State Assistance Programs for SSI Recipients, January 2004

North Carolina

State Supplementation

Mandatory Minimum Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services and Division of Services for the Blind (state-supervised and county-administered).

Optional State Supplementation

Administration: State Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services and Division of Services for the Blind (state-supervised and county-administered). Payments are made under the State/County Special Assistance for Adults program.

Effective date: January 1, 1974.

Statutory basis for payment: General Statutes of North Carolina 108A.40 through 108A.47 and chapter 111 and chapter 143B-139.5.

Funding

Administration: 100 percent county funds.

Assistance: 50 percent state funds; 50 percent county funds.

Passalong method: Maintaining payment levels.

Place of application: County offices of the state Department of Social Services.

Scope of coverage: Optional state supplement provided to all aged, blind, and disabled adults living in adult care homes.

Resource limitations: Federal SSI regulations apply.

Income exclusions

All categories: A $20 exemption applies to any income, including SSI, with the exception of income received as a Veterans Administration (VA) pension payment or a VA compensation payment to the surviving parent of a veteran.

Aged and disabled: Federal SSI regulations apply.

Blind: For earned income, exclude the first $85 plus one-half of the remainder.

Recoveries, liens, and assignments: None.

Financial responsibility of relatives: No income is deemed to the spouse at home.

Interim assistance: State participates (in counties that chose to do so).

Payment levels: See Table 1.

Table 1. Optional state supplementation payment levels, January 2004 (in dollars)
Living arrangement Combined federal
and state		 State supplementation
Individual Couple Individual Couple
Adult care home
Basic (aged, blind, and disabled) a 1,112.00 b 548.00 b
Disenfranchised (aged and disabled) 1,277.00 b 713.00 b
Blind, pending SSI eligibility c
Not paying shelter and utilities . . . . . . 97.00 194 d
Paying shelter and utilities . . . . . . 146.00 243 e
NOTE: . . . = not applicable.
a. An additional $20 income exclusion is allowed. In addition, a $46 personal needs allowance is included in the optional supplementation.
b. Couples residing in these living arrangements are treated as individuals.
c. This is a temporary supplement paid until SSI eligibility is determined. This is for people who are currently in a private living arrangement.
d. If only one member of the couple is blind, payment level is $146.
e. If only one member of the couple is blind, payment level is $219.
DEFINITION:
Living in an adult care home
Includes recipients residing in an assisted living residence in which the housing management provides 24-hour scheduled and unscheduled personal care services to two or more residents either directly or, for scheduled needs, through formal written agreement with licensed home care or hospice agencies. Care homes that provide care to two to six unrelated residents are commonly called family care homes. Care homes that provide care to seven or more unrelated residents are commonly called adult care homes.

Number of recipients: See Table 2.

Table 2. Number of persons receiving optional state supplementation, January 2004
Living arrangement Total Aged Blind Disabled
All recipients 23,641 12,473 0 11,168
Adult care home
Basic 23,636 12,469 0 11,167
Disenfranchised 5 4 0 1
NOTE: Includes certain grandfathered, non-SSI recipients who meet state eligibility criteria.

State Assistance for Special Needs

State does not provide assistance for special 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.