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Public Benefits >  Income Help (Welfare/TANF/Social Security/SSI)   Read information about your legal rights. There are 31 resources     Benefits Calculators      Are You Eligible for Any Government Benefits? (Separate Website) Enter information into this website and it will give you a report on benefits you may be eligible to receive. By: GovBenefits, A Partnership of Federal Agencies and Organizations     Read this in: Spanish / Español           Benefits Check Up (Separate Website) This web site provides information about what benefits seniors may be eligible for. You will be required to fill out a form on the Internet. By: National Council on the Aging          Social Security & SSI      Understanding Social Security (Social Security Online) (Separate Website) Social Security Online contains a large number of resources that will help you understand the current Social Security program benefits. By: Social Security Administration     Read this in: Arabic / العربية , Chinese / 中文 , French / Français , Haitian Creole / Kreyòl ayisyen , Korean / 한국어 , Spanish / Español , Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt           A Snapshot of Social Security (Separate Website) This publication provides a snapshot of the most important features of the Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicare programs. By: Social Security Administration     Read this in: Arabic / العربية , Armenian / Հայերէն , Chinese / 中文 , Creole / Kreyòl , Farsi / فارسی , Italian / italiano , Korean / 한국어 , Polish / polski , Russian / Pусский , Spanish / Español , Tagalog / Tagalog , Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt           Social Security Appeals Process (Separate Website) When the Social Security Administration makes a decision on your claim, we will send you a letter explaining our decision. If you do not agree with our decision, you can appeal—that is, ask us to look at your case again. When you ask for an appeal, we will look at the entire decision, even those parts that were in your favor. If our decision was wrong, we will change it. This document answers the following questions: (1) When and how can I appeal? (2) How many appeal levels are there? (3) Will my benefits continue? (4) Can someone help me? By: Social Security Administration     Read this in: Chinese / 中文 , Korean / 한국어 , Russian / Pусский , Spanish / Español , Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt           Benefits For Children (Social Security) (Separate Website) About 3.8 million children receive approximately $1.6 billion each month because one or both of their parents are disabled, retired or deceased. Those dollars help to provide the necessities of life for family members and help to make it possible for those children to complete high school. When a parent becomes disabled or dies, Social Security benefits help to stabilize the family’s financial future. By: Social Security Administration     Read this in: Chinese / 中文 , Russian / Pусский , Spanish / Español           How Social Security Can Make Payments to Someone Who is Managing Your Money For You (Separate Website) Social Security's Representative Payment Program provides fiduciary assistance for our beneficiaries who are incapable of managing or directing someone else to manage their Social Security or SSI payments. By: Social Security Administration           Can I Get Social Security Benefits If I Am Not a Citizen of the United States? Social Security is a monthly payment from the federal government to blind, disabled or older people who have paid into the social security system. (Social security payments are usually taken out of your paycheck.) Even if your employer did not report your wages to the government, you might still be able to get benefits. Spouses and children of persons who have paid into the Social Security system may also be able to get benefits. By: Georgia Legal Services Program       Read this in: Spanish / Español           Income Support: Social Security Social Security, the nation's best known form of insurance, provides a retirement and insurance program for older and disabled Americans. There are three basic categories of cash benefits under Social Security: retirement, disability and survivor benefits. Rules, payment schedules and eligibility for each program are distinct. Although a person may qualify for more than one type of benefit under Social Security, he/she can collect only one of these three benefits at a time. The following are brief highlights of each program. By: Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Aging Services           If You are Blind or Have Low Vision: How We Can Help (Separate Website) The website has information on Social Security Disability benefits and SSI Benefits for individuals who are blind or have low vision. By: Social Security Administration     Read this in: Spanish / Español           When Your Social Security Benefits Are Taken to Pay Back Money to the Federal Government (Separate Website) Social Security income is a lifeline for most seniors. Because it is considered so essential for survival, it has traditionally been protected from attachment by creditors. A 1996 law takes away some of this protection. Although the law was passed in 1996, the government is just now starting to implement it. This is an important change, but it is not a reason for panic. It will not apply to everyone and not all benefits can be taken. This information sheet answers some frequently asked questions about this new program. By: National Consumer Law Center           Frequently Asked Tax Questions About Social Security Income (Separate Website) This web page answers common tax questions about Social Security income. By: Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury           Supplemental Security Income Payments (Separate Website) SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income. It is a program run by Social Security. SSI provides monthly payments to people who are elderly, blind or disabled and who have little or no income and assets. Children, as well as adults, can get payments because of blindness or disability. To get SSI, you must be elderly, blind or disabled. By: Social Security Administration     Read this in: Chinese / 中文 , Spanish / Español           Supplemental Security Income Rights and Responsibilities (Separate Website) This document lists your rights and responsibilities in connection with Supplemental Security Income payments. By: Social Security Administration     Read this in: Arabic / العربية , Armenian / Հայերէն , Chinese / 中文 , Creole / Kreyòl , Farsi / فارسی , French / Français , Italian / italiano , Korean / 한국어 , Polish / polski , Portuguese / português , Russian / Pусский , Spanish / Español , Tagalog / Tagalog , Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt          TANF/Temporary Aid to Needy Families      An Overview of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and Public Housing Authorities Temporary Assistance to Needy Families is the new "Welfare" program. In 1996 Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. This act abolished the old welfare entitlement program Aid to Families with Dependant Children (AFDC), and created a new block grant program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Under TANF, you no longer get a check for an indefinite period of time. In Georgia, families that include an adult in the grant have a lifetime limit of 48 months (4 years) in which they can receive benefits. This document contains more important information about TANF. By: Georgia Legal Services Program             Facts, Not Myths, for Georgia's Families about TANF (Separate Website) A Video Brieifing on Temporary Assitance to Needy Families By: Georgia Legal Services Program             TANF Sanctions: What Are My Rights? People who receive aid under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program have to meet a number of requirements. This document explains what happens when families receiving TANF fail to comply with the TANF requirements. By: Georgia Legal Services Program             TANF: What Happens When I Go to Work? This document describes the different kinds of support services that families receiving TANF can get when the head of the household goes to work, such as child care, Medicaid health benefits and help with transportation. The document also describes what you can do if you do not get the support services you have asked for. By: Georgia Legal Services Program             Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Public Housing This document answers common questions about Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and the way the benefits affect a family's rights in Public Housing. By: Georgia Legal Services Program             Work and Public Housing and TANF Benefits Information on public housing policies which encourage tenants to work, including the "earned income disregard" which excludes certain earned income when calculating rent. By: Georgia Legal Services Program             Facts You Should Know About Medicaid And Tanf If You Have Children TANF is the program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It provides cash assistance to low-income families. By: Georgia Legal Services Program             TANF for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: $50 Supplement and Emergency Cash Grant TANF stands for ?Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.? If you meet certain requirements, you may be able to get the fifty dollar ($50) Monthly Subsidy Payment (MSP) or the Crisis Intervention Services Payment (CRISP). By: Georgia Legal Services Program             $50 Supplement and Emergency Cash Grant for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren DFCS adopted regulations on the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program providing for a $50.00 per month, per child additional TANF supplement. The regulations also provide for an emergency grant called: GRG Emergency/Crisis Intervention Services Payment (CRISP), which is a one time only cash payment equal to up to 3 times the maximum TANF benefit for the Assistance Unit (AU) size. By: Georgia Legal Services Program             Adoption Assistance Information for Special Needs Children AND Form for Requesting Benefits This flyer provides information for relatives adopting children with special needs. There is also a form used to apply for these benefits. Talk to a lawyer about any adoption. By: Georgia Legal Services Program             Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren TANF stands for ?Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.? If you meet certain requirements, you may be able to get the fifty dollar ($50) Monthly Subsidy Payment (MSP) or the Crisis Intervention Services Payment (CRISP). You may also be able to get other types of TANF. By: Georgia Legal Services Program       Read this in: Spanish / Español          Related Information      What to Do if You Have an OSAH Hearing (Separate Website) This video walk you through a public benefits appeals hearing By: Office of State Administrative Hearings           About the Georgia Legal Services Kinship Care Adoption Project The Georgia Legal Services Program Kinship Care Project provides critical legal help and outreach to low-income grandparents and other relative caregivers of children who need stable loving homes. By: Georgia Legal Services Program