Bill > HM18

This Memorial requests the Human Services Department to gather and report specific data related to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Legal Advocacy Project. SSI is a federal program providing a safety net for adults with disabilities, offering financial assistance that can significantly increase their monthly income compared to New Mexico's state-funded General Assistance for Disabled Adults and Unrelated Children program, which provides much lower benefits and is insufficient to meet basic needs. The Memorial highlights that many New Mexicans with disabilities live in poverty and face low approval rates for SSI applications, but legal representation has been shown to increase these approval rates. Therefore, the Human Services Department is asked to collect and report on the number of General Assistance participants at various stages of the SSI application process, referrals to legal services, approval rates and timelines, housing status upon case closure, state funds recouped, and efforts to improve access to these programs, ultimately providing this information to legislative committees.