Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Nebraska program

A state plan of help for a child on SSI (Disabled Children's Program)

A Nebraska DHHS programme that pays for non-medical help for a child on SSI who lives at home: respite care, mileage for medical trips and accessibility changes.

What it is

A Nebraska DHHS programme that pays for non-medical help for a child on SSI who lives at home: respite care, mileage for medical trips and accessibility changes.

An SSI award for a child in cancer treatment opens more than the monthly check in Nebraska. This programme uses that award as its door and asks the family what the disability creates at home.

Eligibility rules
  • Ages birth through 15.
  • Current-pay SSI status, Nebraska residence, and living at home with the family.
What you get
  • Respite care.
  • Mileage for long-distance or frequent medical trips.
  • Accessibility changes at home.
What the help covers
  • The programme pays for non-medical services and supports: respite care, mileage for long-distance or frequent medical trips, and accessibility changes at home. Amounts are set case by case in the plan; ask the office what plans have covered for other families.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask any DHHS local office, or the programme's Lincoln office on 402-471-5379, for a Disabled Children's Program application.
  2. Describe your child's disability-related needs on the form: the care, the travel, the changes at home.
  3. Have the SSI award letter ready; current-pay SSI status is the door.

Nebraska DHHS Disabled Children's Program, Lincoln, 402-471-5379, or any DHHS local office · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • Applications can be handed in at any DHHS office; ask how the assessment is done and how long it takes.
Good to know

The programme is for children already receiving SSI; an SSI application in progress is the step before this one.

Other details
  • SSI itself is the federal card on this page; an award there is what opens this programme.
  • Nebraska's Disabled Persons and Family Support programme is a separate door for a severe, chronic disability expected to continue indefinitely, worth up to $400 a month per person; a cancer diagnosis on its own does not meet that test, so ask the office before counting on it.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Our child gets SSI. Could the Disabled Children's Program add practical help at home, and could you help us describe the needs on the application?”

Why I’m asking: I want to use the SSI award to open every door it opens, not just the monthly check.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Pick up the application at any DHHS office and describe the needs at home.

Your social worker

The hospital social worker can help word the disability-related needs.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The Disabled Children's Program, after its assessment.
Ask the agency
“My child is on SSI and in cancer treatment at home. Can I have a Disabled Children's Program application, and what do plans usually cover?”

How to apply

First step: Ask any DHHS local office, or the programme's Lincoln office on 402-471-5379, for a Disabled Children's Program application.

  1. Ask any DHHS local office, or the programme's Lincoln office on 402-471-5379, for a Disabled Children's Program application.
  2. Describe the disability-related needs at home: the care, the travel, the changes to the house.
  3. Have the SSI award letter ready.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Request an application from any DHHS local office, or from the programme's Lincoln office on 402-471-5379, and describe your child's disability-related needs on it.

What to gather

  • The SSI award letter
  • A list of the disability-related needs at home

How long: Not published; ask the office how the assessment is done and how long it takes.

What a yes looks like

An approved plan naming the help and how it is provided.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask which bullet was unmet: age, SSI status, residence or living at home.

Watch out

  • The door is current-pay SSI status; an SSI application still pending does not open it yet.
  • What the plan covers is decided after the application; the listed services are respite, medical-trip mileage and accessibility changes.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 25, 2026.

What it is worth

Respite care, medical-trip mileage and accessibility changes for a child on SSI, birth through 15, living at home.

Covers: Respite care · Mileage reimbursement for long-distance or frequent medical trips · Accessibility modifications at home · Other non-medical services and supports in the plan

What it costs the family: None published.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
birth through 15
Benefits
current-pay SSI status
Residency
Nebraska resident
Living
lives at home with the family

Decisions this site cannot make: The programme's assessment of the child's disability-related needs and the plan it approves

Expect friction on: The door is an SSI award already in payment; an SSI application in progress comes first

The trap: The door is current-pay SSI status; an SSI application still pending does not open it yet. Amounts are set case by case in the plan.

Where I read this

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