Slocum v. Department of Social Welfare

Petitioners appeal from a decision of the Human Services Board (Board) authorizing the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) to recover from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) awards, General Assistance (GA) benefits paid by DSW. We reverse and remand.

SSI is a federally funded and operated program with its own disability and financial eligibility requirements. In 1974, Congress amended the Social Security Act to enable the Social Security Administration (SSA) to pay retroactive awards of SSI benefits directly to the states in order to reimburse the states for “interim assistance,” known in…