Video Service Delivery

The National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA), an organization of Social Security management employees, included an article about video service delivery in its July 2008 newsletter. Here is more detail on video service delivery from the minutes of the August 7 teleconference meeting of the NCSSMA's Executive Committee:

Video service delivery [VSD], a new way of conducting SSA business, is being piloted in Wyoming. The public can conduct business with SSA at their local libraries. Equipment provided by two different vendors is being utilized. The public can file applications or conduct SR [Service Representative] type actions via VSD.

The first month of the pilot, 250 people utilized the SR VSD window, and 80% of claims that were scheduled were filed compared to the higher no show rate at a field office. One of the service options is to have a private reading room, which affords even greater privacy than in the FO [Field Office]. A future enhancement could allow documents viewed through the camera to be considered similar to viewing in person. Some of these VSD centers are within close proximity to actual FOs so that if the process fails, the public can still conduct business at the actual FO.

The Division of International Operations (DIO) is considering a VSD pilot in London, which can be set up for a fraction of the cost in foreign embassies. VSD is pretty much behind SSA firewalls so it is more secure and information is encrypted. It currently appears that there is no possibility of PII being compromised. VSD with DSL connections is good enough to see markings on drivers' licenses.

... The pilot is deemed an outstanding success. The Regional Commissioners all seemed to like it, and there is talk in the regions about which states will pilot VSD. It has also been very successful on Native American Reservations. The agency sees the value of VSD as being another form of face- to- face service and an alternative to internet usage. ...

I have written before about the problems that Social Security has with international claims. This would be an enormous improvement over the messy situation now, with untrained or poorly trained State Department employees taking claims. I am sure this will help improve service in sparsely populated areas of the United States as well. Unfortunately, it could also be used to justification for shutting down Social Security's field offices, which would be a terrible idea.