Impact of U.S. Federal welfare reform law on children with mental disorders receiving SSI.
An analysis of statistical reports from the Social Security Administration's Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics suggests that the Federal welfare reform law had a negative impact on the number of children under age 18 with mental disorders receiving SSI benefits. This was evident about a year after the enactment of welfare reform. Over a three-year time frame, 65 percent of the SSI children under age 18 were disabled based on a mental disorder. The study focused on the three diagnostic groups that are reported by the Social Security Administration within the diagnostic category of mental disorders: schizophrenia, psychiatric diagnoses, and mental retardation. By the end of the second year after the enactment of welfare reform, an increase was noted in the number of children with mental disorders receiving SSI, but the number was still less than the number before the enactment of welfare reform.