State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2002

Vermont

State Supplementation

Mandatory Minimum Supplementation

No recipients.

Optional State Supplementation

Administration: State Agency of Human Services, Department of Prevention, Assistance, Transition, and Health Access, administers the state-funded program for essential persons. All other optional state supplements are administered by the Social Security Administration.

Effective date: January 1, 1974.

Statutory basis for payment: Vermont Statutes Annotated, title 33, chapter 13, Aid to Aged, Blind, and Disabled.

Funding

Administration: State funds.

Assistance: State funds.

Passalong method: Maintaining payment levels.

Place of application: Social Security Administration field offices.

Scope of coverage: Optional state supplement provided to SSI-eligible aged, blind, and disabled individuals, including children.

Resource limitations: Same as federal.

Income exclusions: Same as federal.

Recoveries, liens, and assignments: None.

Responsibility of relatives: None.

Interim assistance: State participates.

Payment levels: See Table 1.

Table 1. Optional state supplementation payment levels (in dollars)
Living arrangement State code Combined federal
and state		 State supplementation
Individual Couple Individual Couple
Living independently A and B 604.04 927.88 59.04 110.88
Living in assistive community care, Level III C 593.38 913.77 48.38 96.77
Living in the household of another E 402.64 592.98 39.30 48.31
Living in a residential care home, Level IV G 768.94 1,379.06 223.94 562.06
Living in a custodial care family home H 643.69 1,149.82 98.69 332.82
Living in a Medicaid facility I 47.66 95.33 17.66 35.33
Living independently with an essential person a . . . 927.88 1,111.69 109.88 21.69
Living in the household of another with an ineligible spouse who is an essential person a . . . 604.04 . . . 59.37 . . .
NOTE: . . . = not applicable.
a. State administers payments.
DEFINITIONS:
A and B: Living independently
Includes eligible recipients who are not in any other state living arrangement. Includes children who are living with parents, recipients residing in private Title XIX facilities where Medicaid is not paying more than 50 percent of the cost of care, and recipients residing in publicly operated emergency shelters throughout a month.
C: Living in assistive community care, Level III
Effective July 1, 1999, includes any individual who resides in a Level III residential care home that is certified by the Department of Disabilities and Aging to provide assistive community care services.
E: Living in the household of another
Includes recipients residing in a federal Code B living arrangement who are not otherwise exempted from state supplementation.
G: Living in a residential care home, Level IV
Includes recipients living in Level IV community homes identified by the state.
H: Living in a custodial care family home
Includes recipients who are residing in a federal Code A living arrangement, live in another's home, pay room and board, and receive one or more custodial services. Custodial care includes providing basic room and board, plus such services as help with feeding, dressing, bathing, moving under normal circumstances, and occasional tray service and supervision for the recipients' protection. To qualify as a home under this arrangement, these services must be provided by a resident of the home and cannot be provided to more than two persons in the home. Custodial care or supervision provided by a spouse is not included under this arrangement.
I: Living in a Medicaid facility
Includes recipients residing in a federal code D living arrangement.

Number of recipients: See Table 2.

Table 2. Number of persons receiving optional state supplementation, January 2002
Living arrangement State code Total Aged Blind Disabled
Adults Children
All recipients 12,730 1,430 160 9,340 1,800
Living independently A and B 11,000 1,270 110 8,000 1,620
Living in assistive community care, Level III C 110 0 20 70 20
Living in the household of another E 260 70 0 190 0
Living in a residential care home, Level IV G 260 60 0 200 0
Living in a custodial care family home H 960 10 20 780 150
Living in a Medicaid facility I 140 20 10 100 10
Living independently with an essential person . . . 0 0 0 0 0
Living in the household of another with an ineligible spouse who is an essential person . . . 0 0 0 0 0
NOTE: . . . = not applicable.

State Assistance for Special Needs

Administration

Agency of Human Services, Department of Prevention, Assistance, Transition, and Health Access.

Special Needs Circumstances

Emergency assistance is provided, under certain conditions, for court-ordered evictions, natural disasters (e.g., fire, flood, or hurricane), emergency medical care, funeral costs, and emergency fuel needs.

Medicaid

Eligibility

Criteria: SSI program guidelines (Title XVI).

Determined by: Social Security Administration.

Medically Needy Program

State provides a program for the aged, blind, and disabled medically needy.

Unpaid Medical Expenses

The Social Security Administration does not obtain this information.