The mission of Lutheran Social Services Representative Payee Services is to provide clients with prudent financial management and counseling from qualified fiscal coordinators. The program is the only one in Northeast Florida that manages Social Security checks for people not capable of spending their money appropriately.
Those helped include the mentally ill, the homeless, persons diagnosed as HIV positive, children and the elderly residing in assisted living facilities. All of the people served last year are considered low income, according to the Federal Poverty Guideline.
The people whom this program serves are especially susceptible to making bad spending decisions and are often easily manipulated by others. Before they were required to have a Representative Payee, these people would often spend most or all of their Social Security checks on alcohol, drugs or non-essential items without regard to shelter, food and other basic needs. They were then forced to turn to other community resources as well as federal monies to survive the rest of the month, using the resources of other community services to house, feed or otherwise care for themselves after their money was gone.
The staff members in the program worked to meet a series of objectives designed to keep the people with whom they worked off the streets and ensure that their basic needs were met. The program ensures monthly payments of rent and utilities as well as regular and appropriate purchases of food, medicine and other necessities.
To help establish a healthy environment, clients also receive assistanc with employment opportunities, training programs and living arrangements.
Program at a Glance:
Program Director: Jerome Crawford (jcrawford@lssjax.org)
Program Founded: 1995
2008-09 Expenses: $394,569
2009-10 Budget: $496,909
Employees: 7
2008-09 Clients: 918
Services Provided:
• Financial counseling
• Management of social security and supplemental security income benefits
2008-09 Notables:
• Out of more than 900 clients served by the program, 98 percent were helped to secure and maintain housing in 2008-09.
• The program assisted the majority of its clients to secure additional medical insurance through a Medicare supplemental program.
• The number of assisted living facilities serving the program’s clients grew by 10 to reach a total of 100.
• The program received more than 120 referrals for new clients in 2008-09.
• The program handled clients who receive Veterans Administration benefits (10), railroad retirement (4), private pensions and widow annuities (2) — in addition to Social Security.
• More than 95 percent of the client-satisfaction surveys returned provided positive feedback regarding services and management of their finances through the program.
• Through the resources provided by an internal grant, the program was able to provide its clients who have children with $25 gift cards to Walmart during the Christmas holidays. |
