(1) Any individual wishing to make application for any of the public assistance programs administered or supervised by the state department under this article shall have the opportunity to do so, and, except as otherwise provided in part 7 of this article, such public assistance shall be furnished with reasonable promptness to each eligible individual in accordance with rules of the state department. The county department shall consider an application for public assistance to be for any category of public assistance for which the applicant may be eligible. (1.5) All applications for public assistance shall contain the citizenship of the applicant, the number of years the applicant has resided in the United States, and, if the applicant is an alien, the name and the social security number or federal tax number of the person, or persons or organization, if any, who sponsored the applicant's entry into the United States. (2) The rules of the state department may provide for a simplified application in order that public assistance may be furnished to eligible persons as soon as possible and shall provide adequate safeguards and controls to insure that only eligible persons receive public assistance under this article. (3) Applications and requests for public assistance under this article shall be made to the county department of the county or the state designated agency, where applicable, for the county in which the applicant is a resident. The state department by its rules shall prescribe the form and procedure for applications or requests for social services. The application for assistance payments shall be in writing or reduced to writing in the manner and upon the form prescribed by the state department, shall contain the name, age, and residence of the applicant, the category or type of assistance payments sought, a statement of the amount of property, both real and personal, in which the applicant has an interest and of all income which he or she may have at the time of the filing of the application, and such other information as may be required by rules of the state department, and shall be verified by the signature of the applicant or his or her legally appointed guardian. In addition, an applicant who is eighteen years of age or older shall be required to supply a form of personal photographic identification either by providing a valid Colorado driver's license or a valid identification card issued by the department of revenue pursuant to section 42-2-302, C.R.S. The state department may adopt rules that exempt applicants from the requirement of supplying a form of personal photographic identification if such requirement causes an unreasonable hardship or if such requirement is in conflict with federal law. The state department shall also adopt rules that allow for assistance to be provided on an emergency basis until the applicant is able to obtain or to qualify for a driver's license or identification card; however, a county department is not required to recover emergency assistance from an applicant who fails, upon recertification, to meet the photographic identification requirement. (4) (a) (Deleted by amendment, L. 97, p. 1230, § 16, effective July 1, 1997.) (b) If the public assistance sought is aid to the needy disabled or aid to the blind, the application shall be signed by the applicant and his natural guardian or legally appointed guardian, if any. (5) For the purpose of providing public assistance to persons not receiving federal financial benefits pursuant to Title XVI of the social security act: (a) No application for aid to the blind shall be approved until the applicant has been examined by an ophthalmologist duly licensed to practice in this state and actively engaged in the treatment of diseases of the human eye or by an optometrist duly licensed to practice in this state. The examining ophthalmologist or optometrist shall certify in writing upon forms prescribed by the state department as to diagnosis, prognosis, and visual acuity of the applicant. (b) Determination of blindness shall be made by the county department in accordance with the provisions of section 26-2-103 (3) and state department rules and regulations. (c) The county department shall fix the fees to be paid for examination of applicants for and reexamination of recipients of aid to the blind. Such fees shall be allowed and paid to the vendor in the same manner as assistance payments under the program for aid to the blind, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the state department. Payments to such vendors shall be subject to reimbursement by the state in the same manner as said assistance payments for aid to the blind. (6) (a) An application for aid to the needy disabled must not be approved until the applicant's medical condition has been certified by a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state, a physician assistant licensed in this state, or an advanced practice registered nurse licensed in this state. In addition to a physician, an applicant may be examined by a physician assistant licensed in this state, an advanced practice registered nurse, a registered nurse licensed in this state who is functioning within the scope of the nurse's license and training, a licensed psychologist, or any other licensed health-care personnel the state department deems appropriate. The person who conducted the examination shall certify in writing upon forms prescribed by the state department as to the diagnosis, prognosis, and other relevant medical or mental factors relating to the applicant's disability. An applicant who is disabled as a result of a primary diagnosis of an alcohol use disorder or a substance use disorder related to controlled substances must not be approved for aid to the needy disabled except as provided in section 26-2-111 (4)(e). (b) Determination of the existence of total disability shall be made by the county department after consideration of the factors under the provisions of section 26-2-103 (14) and on the basis of the medical examination or from medical and social data collected and verified by the county departments under the rules and regulations of the state department. (c) The county department shall fix the fees to be paid to competent medical personnel for examination of applicants for and reexamination of recipients of aid to the needy disabled and for special medical examinations when deemed necessary by the state department pursuant to rules and regulations of the state department. Such fees shall be allowed and paid to the medical vendor in the same manner as assistance payments under the program for aid to the needy disabled, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the state department. Payments to such vendors shall be subject to reimbursement by the state in the same manner as said assistance payments for aid to the needy disabled.
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