Providing Supplemental Security Income payments, Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, and Survivor Insurance benefits to eligible individuals.

• Assisting in the administration of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit by determining eligibility for low-income subsidies.

• Extending eligibility for Supplemental Security Income for roughly 4,000 refugees and asylees who have not yet become U.S. citizens.

Making Government More Effective

• Converting from paper to electronic disability application folders to speed decision-making and reduce administrative costs.

Providing access to video hearings for some people who live a long distance from a hearing office, allowing them to have hearings scheduled sooner when they appeal decisions made by the Social Security Administration.

Ensuring that more than 99 percent of benefits are paid correctly.

Agency-specific Goals

• Improving the timeliness and accuracy of the Social Security Administration's disability decision-making process while continuing to improve productivity.

PROMOTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND OWNERSHIP

Demonstrations to Help Transition from Disability to Work

Individuals with disabilities face many barriers in making the transition to work. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has launched two demonstrations: one to support adults with disabilities who want to enter the workforce and one to support children with disabilities making the transition from school to work.

Under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, SSA is exploring ways to more gradually reduce Disability Insurance (DI) benefits as beneficiaries enter the workforce. Under current law, DI beneficiaries who exhaust their nine-month trial work period and three-month grace period have their DI benefits completely stopped if they earn more than $830 per month. Under the DI Benefit Offset Demonstration, such beneficiaries would be able to earn more than $830 per month and still receive a portion of their DI benefits. This change would encourage them to return to work by allowing a more gradual transition.

SSA is also testing approaches to support the successful transition of youth with disabilities from school to post-secondary education and/or employment. Under the Youth Transition Demonstration projects, California, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, and New York have created service-delivery systems that blend education, rehabilitation, health care, and employment services. Each project is different, but all show how communities can blend services and resources from Federal, State, and local partners to support youth with disabilities as they progress through high school and go on to work or post-secondary education. Services include mentoring, skills training, career planning, and job search and placement services. The Budget includes $9 million for these demonstration projects.

Patrick's Story

Patrick was an outgoing young man working on his cosmetology license. That was in 1994-the year his life took a drastic turn. Patrick began to feel weak, lost a lot of weight, and had constant headaches. His doctor diagnosed him with end-stage renal disease. For the next seven years, Patrick underwent kidney dialysis. He abandoned his career goals and was approved for Social Security disability benefits. His days were long and unfulfilling. Then, in 2001, he became eligible for a kidney transplant. "After all this time, I couldn't believe my good fortune," said Patrick. "Finally, a kidney was available, and all I could think of was going back to living a normal, healthy life."

After the transplant, Patrick had some problems with his health, but finally began regaining his strength. It was around that time that his Ticket to Work came in the mail from Social Security. He found out that he could use his Ticket to go back to work without risking the loss of his Medicare benefits. Patrick started working as an interim accountant, and now has a permanent position as a buyer for a manufacturer.

The Budget proposes to require full-time school attendance as a condition of entitlement for Social Security child's benefits for children beginning at age 16. Current policy allows eligible children to receive Social Security benefits up to the month they reach age 18, regardless of school attendance. School attendance is required for children ages 18 and 19 to continue receiving benefits. Changing the policy to age 16 will further encourage eligible children to remain in school.

SSA has put a priority on helping people get back to work, as evidenced by the new performance measure it developed for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. SSA is committed to increase the number of SSI and DI beneficiaries with "tickets" who go to work, relative to 2003, by 20 percent in 2004, 40 percent in 2005, and 60 percent in 2006. Tickets allow beneficiaries to choose employment services, whether from a more traditional vocational rehabilitation agency or other participating public and private providers.