Can a non-attorney parent bring an appeal on behalf of their children for Social Security Benefits?

Where a district court, after appropriate inquiry into the particular circumstances of the matter at hand, determines that a non-attorney parent who brings an SSI appeal on behalf his or her children has a sufficient interest in the case and meets basic standards of competence, we hold that in such cases a non-attorney parent may bring an action on behalf of his or her child without representation by an attorney. We therefore reject the view that when the SSI claim is insubstantial and counsel is not appointed, the SSI appeal must be dismissed or the non-attorney parent must hire legal counsel. See, e.g., Rosario v. Apfel, No. 96 Civ. 1227, 1998 WL 685173, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 1998). Such a position would unfairly penalize the children seeking SSI benefits because their parents will rarely be able to hire counsel due to the stringent family income limitations to which the award of SSI benefits are subject. See 42 U.S.C. 1382 and 1382c(f)(2)(A).