3/25/74

Automatic Inclusion of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Recipients in the Definition of Severely Handicapped Individuals

In developing a definition of "severely handicapped individual" and establishing an operational system for State VR agencies to identify and track such individuals through the rehabilitation process, there are compelling reasons for automatically including all individuals qualifying for SSDI or SSI payments:

The definitions of disability and blindness are the same for both

programs.

Individuals found eligible for payments under both programs will

have undergone a rigorous assessment (with thorough medical documentation)
of functional capacity involving a determination that the individual
is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity for 12 conse-

cutive months or more by reason of a physical or mental imngirment.
Experience by State VR agencies has shown that a relatively small
percentage of the total individuals receiving payments under these
two programs are deemed to have vocational rehabilitation potential,
thereby reflecting the severity of disabling conditions among

individuals as a group classification.

This approach is consistent with operational simplicity and efficient
administrative practice. Further individual assessment by the VR
agency would result in practically all cases being classified as
severely disabled and would be in our opinion, inordinately
time-consuming and counter-productive.

Each of these groups will be clearly identified for program reporting
Detailed information on client characteristics and

purposes.

2

services provided will be easily separable by SSDI, SSI and

other severely disabled categories for program analysis.

The Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation together with a number of other national agencies and organizations participated

in the development of this operational system for identifying the severely disabled and have endorsed it.

Impact of Mandate on Serving Increased Numbers
of Severely Handicapped Individuals

RSA has not as yet been able to quantity the mandate of rehabilitating the more severely handicapped either in terms of dollars or workload.

A new statistical base is being developed as is a new reporting system which will provide the information which we now lack. However, we are certain that the type case we all consider as severely handicapped will be longer term and require additional agency staff, more costly services, and the development and utilization of services which may now be in short supply. Therefore, we have advised the Congressional Appropriations Committees in the FY 1975 Budget Justification that our workload estimates may need to be revised as we move ahead in the implementation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Pages from the budget justification are attached, as is a letter sent to State VR agencies regarding this.

Justifications of
Appropriation Estimates for
Committee on Appropriations
Fiscal year 1975

An amount of $715,400,000 is being requested for Fiscal Year 1975 to provide services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to physically and mentally handicapped persons so that they may prepare for and engage in gainful employment and for Research and Training in the Rehabilitation field. Any realistic vocational goal may be pursued, based upon a thorough evaluation of the individual's potentials and with his concurrence. Individuals may be placed into competitive employment, sheltered employment or into homemaking.

The overall program goal for FY 1975 is to serve 1,326,000 handicapped persons and to rehabilitate 394,000. Resources requested under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, l those of Beneficiary Rehabilitation Promo (Santing 200(2) of the Social Security frogman) and the Supplemental Security in.......... Program (Title V of the Social Security Act) will be required to attain these goals.

Goals and Objectives

As mandated by the Congress in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, priority services will be concentrated on those persons with the most severe handicaps. In addition, the momentum for rehabilitating disabled public assistance recipients will be maintained, including efforts for others on public support retarded, the mentally ill and the disabled in penal institutions.

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the mentally

An index of accomplishments in FY 1973 and anticipated accomplishments for FYs 1974 and 1975 may be attained by a review of selected categories of program activity.

Selected Program Data - Fiscal Years 1973-1975

These workload estimates for FY 1974 and 1975 may be reduced as increased numbers of more severely disabled individuals enter the caseloads in the States.