The Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 was recently passed by Congress and signed by the President.
Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies will play a major role in the monitoring and oversight of the Representative Payee program under the Social Security Administration. Representative Payees are appointed by the SSA to manage Social Security benefits for people who are unable to handle them on their own. As adults, most people with DD qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security disability benefits after a parent dies, retires, or becomes disabled.
Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies will play a major role in the monitoring and oversight of the Representative Payee program under the Social Security Administration. Representative Payees are appointed by the SSA to manage Social Security benefits for people who are unable to handle them on their own. As adults, most people with DD qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security disability benefits after a parent dies, retires, or becomes disabled.
P&As are mandated by the DD Act of 2000 to protect the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities. These federally-funded agencies have different names in different states: for example, in Michigan P&A is called Michigan Protection and Advocacy Services (MPAS); in Ohio it is Disability Rights Ohio (DRO); and in Illinois it is Equip for Equality.
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This is what I have discovered so far about about the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 and the new role for Protection and Advocacy:
The legislative history of the Act explains the changes in Social Security Administration (SSA) policy in regard to selecting and monitoring Representative Payees for beneficiaries who are unable to handle their benefits on their own. The rationale for changes to SSA policies is based on reports and reviews from the Social Security Advisory Board, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). [Links to these reports and others are in the footnotes for the legislative history]. The problem with the reports and studies that I have seen on representative payees is similar to reports on guardianship. The data available on abuse is mostly anecdotal with sensational cases being used to justify major changes to the system. In my opinion, the data is not reliable or complete enough to draw conclusions generally on what is wrong with the system and how it affects individual beneficiaries.
The SSA is attempting to improve the way it selects, oversees, and monitors representative payees by having Protection and Advocacy agencies take over this function that was previously been done by another vendor. An annual grant of not less $25 million will be distributed among P&A agencies for purposes specified in the Act.
In addition, “The SSA also would issue an annual grant to a highly-qualified national disability association to provide training and other support for the review program to the SSA and the P&A agencies. The Committee expects the SSA, P&A system, and national association to work together in partnership to ensure an effective and efficient review process, over which the SSA would retain oversight responsibilities.” The "national disability association" is not specified by name in the law.
From the legislative history:
Currently, “The SSA primarily relies on annual accounting reports and periodic on-site reviews to monitor the performance of representative payees and ensure benefits are being used properly. The Social Security Act requires on-site reviews for certain organizational and individual payees, and the SSA conducts additional discretionary reviews of other payees."
“By law, the SSA is required to conduct periodic on-site reviews for three categories of payees: individual payees with 15 or more beneficiaries; all non-profit, community-based social service organizations; and any other type of agency with 50 or more beneficiaries. The law also requires the SSA to conduct on-site reviews of state mental institutions. …”
Under the new law, accounting forms will no longer be required of individual payees who live with the beneficiary and are parents or spouses of the person receiving benefits. P&As will do on-site visits rather than rely on accounting forms to find abuse in the system. P&As may pursue additional monitoring activities based on what they find from their on-site reviews. According to the new law, in conducting reviews, a protection and advocacy system “shall have the same authorities, including access to records, facilities, and persons, as such system would have for purposes of providing services under subtitle C of title I of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.).”
The new law also promotes information sharing between states and the SSA with agencies that have information on current or potential representative payees who may have been found untrustworthy through state Adult and Child Protective Services investigations and state hearings or investigations of court-appointed guardians.
The legislative history heaps praise on the Protection and Advocacy system that may not be deserved, considering that P&As have rarely been held to account for complaints against them by families and some advocacy organizations that object to P&As promoting an ideology of full inclusion* rather than protecting the individual rights of people with developmental and other disabilities as the law requires:
[* full inclusion refers to the belief that people with disabilities should be completely integrated in "the community" receiving services in settings with people who are not disabled; more than 3 or 4 people with disabilities grouped or living together to receive services is considered segregated and isolating, regardless of the severity or nature of the disabilities or the need for specialized services and settings.]
The legislative history heaps praise on the Protection and Advocacy system that may not be deserved, considering that P&As have rarely been held to account for complaints against them by families and some advocacy organizations that object to P&As promoting an ideology of full inclusion* rather than protecting the individual rights of people with developmental and other disabilities as the law requires:
[* full inclusion refers to the belief that people with disabilities should be completely integrated in "the community" receiving services in settings with people who are not disabled; more than 3 or 4 people with disabilities grouped or living together to receive services is considered segregated and isolating, regardless of the severity or nature of the disabilities or the need for specialized services and settings.]
“The new provision recognizes the superior training, experience, and track record of the nationwide P&A system, which began to do reviews on behalf of the SSA after the Henry’s Turkey Service abuses were uncovered. The SSA turned to the NDRN (the nationwide representative of the state P&A systems) in 2009 because of their previously-established relationship through the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security program, and NDRN’s long experience protecting and advocating for persons with disabilities.”
“Because P&A agencies are located in each state and territory, and have extensive contacts in their local communities, they receive reports from the community alerting them to beneficiaries who may be experiencing neglect or abuse. “
“The models do not incorporate other information that might indicate risk, such as housing code violations, reports of abuse of residents, high staff turnover, and so forth. Because of P&A agencies’ relationships in their local communities, in combination with their other work, they may be in a better position to identify and review risky payees.”
Whether P&A agencies would continue to promote their agenda over the rights of individuals under the new law, remains to be seen. There is nothing mentioned in the legislative history or in the law that offers protections against this. Because most representative payees, as well as guardians, are family members or personal friends of the individual beneficiaries, they (we) are a problem for the government-funded agencies and advocacy organizations because our loved-ones are more important to us than advancing their ideology.
Whether P&A agencies would continue to promote their agenda over the rights of individuals under the new law, remains to be seen. There is nothing mentioned in the legislative history or in the law that offers protections against this. Because most representative payees, as well as guardians, are family members or personal friends of the individual beneficiaries, they (we) are a problem for the government-funded agencies and advocacy organizations because our loved-ones are more important to us than advancing their ideology.
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