74til CONGRESS . SESS.1. CH. 639 . AUGUST 24, 1935 . of the District of Columbia may be entitled to aid hereunder, such person must be at least twenty-one years of age and must have been a bona fide resident,of the District of Columbia for a period of five years during the nine years immediately preceding the filing of his application for aid hereunder a nd must have re sided in the Di strict of Columbia c ontinuousl y for at l east one y ear immedi ately prec eding the date of the application : And provided further, T hat not hing in this Act shall be construed to repeal or render void, so far as blind persons are concerned, any existing statutes which create or define a liability on the part of certain persons to support and provide for poor rela tive s . SEC . 4 . To receive aid under this Act, the applicant shall file his application with the Board or its designated agency, accompanied by an affidavit signed by himself stating his age, sex, places of resi- dence during the period stipulated in the District of Columbia, his financial resources, and incomes, the name and address of his next of kin, degree of blindness, how long blind, what employment he has had, his general physical condi tion, and such other informati on as the Board or its designated agency may designate . Se C. 5 . No aid shall be granted hereunder until the Board or its designated agency is satisfied from the evidence of at least two rep utable cit izens of t he Distric t of Colum bia that t hey know t he appl icant has the re sidential quali fications to en title him to th e aid asked for, and from the evidence of a duly licensed and practicing ocul ist whose duty i t shall be to d escribe the con dition of the a ppli- cant's eyes and to testify to his blindness, which evidence shall be in writing subscribed to by such witnesses, subject to the right of cross-examination by either the Board or its designated agency ; and if the Board or its designated agency is satisfied by such testimony that the applicant is entitled to aid hereunder, it shall, without delay, allow such sum as it finds needed : Provided, That no ai d shall be furnished any individual with respect to any period with respect to which he is receiving old-age assistance
- P rovided fu rther,
That in the case o f a blind dependent child livi ng with it s parents or parent such aid shall not exceed $30 per month : And pro vided further, That any agency designated by the Board hereunder shall transmit to the Board a record of its actions in granting or refusing to grant aid to each blind applicant, and any blind applicant who is diss atisfied with th e finding of su ch agency regar ding his applic ation for ai d, may app eal to the Board who shall gra nt such ap plicant a full hearing, after reasonable notice, and shall then consider the application ; and, ifa majority of the Board in attendance at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall find that the applicant is entitled to aid under the provisions of this Act, they shall then and there award such aid as they deem proper . SEC . 6 . The Board or its designated agency shall investigate annu- ally, or oftener, the qualifications of blind persons who receive aid hereunder, and may increase or decrease the allowance within the limits prescribed by this Act ; or if said designated agency is satisfied that any person receiving aid under this Act is not entitled to such aid, it shall discontinue such aid and shall forthwith notify such person and the Board of such action : Provided, however, That the person receiving such aid may take an appeal to the Board from such action as if it were an original application for aid : And provided further, That such an appeal must be filed within sixty days from t he notific ation by t he designa ted agency to the be neficiary hereunder of the intended reduction or discontinuance of aid . If any such appeal be filed, the said aid shall be restored pending the findings of the Board on said appeal . 745 Liability of ce rt ain per so ns to pr ov ide for poo r relatives not af- fected . Filing, etc„ applica- tions . Investigation and ex- amination as to appli- cant's qualifications . Provisos . Persons
receiving old-age assistance . Bli nd d epen dent child . Reports and appeals . Annual inv es tig at ion to determine eligibility, etc . Discontinuance it not entitled . Provisos . Appeal allowed . Date of filing. Restoration, pe nd ing Bo ard's fin dings .
