tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post9089865083530862309..comments2024-03-28T21:59:42.817-04:00Comments on Social Security News: Visions Of The Future: The Case Of The SSTUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-90264470890774967792014-05-03T09:10:25.925-04:002014-05-03T09:10:25.925-04:00I agree with the last comment about disability rep...I agree with the last comment about disability reps.<br /><br />Way too often we field calls, do things, etc. for claimants who are repped after the claimant was told by their rep to just call us for us to take care of it. Some things, sure, it's easier and only doable by ODAR or FO employees. But so many times these lazy reps are literally pawning nearly all their work (aside from showing up on the day of the hearing) on the agency since the good ol' regs make it abundantly clear it is ultimately our responsibility to make sure everything is taken care of, even if the claimant is repped. So much time is wasted by SCTs and CTs and our front desk people doing things for a claimant their reps can and should be doing. Maddening. <br /><br />What other area of law leaves so much burden on the court itself (in this sense ODAR basically is acting as a court) to make sure a REPRESENTED PARTY takes care of everything needed to be taken care of? Nonsense. Pure nonsense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-13876489629619577832014-05-02T16:01:34.180-04:002014-05-02T16:01:34.180-04:00If we reduce the resources we use on the "eas...If we reduce the resources we use on the "easy" claims, we can free up resources to better handle the difficult claims.<br /><br />I agree that some claimants are not computer literate and need extra help. However, these claimant might go to a local city, state or federal office building and have someone connect them by video link to a social security employee who can help them with their specific problem. This might actually result in the claimant getting better service than visiting a local field office and taking a number.<br /><br />Frankly, on the disability side, claimant reps are shouldering a larger part of the burden. In our office, we assist claimants with filing their Title II applications and disability reports and, of course, we are required to file all disability appeals online. I expect that the SSI applications will eventually be done online.<br /><br />Change is difficult but this change can be managed. Just because we have had a network of local field offices for many years does not mean we need that now. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-60379671429001574022014-05-02T15:43:43.806-04:002014-05-02T15:43:43.806-04:00NAPA is not a consulting firm.NAPA is not a consulting firm.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-67759947736963631212014-05-02T13:00:37.575-04:002014-05-02T13:00:37.575-04:00Interesting that the solution finding favor would ...Interesting that the solution finding favor would be the one that preserves more top and middle management and reduces located services were someone can talk face-to-face with someone with expertise.<br /><br />SSA needs a flatter structure with more people where the citizens are, whether it be standalone offices or co-located with multiple agencies. <br /><br />Self-help kiosks could be beneficial allowing people to get started then seek direct human interaction help if things get complicated. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-1184134991962564282014-05-02T09:18:03.775-04:002014-05-02T09:18:03.775-04:00I'm honestly looking anything other than Witol...I'm honestly looking anything other than Witold that says that says that there would be no field offices. I can see that there would be fewer of them, that many would be consolidated with other government agencies, that video access to live people would be not just possible but used to ensure face to face can still take place. Applying for an SSN requires a personal visit if you don't get one at birth, so obviously there will be offices. But will there be fewer of them, that just makes sense. Especially if society as a group wants to do more online, they will expect to be able to do more online. But someone needs to show us where it says that this is the only service channel. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-4634226035165228472014-05-02T05:22:29.066-04:002014-05-02T05:22:29.066-04:00http://www.napawash.org/images/WorkInProgress/Soci...http://www.napawash.org/images/WorkInProgress/SocialSecurityAdministrationWorkInProgress.pdfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-23349102431397446312014-05-01T15:01:03.201-04:002014-05-01T15:01:03.201-04:00Charles, I think you may be missing the point. The...Charles, I think you may be missing the point. There are now 10 Regional Offices, 6 PCs, about 1,230 FO's, plus many more other brick and mortar SSA sites throughout the country. All of this overhead comes at great cost. To think that this or a similar structure will all be necessary into the future(or is even necessary now) is ridiculous. <br /><br />You are right in that there will always be some need for face to face services, especially when complex issues are involved. I suspect these needs will be taken care of in multi-purpose governmental service centers, sharing space, staff, and utilizing taxpayer resources more wisely. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-10643399567675531562014-05-01T12:26:33.319-04:002014-05-01T12:26:33.319-04:00Great post CharlesGreat post CharlesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-53325199636411434522014-05-01T11:58:15.929-04:002014-05-01T11:58:15.929-04:00Sorry for the aviation nerdery, but 14 Concordes w...Sorry for the aviation nerdery, but 14 Concordes were built (actually 20 if prototypes are added), not 2. There were, however, only 2 commercial SSTs built, 1 being the Concorde and the other being the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144 (of which 16 were built). You may carry on now. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com