Rhode Island § 40-6-28 - Public Assistance Act

§ 40-6-28. Interim cash assistance for individuals with disabilities.

(a) Interim cash assistance payments shall be provided to individuals determined by the director, or his or her designee, to have applied for and to have been approved for medical assistance (“Medicaid”) under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq., and to have applied for and to be pursuing a claim for Supplemental Security Income benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq.

(b) Interim cash assistance payments shall continue until the recipient of the payments receives disability benefits from the Social Security Administration, or until he or she has exhausted available administrative appeals. The individual may be required to present documentation that he or she is actively pursuing his or her claim.

(c) The department is authorized and directed to make payments of interim cash assistance to eligible recipients hereunder up to the standards of assistance established pursuant to § 40-6-3.3 [Repealed], and subject to the limits of the annual appropriation provided in subsection (f). In the event that the annual appropriation provided for in subsection (f) is not adequate for the provision of interim cash assistance payments to eligible individuals, the director is authorized to limit the amount and duration of the payments.

(d) The department is authorized to determine income- and resource-eligibility limits for the interim cash assistance program, provided that the limits shall be no stricter than those established pursuant to § 40-6-3.1.

(e) The department is directed to promulgate regulations to implement the interim cash assistance program, including provisions to ensure recoupment of cash assistance by the state upon a determination of a recipient’s eligibility for SSI benefits by the Social Security Administration.

(f) Out of the sum appropriated to the department of human services for general public assistance for the state fiscal year ending June 30, 1996, the sum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000), net of recoveries of disability benefits from the Social Security Administration, shall be used solely for the purposes and subject to the limitations as provided in this section, and the state controller is hereby authorized and directed to draw his or her order upon the general treasurer for the payment of such sums or such portions thereof as may be required from time to time upon receipt by him or her of duly authenticated vouchers. The director is authorized to request appropriations for subsequent state fiscal years, as he or she deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.