Disability benefits in Georgia

Who decides your claim in Georgia?

DAS works with outside doctors and other medical providers who do medical exams for people who apply for disability.

Find a Social Security office

Does Georgia add money to SSI?

State Supplement for SSI recipients in nursing homes

Georgia does not add state money to SSI for people who live at home. If you get SSI and move into a nursing home that Medicaid pays for, Social Security lowers your SSI to $30 a month. If SSI is your only income, Georgia then adds a state supplement of $40 a month. This gives you $70 a month for personal needs.

Paid by: the state

The total uses the federal SSI amount for that living arrangement. For people living on their own, the federal SSI part is $994 a month for one person or $1,491 for a couple in 2026. In another person's household or in a medical facility it is less.

How to apply

There is no separate application. It is handled as part of your nursing home Medicaid through the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).

Contact

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS)
https://dfcs.georgia.gov/

Medicaid in Georgia

If you get SSI in Georgia, you also get Medicaid. You do not need a separate Medicaid application. Social Security makes the Medicaid decision for the state when it approves your SSI.

Program

Georgia Medicaid

Medicaid agency

Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), Georgia Medicaid
https://medicaid.georgia.gov/
(877) 423-4746 (toll-free)

State disability and paid leave in Georgia

Georgia has no state-run short-term disability or paid medical leave program listed here.

Hearing offices and federal court in Georgia

5 hearing offices serve Georgia. Hearing office locator (Social Security)

Federal district court

If you appeal to federal court, you file in the district court that covers your county.

Free help in Georgia

More free help across the country →

Good to know in Georgia

• Georgia adds $40 a month to SSI only for people in Medicaid nursing homes whose only income is SSI. With the $30 federal SSI amount, that is $70 a month for personal needs. (Georgia DHS PAMMS Medicaid Manual 2578)
• In Georgia, the state office that decides disability claims is called Disability Adjudication Services (DAS), part of the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. Its claimant phone number is (855) 953-5841. (GVRA)
• If you get a letter from DAS with a deadline, GVRA asks you to send back the forms right away. If you have questions, call the adjudicator named on your letter. (GVRA)

Sources

• GVRA - Social Security Services (Disability Adjudication Services)
• GVRA - Disability Adjudication Services Information
• GVRA - Social Security Disability Claimants notice
• GVRA - Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (Georgia WIPA providers)
• Georgia DHS PAMMS - Medicaid Manual 2578 SSI Recipients
• Georgia DCH - CMS approval of SPA GA 19-0010 (nursing home PNA $70)
• SSA POMS SI 01415.010 - Administration of State Supplementary Programs
• SSA POMS SI 01415.058 - Federally Administered Optional Supplementary Payment Programs for January 2026
• SSA POMS SI 01715.010 - Medicaid and the SSI Program
• Georgia Medicaid (DCH)
• Georgia STABLE
• NDRN - Member Agencies (Georgia)
• LSC - Our Grantees
• Atlanta Legal Aid Society
• Georgia Legal Services Program
• SSA Ticket to Work - Find Help (WIPA search by ZIP)
• 28 U.S.C. §90 - Georgia (govinfo)
• Social Security: office locator
• Social Security: hearing office locator