Sep 21, 2010

Is There An App For This?

A subcommittee of Social Security's Future Systems Technology Panel has recently released a report calling, in effect, for an end to Social Security field office services. The report says that Social Security claimants can do their business with Social Security over the internet, perhaps using their cell phones. The benighted claimant who needs in person help can go to some office staffed with people who also help with federal tax matters, immigration matters, etc. or perhaps they can go to their local library for help.

I thought I would pull up a list of changes made just last month to Social Security's primary staff manual, POMS, to give an idea of the sort of issues that this subcommittee thinks your local librarian can help you with. Remember that the whole manual is vastly larger than this list of recent changes.

GN 03910 TN 100/30/2010Representation of Claimants
DI 13005 TN 708/26/2010Medical Issues
GN 02410 TN 2908/25/2010Assignment, Levy, Garnishment
RM 00201 TN 2408/25/2010The Social Security Number (SSN)
OS 15025 TN 308/23/2010Office of Program Development and Research (OPDR) Responsibility
DI 70010 TN 308/20/2010Field Office (FO) Procedures
DI 25235 TN 208/19/2010Case Processing Instructions for Title XVI Child Claims
RS 02101 TN 708/18/2010Employer - Employee Relationship - Policies and Procedures
GN 02820 TN 1108/16/2010American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
SL 60001 TN 308/16/2010Employment
GN 02608 TN 2408/12/2010Government Pension Offset
GN 02613 TN 1108/11/2010Title II Fugitive Felons and Parole and Probation Violators
OS 15010 TN 1008/10/2010Office of Income Security Programs (OISP) Responsibility
DI 20503 TN 808/10/2010Essential Claims Folder Material
RM 10210 TN 808/06/2010SSN Evidence Requirements
DI 34222 BASIC08/02/2010Obsolete Special Senses Part B Listings 01/06/86 to 07/08
DI 34122 BASIC08/02/2010Obsolete Versions of Part A, the Listing of Impairments
DI 34005 TN 1208/02/2010Listings of Impairments - Current Part B Listing
DI 34001 TN 1308/02/2010Current - Part A Listing
DI 81020 TN 607/29/2010DDS Procedures - Electronic Process
DI 70005 TN 507/29/2010Modular Disability Folder
GN 00504 TN 1607/27/2010Suspension for Payee Development and Other Payee Actions
SI 00820 TN 5307/27/2010Earned Income
DI 81010 TN 907/26/2010FO Procedures - Electronic Process

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great. They don't seem to remember that SSA administers SSI which often necessitates face-to-face interaction with poor, homeless, and mentally ill individuals including periodic redeterminations of eligibility. This is not a small part of the SSA workload in field offices. In addition, a large percentage of SSA and SSI payments go to representative payees who would somehow be approved online so that anyone could get benefits for anyone else without any way to protect the rights of citizens who are no longer competent to manage their funds.

I'd like to see a hearing conducted via Google Wave as this proposes.

The report makes incorrect conclusions based on graphs with misunderstood correlations between IT investment and staffing.

It never talks about providing customer service in the manner the public wants it, or who would be on the other end of video conferences if SSA eliminates public service positions.

Anonymous said...

This panel is a fantasy, pure and simple. Google Wave wont even exist a year from now, Google has already ceased development, essentially admitting it was a failure.

SSA field offices may be eliminated when teabagging republicans repeal the entire social security program in 2012 (or even as soon as next year), but they wont be replaced by Google Wave or anything else online.

Anonymous said...

See reply to post above re SSI income.