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.
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 10 | 0/30/2010 | Representation of Claimants |
 DI 13005 TN 7 | 08/26/2010 | Medical Issues |
| GN 02410 TN 29 | 08/25/2010 | Assignment, Levy, Garnishment |
| RM 00201 TN 24 | 08/25/2010 | The Social Security Number (SSN) |
| OS 15025 TN 3 | 08/23/2010 | Office of Program Development and Research (OPDR) Responsibility |
| DI 70010 TN 3 | 08/20/2010 | Field Office (FO) Procedures |
| DI 25235 TN 2 | 08/19/2010 | Case Processing Instructions for Title XVI Child Claims |
| RS 02101 TN 7 | 08/18/2010 | Employer - Employee Relationship - Policies and Procedures |
| GN 02820 TN 11 | 08/16/2010 | American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 |
| SL 60001 TN 3 | 08/16/2010 | Employment |
| GN 02608 TN 24 | 08/12/2010 | Government Pension Offset |
| GN 02613 TN 11 | 08/11/2010 | Title II Fugitive Felons and Parole and Probation Violators |
| OS 15010 TN 10 | 08/10/2010 | Office of Income Security Programs (OISP) Responsibility |
| DI 20503 TN 8 | 08/10/2010 | Essential Claims Folder Material |
| RM 10210 TN 8 | 08/06/2010 | SSN Evidence Requirements |
| DI 34222 BASIC | 08/02/2010 | Obsolete Special Senses Part B Listings 01/06/86 to 07/08 |
| DI 34122 BASIC | 08/02/2010 | Obsolete Versions of Part A, the Listing of Impairments |
| DI 34005 TN 12 | 08/02/2010 | Listings of Impairments - Current Part B Listing |
| DI 34001 TN 13 | 08/02/2010 | Current - Part A Listing |
| DI 81020 TN 6 | 07/29/2010 | DDS Procedures - Electronic Process |
| DI 70005 TN 5 | 07/29/2010 | Modular Disability Folder |
| GN 00504 TN 16 | 07/27/2010 | Suspension for Payee Development and Other Payee Actions |
| SI 00820 TN 53 | 07/27/2010 | Earned Income |
| DI 81010 TN 9 | 07/26/2010 | FO Procedures - Electronic Process |
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.
ReplyDeleteI'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.
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.
ReplyDeleteSSA 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.
See reply to post above re SSI income.
ReplyDelete