Washington Administrative Code
Title 388 - Social and Health Services, Department of
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
Chapter 388-447 - Housing and essential needs referral
Section 388-447-0040 - Progressive evaluation process step II-How does the department determine the severity of mental impairments?
Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
If you are diagnosed with a mental impairment by a professional described in WAC 388-447-0005, we use information from the medical evidence provider to determine how the impairment limits work-related activities.
(1) We review the following psychological evidence to determine the severity of your mental impairment:
(2) If you are diagnosed with an intellectual disability, the diagnosis must be based on the Wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS). The following test results determine the severity rating:
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Score |
Severity Rating |
85 or above |
1 |
71 to 84 |
3 |
70 or lower |
5 |
(3) If you are diagnosed with a mental impairment with physical causes, we assign a severity rating based on the most severe of the following four areas of impairment:
(4) We base the severity of an impairment diagnosed as a mood, anxiety, thought, memory, personality, or cognitive disorder on a clinical assessment of the intensity and frequency of symptoms that:
(5) We base the severity rating for a functional mental impairment on accumulated severity ratings for the symptoms in subsection (5) of this section as follows:
Condition |
Severity Rating |
(a) The clinical findings and objective evidence are consistent with a significant limitation on performing one or more basic work activities. |
Moderate (3) |
(b) You are diagnosed with a functional disorder with psychotic features; (c) You have had two or more hospitalizations for psychiatric reasons in the past two years; (d) You have had more than six months of continuous psychiatric inpatient or residential treatment in the past two years; (e) The clinical findings and objective evidence are consistent with very significant limitations on ability to perform one or more basic work activities. |
Marked (4) |
(f) The clinical findings and objective evidence are consistent with an inability to perform one or more basic work activities. |
Severe (5) |
(6) If you are diagnosed with any combination of mental retardation, mental impairment with physical causes, or functional mental impairment, we assign a severity rating as follows:
Condition |
Severity Rating |
(a) Two or more disorders with moderate severity (3) ratings; or (b) One or more disorders rated moderate severity (3), and one rated marked severity (4). |
Marked (4) |
(c) Two or more disorders rated marked severity (4). |
Severe (5) |
(7) We deny incapacity when you haven't been diagnosed with a significant physical impairment and the overall severity of your mental impairment is one or two;
(8) We approve incapacity when your overall mental severity rating is severe (5).