Social Security Omits Food From In-Kind Support and Maintenance Calculations

Supplement Security Income (SSI) provides monthly payments to adults and children with a disability or blindness. It also provides monthly payments to adults aged 65 and older, who have limited income and resources. SSI payments help pay for basic needs like rent, food, clothing, and medicine. People applying for and receiving SSI must meet eligibility requirements, including income and resource limits.

We currently include food assistance as unearned income when calculating In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM). We understand this rule could affect your clients’ SSI eligibility or reduce their payment amount, so we made changes. Beginning September 30, 2024, we are no longer counting food that someone gives your clients as unearned income when we figure SSI payments. This new rule removes a critical barrier for SSI eligibility due to informal food assistance from friends, family, and community networks of support.

For more information on the SSI program, including who is eligible and how to apply, Visit Social Security

The Arc is proud to be part of the Project Search team. The Arc provides the in-program Job Coaching and post-graduate Job Development services for the students placed at Holy Name Medical Center.

The Arc works in partnership with Bergen County Special Services School District, Bergen County Project SEARCH and the Bergen County Workforce Development Board to deliver Project Search at Holy Name.  Here the students are placed full time for their last year of school.  They have the opportunity for internships in a variety of work settings within the hospital where they learn job skills toward future employment opportunities.  Eight to twelve students participate annually.  In addition to the job coaches there is also a certified teacher as part of the program. Students learn about community resources, transportation, benefits management and transition to adult services in addition to their employment and academic training, so they are fully prepared to enter the world of work on graduation. The Arc assists each graduate to locate a job, update their resume, interview and eventually be hired and receive any needed coaching post program so that their employment is successful.

Check out The Arc's Video

The Marriage Penalty

Self-Advocate Diana Stolfo continues her tireless work to eliminate the marriage penalty. Diana and her fiancé Matt met at The Arc's CHILD Center when they were just infants. They want to marry but cannot because they will lose vital benefits. For Diana and Matt and others with all types of disabilities marriage can mean losing their care, their home and not having enough money to repair their wheelchair. H.R.6405 - the Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act would eliminate some of these barriers.  Diana tells her story in the first video and couples from around NJ gather for a commitment ceremony to shine a light on the issue in the second video.