Within 30 days of receiving notice of the SSI or RSDI lump sum award, the SSI coordinator works with appropriate regional staff to do all of the following:

• Identify any appropriate needs the child receiving SSI might have, which includes items or services that will improve the child’s daily living conditions. Expenditures may be, but do not need to be, related to a disability, but they must meet the definition of “appropriate needs” as found in Appendix 1581.1 Appropriate Needs. Staff does not use the lump sum award to purchase items that can be purchased by the child’s Medicaid benefit or that are included in the child’s foster care maintenance payment.
• Get a cost estimate (invoice or purchase order) of all appropriate needs identified.
• Get approval of the expenditure as authorized by the SSI coordinator, CPS supervisor, and the regional program director.

See 1565.5 Lump Sum Distribution for details on obtaining expenditure approvals.