TN 28 (09-14)

Citations:Social Security Act, Section

1611(e)(1)(A); 20 CFR 416.201, 416.211, 416.1325

A. Prisoner (inmate) ineligibility provision

The Social Security Act provides that a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient or eligible spouse cannot receive payments for any month in which the recipient or spouse is an inmate of a public institution throughout a full calendar month. For that reason, claimants and recipients who reside in public correctional institutions cannot receive SSI payments.

1. Ineligibility criteria

An SSI claimant or recipient is ineligible for the month if he or she is:

• a claimant residing in a public correctional institution on the effective date of filing. The claimant cannot attain eligibility until the correctional institution discharges him or her. (For information on the filing date, see SI 00601.008. For instructions on when an individual is considered discharged, see SI 00520.001B.8.); or

• a recipient residing in a public correctional institution throughout a full calendar month. (For a definition of “throughout a month,” see SI 00520.001B.6.)

For additional information about residence in correctional institutions, see SI 00520.009. For information on suspending SSI payments while a recipient is residing in a correctional institution, see GN 02607.705.

2. Absences from a correctional institution

A recipient may remain a correctional institution resident even when he or she has periods of temporary or recurrent absences from the institution, and thereby remain ineligible for payment. For additional information on absence from residency and its effects, see SI 00520.009D.

B. Definitions

For more definitions regarding recipients residing in public institutions, see SI 00520.001B.

1. Correctional institutions

a. Public correctional institutions

A public correctional institution is one that the Federal or State government (or political subdivision of a State; e.g., a city or county) operates or over which it has direct or indirect administrative control. These institutions supervise, house, feed, and maintain control of individuals in their custody.

Common types of public correctional institutions include:

• prisons;

• jails;

• mental facilities;

• boot camps;

• medical correctional hospitals;

• work camps;

• detention centers; and

• drug or alcohol rehabilitation centers that are under a correctional institution’s control or authority.

For information on alternative types of incarceration, see SI 00520.009B.

b. Private correctional institutions

A private correctional institution is one that a private contractor operates. In some cases, a private contractor operates a facility for Federal, State, or local authorities. If a private correctional institution acts as an agent for a Federal, State, or local correctional authority, consider it a public institution for SSI purposes. For guidelines on determining whether a private institution is acting as an agent, see SI 00520.001C.2.

2. Resident of a correctional institution

Consider a recipient to be residing in a correctional institution if he or she meets the definition of “resident” provided in SI 00520.001B.5.

C. Reference

SI 00520.900 Prerelease Procedure — Institutionalization