SSISupplemental Security Income disability payments have been terminated because Social Security has found that blindness or disability no longer exists, APAAdult Public Assistance benefits shall be terminated.

425-4 B.     DDSDisability Determination Service DETERMINATIONS

State-only decisions are subject to periodic review by the state.  The DDSDisability Determination Service is the agency responsible for conducting these blindness and disability reviews.  The frequency of state-only blindness or disability reviews is set by the DDSDisability Determination Service .

The DDSDisability Determination Service does not retain any of the material that they used to initially determine an individual's blindness or disability.  Instead, they send the material to the DPADivision of Public Assistance District Office that serves the individual.  The District Office must keep all such material with the individual's case file and resubmit it along with newly completed APA 4Disability and Vocational Report and MED 2Medical Release of Information Form forms to the DDSDisability Determination Service at the time of the individual's periodic review.  Because of this, any material that the DDSDisability Determination Service sends to the DPADivision of Public Assistance District Office must never be archived.  The DDSDisability Determination Service must be informed in the transmittal document that these materials are being submitted for a continuing disability review, since the DDSDisability Determination Service uses different criteria for disability review determinations than for initial disability determinations.

425-4 C.   CHANGE IN SSASocial Security Administration OR SSISupplemental Security Income STATUS

An APAAdult Public Assistance recipient may sometimes become ineligible for Social Security Disability or SSISupplemental Security Income benefits.  If an APAAdult Public Assistance recipient is no longer eligible for SSISupplemental Security Income or SSASocial Security Administration disability for a reason other than a finding that blindness or disability no longer exists, continued eligibility for APAAdult Public Assistance may exist.  If the individual is otherwise eligible, the case worker must continue APAAdult Public Assistance benefits and refer the client's case to the DDSDisability Determination Service for a new blindness or disability decision.  This is necessary because SSASocial Security Administration will no longer review the individual's disability determination, and there will be no eligibility for SSISupplemental Security Income or SSASocial Security Administration disability to form a basis for APAAdult Public Assistance disability.

SSISupplemental Security Income recipients who become ineligible for an SSISupplemental Security Income payment because of excess income are put into SSISupplemental Security Income nonpay status.  Do not confuse nonpay status with the actual closure of an individual's SSISupplemental Security Income case.  It is not necessary to refer these individuals to the DDSDisability Determination Service unless the individual's SSISupplemental Security Income claim is actually closed.