Here's an e-mail I received recently from a member of my staff, labeled "More SSA Crazy.": "Prospect [prospective client] called the DO [District Office] to set up an appt to file a SSI
claim. Whoever he talked with denied him an appt to file b/c[because] he did not have a
doctor."
No, that's definitely not Social Security policy and, yes, that person at the District Office wasn't trained that way. This isn't at all typical but this sort of off the wall thing does happen.
We'll get it sorted out.
11 comments:
or more likely, the claimant is not accurately reporting what was said...
I really hope you follow up on this because I would wager there's a large percent change you're going to have to eat some crow. I can't imagine disability clients are any more honest than other clients, and from my years of law practice I can tell you the things my clients told me that seemed too good to be true/super unlikely/etc. 99 times out of 100 were.
I can think of numerous calls I have taken from prospective clients asking me to help them with disability apps who were turned away by "someone at Social Security." Sometimes this assessment is correct and I turn the case away, too. Other times, I feel the person does have a valid claim and I agree to represent the person. Giving the mystery SSA employee the benefit of the doubt, he/she may have been trying to give that person some honest advice. However, I'm not sure they should be trying to make that call.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2f-MZ2HRHQ
The above being said, we have field similar calls in our office. If the claimant is perceiving that they are being turned away based on a lack of medical treatment, the issue more than likely rests with the CR or SSA employee for failing to clearly explain things in a way the claimant understands.
However, those things DO Happen! In February, the new Hickory, NC office was closed "until further notice" because of what has been called "sick building syndrome." We've now received word that it will reopen at another location "sometime before the end of the year. In the interim, the workers were dispersed to other nearby offices.
A dependable client just called. We instructed her to apply for SSI at the Shelby, NC office, but she was refused. She was told that she would be put upon a "waiting list" for when the Hickory office reopens. (If you believe that it will reopen before the end of the year.) Such goings-on are not unusual at the Shelby office. If the Hickory office reopens, you won't be able to get in for ages.
Getting SSI apps started are a mess. The "best" DOs in our area have a 6 week delay. Others say repeatedly that there are no available app times and tell us to call back.
12:39 - Resources tend to help. A set number of employees can only take a set number of appointments each day. Criticize the lack of training but when some offices have 14 to 20 employees, 200 plus appointments a week, 50 medical reviews, 100 ssi reviews, 500 to 700 visitors, another 400 phones (of which 100 or 200 we can't get to), the resources are just not there. Sure you can blame SSA higher ups for organizational distribution of resources. You could also blame employees for being "lazy". The truth is things are getting worse and offices are trying their best....i've seen offices that have lost 20 to 40% of staff. Something has to give...unfortunately the calendar and appointment is one of them
Chuckee, Chuckee, Chuckee... ... Wolf! Wolf! cried the boy...
8:58: I'm not criticizing, blaming, or calling SSA employees "lazy." I understand that the cause of the problem is understaffing. The people we regularly deal with are usually professional and just trying to do the best with what they have.
But, the problem affects the past-due benefits that are due to the claimant. If their SSI application is just put-off by SSA, they should be given consideration for the application date. If the application cannot be processed for several months, at least the date they attempted to apply and were turned away should be used for consideration.
I hope to goodness they are marking it as a contact, not just saying call back later.
Justin
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