Homeless people whose self-reported SSI/DI status is inconsistent with Social Security Administration records.

Clinicians routinely ask people with disabling psychiatric illnesses whether they receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) benefi ts. We looked at self-reported receipt of SSI or DI by 7,220 homeless people with mental illness and compared those self-reports with information in Social Security Administration (SSA) databases. Overall agreement between the two sources was only fair (kappa = 0.60), and 41.3 percent (934/2,257) of clients reporting receipt of SSI or DI were not in SSA’s databases. In multivariate analyses, people reporting receipt of SSI or DI that is unconfi rmed by SSA administrative records had disproportionately more severe psychotic and medical illnesses than confi rmed nonrecipients. Among recipients identifi ed by SSA, those who did not report receiving SSI or DI were more likely to claim, apparently incorrectly, that they instead received Social Security retirement benefi ts. Clinicians should verify basic demographic information provided by clients, especially those who are psychotic or medically ill, because that information is often inaccurate. Introduction