Marc Rosen, MD, associate professor of psychiatry, recently presented his group’s work to an Institute of Medicine committee charged with advising the Social Security Administration on determining financial capability of its beneficiaries. The presentation took place on April 21st in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Rosen’s workgroup—including co-investigators Anne Black, PhD, associate research scientist in psychiatry; Robert Rosenheck, MD, professor of psychiatry and of public health; Samuel Ball, PhD, professor of psychiatry; and Thomas McMahon, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and in the Child Study Center and associate clinical professor of nursing—has developed and validated measures for determining when someone receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for a psychiatric condition is capable of managing funds independently and when a fiduciary is indicated. The workgroup’s data suggests that many people who receive such funds directly have great difficulty managing them, as summarized in papers referenced below.
A report considering Dr. Rosen’s and others’ data is forthcoming from the Institute of Medicine’s Committee to Evaluate the Social Security Administration’s Capability Determination Process for Adult Beneficiaries.
References
Claycomb M, Black AC, Wilber C, Brocke S, Lazar C, Rosen MI: Financial Victimization of Adults with Severe Mental Illness. Psychiatric Services 2013; 64: 918-920. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.005882012.
Black AC, McMahon TJ, Rosenheck RA, Ball S, Ries `R, Ames D, Rosen MI: Development of the Clinician Assessment of Financial Incapability (CAFI). Psychiatry Research 2014; 30;215(3):784-9. MC3959734.
Lazar CM, Black AC, McMahon TJ, O’Shea K, Rosen MI: Ambiguity in Determining Financial Capability of SSI and SSDI Beneficiaries With Psychiatric Disabilities. Psychiatric Services 2015; 66(3), 279-284.