For a mother, father, or spouse to qualify for benefits for a child in his or her care after the child attains age 16, we must find the child disabled in accordance with our program rules. The spouse’s, mother’s, or father’s claim requires a disability decision for the alleged disabled minor child (DMC) as early as age 16 and up to attainment of age 18, for the purpose of the mother’s, father’s, or spouse’s entitlement. The field office may send a DMC claim to the Disability Determination Services DDS when the child is 15 and one-half years of age.

Generally, we establish onset on the first day a DMC meets the medical requirements for a finding of disability using the sequential evaluation process applicable to title II adult claims. For more information on the sequential evaluation process for DMC claims, see DI 23505.001B.

NOTE: Title XVI childhood case evaluation policy does not apply to DMC cases.

The controlling date for DMC is the first date we can entitle the parent to DMC benefits. For more information on the DMC controlling date, see DI 11025.010E and DI 23505.001C.

The EOD is fully favorable if established on the controlling date, which is:

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  on or before the date the child attains age 16, or

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  as of the AOD, if the beneficiary alleges the child became disabled after the child attained the age of 16.

There is up to 12 months of benefit retroactivity for DMC cases. There is no waiting period for DMC claims. For more details on retroactivity for DMC claims, refer to GN 00204.030B.3.

The FO determines the first date the parent can be entitled to benefits (the controlling date).

The adjudicator establishes the earliest possible EOD date, if we find the minor child disabled.

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  Enter the first date the parent can be entitled to benefits (the controlling date) on the SSA-3367 (Disability Report – FO).

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  Indicate in item #5 on the SSA-3367: “For (Spouse's, Mother's, or Father's) Benefits Only. First Possible MOE (month of entitlement) for parent (mm/yyyy).”

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  Develop and evaluate the medical and other evidence to determine the earliest possible EOD.

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  Establish the EOD on the first date the parent can be entitled to benefits (the controlling date), if supported by the medical evidence. If the child has not attained the age of 16 and the controlling date is in the future, use the date of adjudication as the EOD. Do not establish an EOD in the future.

IMPORTANT: If the EOD is on or before the recommended controlling date, enter the remark, “EOD on or before mm/dd/yyyy” in item 34 of the SSA-831 (Disability Determination and Transmittal).

NOTE: If we establish a partially favorable onset date, prepare a personalized disability explanation (PDE) and send the PDE with an SSA-L1157–DI. (See DI 23505.001E for claimant notification instructions and DI 25501.280 for policy on notifying the claimant of a partially favorable allowance.)