U.S. Drops 95,000 Kids Off Disability Rolls

Nearly 100,000 children have been removed from disability rolls as the government quietly implements one of the most controversial provisions of last year’s welfare reform law.

Advocates complain that children are being unfairly pushed out of the program, but officials say they are simply implementing the tough provisions Congress enacted.

“We know this is a tough standard,” Susan Daniels, associate commissioner for disability at the Social Security Administration, said Thursday. “These are children who have real limitations.”

But she said their limitations are not “marked” or “severe,” the standard under the new law.

So far, 95,180 children--or 56% of cases reviewed--have been told they no longer qualify for supplemental security income, which serves poor people with disabilities. At this rate, nearly 148,000 kids would be kicked off the program, nearly 10% more than the 135,000 predicted.

But some of those children will appeal their cases, and some will win, so the government has not changed its projections, Daniels said.

Still, advocates charge that the government is being overly aggressive in removing children from the rolls.

The most recent statistics, current through Aug. 2, show the oldest children are most likely to be dropped from the program. Sixty-two percent of children age 12 and older were dropped, compared with 35% of kids age 5 and younger.