California's Help to the Elderly & Disabled Threatened
State Supplementary Program (SSP), is a state program that strengthens SSI benefits for 1.26 million Californians, of which 69 percent are disabled, 29 percent are aged and 2 percent are blind.
SSI is funded through the Federal government's general fund, while SSP is funded through California’s annual budget process. Both programs are administered by the Social Security Administration which also determines eligibility for the program using its guidelines.
With budget cutbacks in Sacramento, SSI/SSP benefits for California’s senior citizens, blind and disabled residents have sustained significant cutbacks. For example, in January 2009, an individual received a maximum benefit of $907, with about two-thirds funded by the Federal government and one-third by the state. The monthly payment was cut 6.8 percent at the beginning of this year. Couples received maximum benefits of $1,579 ($1,011 Federal and $568 state) in 2009, but budget reductions also saw their monthly checks decrease by 10.9 percent to a maximum of $1,407 now.
Legal immigrants, not eligible for SSI/SSP due to their immigration status (for example, they arrived after August 1996) are currently eligible for Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI). This program assists about 11,000 in the state. Program eligibility is similar to SSI/SSP and recipients have likewise experienced cutbacks, with an individual receiving $835 per month in January 2010. The governor has tried to completely eliminate this program in the past two budgets.
Many people receive below the maximum SSI/SSP benefit levels. For example, 51.6 percent of the aged receive social security benefits, so their average benefit from SSI/SSP is $517. Overall, the average SSI/SSP benefit for a Californian is $563, where the national average is $498.
Recipients in all states, except California, also receive benefits from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. California opted out of the SNAP food assistance program and instead offers an increased cash benefit of $10 per month for recipients.
In the face of decreasing SSI/SSP checks, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could be made available to those recipients. SNAP is paid for by Federal funds, with administrative costs shared by the Federal government, state and counties.
Three hundred thousand California households would become eligible for $16 to $69 per month in food stamps with this simple change. Allowing these additional households to participate would offer California a net increase of $125 million in SNAP funds and help recipients offset the recent reductions in their monthly checks.
While California continues to look at cuts for these programs, under federal law, the SSP portion of the SSI/SSP grant must be maintained at or above the 1983 level. Further cutbacks could jeopardize all funding or the aged, blind and disabled.