Department Phone Line: 202.386.7016
Bread for the City provides representative payee services to Washington, DC residents who need assistance in managing their personal financial affairs. The Representative Payee Program (RPP) provides payee services, under a contract with the DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), to consumers with chronic mental illness who are referred by a case manager of DBH or an affiliated Core Service Agency.

The Representative Payee Program helps DBH clients manage various types of income, including Social Security benefits (retirement or disability), Supplemental Security Income, and Civil Service Pensions.

Forms from our Representative Payee Program may be found in the Social Services Documents.

What is a Representative Payee?
A Representative Payee is an individual or an organization designated to receive disability benefits on a client’s behalf. The Representative Payee then helps the client to budget the money and disburses the funds to pay for current needs, including housing and utilities, food, medical expenses, personal care and clothing. The Representative Payee must keep records of how the client’s money is spent. This information is reported regularly to the Social Security Administration or to the Office of Personnel Management.

How does the Representative Payee Program work?
Clients enrolled in Bread for the City’s Representative Payee Program work with their mental health service providers and Bread for the City staff to make sure that all of their financial needs are met.

The client’s case manager at the DC Department of Behavioral Health or a DBH affiliated Core Service Agency makes an initial referral to Bread for the City for payee services. The client is enrolled at a start-up meeting with the case manager and a Representative Payee Program staff member during which we discuss how the services work.

After enrollment, Bread for the City applies to the Social Security Administration or Office of Personnel Management to become the client’s Representative Payee. The client and his or her mental health case manager meet regularly to set and review the client’s monthly budget and discuss any emergency spending requests. Bread for the City relies on the case manager to be in regular contact with the client and keep Bread for the City informed about changes in the client’s needs that might affect the budget or benefits.

Contacting the Representative Payee Program
The RPP can be reached by phone at 202.386.7016 – the Program Assistant is able to answer many questions about the status of client accounts and requests. The program assigns a RPP Coordinator to work with the clients and staff based on the DBH provider where the client is enrolled.