
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 11, 1991                   TAG: 9102110030
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

BENEFIT RULES ALTERED/ MORE CHILDREN QUALIFY FOR FUNDS

The government has approved regulations expanding by tens of thousands the number of poor children entitled to disability benefits each year, administration officials said.

The regulations were scheduled for release today and will be effective immediately, according to a description obtained by The Associated Press.

The changes were ordered nearly a year ago by the Supreme Court after advocates for the rights of the disabled complained that the administration had delayed crafting the regulations.

Under the new rules, the government for the first time will consider not only children's medical conditions but also the effect those conditions have on their ability to walk, eat, dress themselves and perform other daily activities.

The change is expected to add as many as 37,000 children per year with severe physical and mental disabilities to the Supplemental Security Income program who would not previously have qualified.

The administration estimates the new guidelines will cost $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion over the next five years.

About 312,000 needy, disabled children receive SSI benefits, which average $387 per month. About half the applicants now qualify, but the administration expects as many as 65 percent of those applying to qualify under the new plan.

By a 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court last year voided a government regulation that gave children seeking benefits less protection than adults. The old rule applied a rigid list of disorders - deafness, for example - to children, while permitting adults to be judged on their ability to work. Advocacy groups complained the list did not account for the cumulative effect of disabilities on children's daily lives.

Since the Supreme Court decision, the government has granted 67,000 applications and rejected 48,000 under a temporary disability standard. SSA has pledged to rehear all of the rejections using the new regulations.

The administration must also re-evaluate the cases of hundreds of thousands of children denied under the rules the court struck down.

by CNB