[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 17, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1063]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     FINDING SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME ELIGIBLE BENEFICIARIES; 
   INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE INCENTIVES FOR NON-PROFIT 
                         ORGANIZATION OUTREACH

                                 ______


                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 17, 1995
  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, the Supplemental Security Income [SSI] 
Program was begun to provide a safety net for our country's elderly, 
blind, and disabled persons with limited income and resources.
  Over the years I have followed the outreach efforts of the Social 
Security Administration to inform potential eligible people about the 
SSI Program. In 1989 a Health and Human Services study indicated that 
that 35 percent of potentially eligible recipients were not 
participating in the SSI Program. Congress mandated funds to the SSA in 
fiscal year 1990 and 1991 for outreach projects in an effort to enroll 
these potential recipients.
  Many outreach programs designed and carried out by local government 
and nonprofit organizations have been funded by these appropriated 
funds. Outreach programs inform the SSA staff of the most effective 
means of reaching potentially eligible recipients of the SSI Program 
and assist recipients through the complicated application process.
  Alameda County in California has been very effective in reaching 
Southeast Asian potential recipients through an outreach program that 
reaches into the community through mutual assistance groups.
  In Arizona third parties using a variety of outreach techniques, 
including language groups, successfully funded eligible recipients and 
streamlined their application process by completing the many necessary 
forms for them.
  These examples point to what maybe the most effective way of 
contacting these hard to reach people. The use of existing private 
nonprofit community groups. I suppose that one of the quickest and most 
economical ways of finding and signing up eligible people for the SSI 
Program would be to use the staffs of nonprofit organizations who 
already work with the poor. Many of these people are very knowledgeable 
about the program and have the trust of potential recipients. Help in 
filing out the forms and collection of the necessary documentation 
would greatly assist the overworked SSA staff.
  In return the nonprofit organizations would receive a fixed amount of 
money for each person they ``sign up'' that was actually eligible for 
the SSI Program.
  This idea is the basis for the legislation I am introducing today. My 
bill creates two demonstration projects, one in a poor urban area and 
one in a poor rural area, to test this idea of providing an award for 
successful outreach.


                          ____________________