Special Compensation for Assistance with Activities of Daily Living (SCAADL)
Army Reserve: Retired
Benefit Fact Sheet
Summary:
Special Compensation for Assistance with Activities of Daily Living (SCAADL), authorized by the FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, provides monthly compensation for Soldiers who incur permanent, catastrophic illnesses or injuries in the line of duty that require the services of a home health aide to provide non-medical care, support, and assistance. SCAADL provides up to 90 days of payments after separation from active duty based upon the level of care needed and prevailing rates for home health aides in the geographic area of the Service member's residence.
Eligibility:
Retired Soldiers are eligible for SCAADL if they meet the below conditions and only for up to 90 days after separation from Active duty. While out-processing, the transitioning Soldier needs to complete the application for the VA Caregiver Stipend.
The servicemember should work with their recovery team to begin the transition process. The servicemember may realize a change in compensation when transitioning to VA Caregiver Stipend.
To be eligible to receive SCAADL, a Soldier, whether Active or Reserve, must:
- Be homebound. (Infrequent and relatively short absences from home for such things as medical treatment, religious services, education or training, or occasional trips to a barber or beauty shop are not disqualifying.)
- Be certified by a licensed DoD or VA physician to have a permanent, catastrophic injury and needs assistance from another person to perform the personal functions required in everyday living or require constant supervision. The absence of such assistance would require hospitalization, nursing home care, or other institutional care.
- Be an outpatient and no longer determined to be an inpatient at a military treatment facility, VA medical center, civilian hospital, nursing home, or other residential institutional care. Although individuals may be temporarily placed in an inpatient status during the month for tests, examinations, or treatment, they remain eligible for the full monthly SCAADL payment provided they are in outpatient status the majority of the month (i.e., more than 15 days a month).
- Have a designated primary caregiver who provides assistance with at least one of the following Activities of Daily Living (ADL) due to the Service member's:
- Inability to dress or undress himself or herself.
- Inability to bathe or groom in order to keep self clean and presentable.
- Frequent need of adjustment of any special prosthetic or orthopedic appliances which by reason of the particular disability cannot be done without aid (this will not include the adjustment of appliances which normal persons would be unable to adjust without aid, such as supports, belts, lacing at the back, etc.).
- Inability to toilet or attend to toileting without assistance.
- Inability to feed himself or herself through loss of coordination of upper extremities or through extreme weakness or inability to swallow.
- Incapacity, physical or mental, which requires care or assistance on a regular basis to protect the Service member from hazards or dangers incident to his or her daily environment.
- In addition to meeting at least one of the criteria in subparagraphs 4 above, the Soldier must:
- Require continual medical management or be at high risk for personal safety and cannot live independently in the community without caregiver support.
- Without caregiver support providing personal care services at home in an ongoing manner, require hospitalization, nursing home, or other institutional care.
- Not be provided concurrent services by another entity, including VA caregiver compensation.
Benefit Highlights:
Amounts payable: The amount of monthly compensation will be based on the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) wage rate using the 75th percentile of the hourly wage rate for a home health aide in the Service member's geographic area of residence.
The amount of compensation will be based on a three-tier system recognizing the variation in complexity of care required by the Soldier. The Soldier's clinical eligibility assessment from DD Form 2948, which determines the clinical complexity and associated functional capability as defined by ADLs and required hours of care, will be used to determine which of three tiers of care is needed. The Soldier's primary care manager (PCM) will determine the member's level of dependency based on the degree to which the member is unable to perform one or more ADLs or the degree to which the member needs supervision or protection. Soldiers will be rated as follows:
- High Tier: Soldiers who require a full-time caregiver who provides 40 hours of personal care per week.
- Medium Tier: Soldiers who require 25 hours per week of caregiver assistance.
- Low Tier: Soldiers who require 10 hours per week of caregiver assistance.
Computation of the monthly payment amount: Multiply the number of hours of care needed for the appropriate tier (10, 25, or 40) by 4.35 to determine the number of hours of care needed per month. Multiply that number by the hourly wage rate for a home health aide in the Soldier's geographic area of residence.
For example, if a Soldier is determined to need the Medium Tier level of assistance (25 hours per week) living in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area:
25 x 4.35 = 108.75 hours per month. 108.75 x $12.16 (local hourly wage rate) = $1,322.40 monthly payment
A SCAADL calculator, including local hourly wage rates by zip code, can be found on the website of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel & Readiness) at: http://militarypay.defense.gov/Tools/scaadl.html.
Application Procedure:
To apply for SCAADL, Soldiers or their guardians must have the Soldier's primary care manager or other DoD or VA physician conduct a clinical eligibility assessment, using DD Form 2948, to certify that the Soldier needs assistance from another person to perform the personal functions required in everyday living or requires constant supervision and in the absence of the provision of such care would require hospitalization, nursing home, or other residential institutional care. Soldiers should contact a member of their recovery team (primary care manager, nurse case manager, recovery care coordinator, non-medical case manager, AW2 Advocate, or unit leadership) for guidance. Applications must be submitted to the U.S. Army's Warrior Transition Command for approval.
Additional Information:
DoD Instruction 1341.12, 31 August 2011: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/134112p.pdf
DD Form 2948: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/eforms/dd2948.pdf
U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command website: http://www.wtc.army.mil/
Document Review Date: 21 March 2012