YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY
By DAVID BROWN

November was National Adoption Month, a time when Americans focus on the increasing number of children waiting for adoption and the parents who wish to adopt them. More than a hundred thousand children are adopted every year by American families. Some are adopted through local child welfare systems; some are adopted by step-parents or family friends or relatives of children whose parent or parents have died; and some are children from other countries.

If you are considering adoption, or if you have already adopted a child, here is important information you should know about adopted children and Social Security.

All adoptive parents should remember that their child usually needs a Social Security number (SSN) if they intend to claim the child on their annual income tax returns, or to get medical coverage or apply for any government services for the child.

While an adopted child can be assigned an SSN before the adoption is complete, sometimes parents will want to wait and apply for a Social Security card after the process has been completed. Then they can apply for the number using the child's new name and use their own names as parents. If adoptive parents want to claim their child for tax purposes while the adoption is still pending, they need to contact the Internal Revenue Service for Form W-7A, Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions.

If the child already had a Social Security number before adoption, and you now want to report a name change to Social Security, you need to complete an Application for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5) and show us proof of the child's U.S. citizenship or immigration status, proof of the child's name change (the adoption degree), and proof of the child's identity. In addition, you need to provide proof of your identity as the child's adoptive parent.

Also, the process for getting an SSN can be slightly more involved for parents adopting children from outside of the United States. Although children immigrating to the United States qualify for citizenship, Social Security still requires specific documents to issue SSNs. Parents of children adopted from abroad should contact their local Social Security office for more information.

If you are the parent of an adopted child with a disabling condition, your child may qualify for benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program, also known as SSI. SSI can pay monthly benefits to children who are disabled and whose families have little income and resources. A child under 18 is considered disabled if his or her physical or mental condition is so severe that it results in severe functional limitations, and if the condition is expected to last at least 12 months.

There are other Social Security benefits and situations that parents of adopted children should know about. For example, Social Security provides benefit payments to the widow or widower and children (natural or adopted) of deceased workers. If a widowed parent remarries and the new spouse wants to adopt the child as his or her own, the child's survivors benefit payments would continue until the child reaches age 18 (or up to age 19 if attending elementary or secondary school full time).

To learn more about Social Security benefits for children, visit Social Security's Parent's Place at www.SocialSecurity.gov/kids/parent1.htm. To learn more about the requirements for getting a Social Security number, visit our Web site at www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber/ , or call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) and ask for a copy of our publication, Social Security Numbers for Children.

Mr. Brown is District Manager of the Social Security Administration's Downtown New York Office.