The General Assistance-Unemployable Characteristics Study provides descriptions of recipient characteristics and analyzes patterns of caseload growth. In 1986, 43 percent of GA-U recipients had physical incapacities, 35 percent had mental illness incapacities, 30 percent had alcohol or drug abuse incapacities, and 4 percent had mental retardation incapacities. Two thirds of all GA-U recipients served by the Belltown Community Services Office in downtown Seattle had substance abuse incapacities, versus 30 percent statewide. Belltown's GA-U recipients made up only 12 percent of the state's GA-U population. Twenty-two percent of GA-U recipients have used assistance for over one year in their current episode. Only 45 percent of long-term GA-U recipients were being referred to the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which provides aid for people with disabilities expected to last one year or longer.
