Social Security FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] Reading Room routinely posts "Proactive Disclosures." Usually, it's just a couple of posts a month but they're starting off this month with a bang. Below is what they've posted so far. I guess this is based about recent FOIA requests they've replied to. It makes you wonder why some of these FOIA requests were made. By the way, this includes a list that purports to tell you the top 500 law firms receiving attorney fees in Social Security cases. I don't know about this list but in the past these numbers have been wildly inaccurate.
For some time now I've been posting the Caseload Analysis Report issued by Social Security's Office of Hearings Operations (OHO). To their credit, OHO has been voluntarily releasing it.
I'm sure that other Social Security components produce similar reports. I'd like to see some of them. I can request them under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) but it would help if I knew what the reports are called. I'd be interested in the names of the operational reports for the Disability Determination Services (State Agency Operations Report?), Field Offices, Teleservice Centers and Payment Centers. The names of the reports can't be some closely held secret. Can anyone help me with just the names of the reports?
It's hard to imagine any harm to the agency in the public having a better idea of the agency's operations. It might be of help in obtaining an adequate operating budget.
The Social Security Administration is best known for running the nation's largest retirement program. But it's also responsible for deciding whether millions of Americans qualify for disability benefits.
If you want to understand how those decisions are made, it's going to cost you: $2.3 million.
That was the administration's response to a USA TODAY NETWORK request for public information. Reporters are trying to scrutinize the performance of doctors hired in each state to review federal disability applications, including their workload and how fast they reviewed application files.
The agency's extraordinary price tag indicates that Social Security has no central database, but rather allows each state to manage doctors differently — a policy that, in at least one state, led to an unusually high denial rate and hefty doctor paychecks. ...
In October, the USA TODAY NETWORK submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking doctor performance data for each state.
The agency responded in April, indicating they would need 72,100 hours to get such information. That’s the equivalent of nearly 60 employees working full-time on the request for a full year – without taking vacation or holidays off. ...
Agency
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Processing Results
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Disclosure
Rules
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Quality of FOIA Website
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Overall Score
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Social
Security
Administration
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107% (A+)
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46% (F)
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70% (C-)
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83% (B)
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It is not clear, why did Ann Dunham [the President's mother] apply for a change from Dunham to Dunham Obama in 1963, when she divorced Barack Obama senior. One would expect her to change her name in February 1961, when she reportedly married Obama, not in 1963, when she divorced him. This application for SSN change for Ann Dunham was released for the first time today.
It is not clear, why did Ann Dunham apply for yet another change of her SSN card in June of 1995. This June 1995 application for a change of the SSA card was released for the first time in SSA July 29 2013 letter to Taitz and was received today. This change was made only a few months before Ann Dunham passed away on November 7, 1995. Incidentally, November 7 happens to be the day when the Communist revolution in celebrated in Russia. Ann Dunham passed away at home with only her two children present. There was no attending physician at the time of her death, no autopsy by a coroner. Her remains were cremated and buried at sea. Typically there is a requirement for a permit for a burial at sea. There is no record of such permit ever being granted or requested.
A press release from Social Security:
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency is making new data about beneficiaries and the agency’s disability and hearing processes available to the public. The new data supports the President’s Transparency and Open Government initiative and is available at www.data.gov.
“I applaud President Obama’s commitment to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government and the new datasets we are posting far exceed what was asked of us,” Commissioner Astrue said. “Social Security has always valued transparency and sought to give the public user-friendly information about our programs. Each year we send millions of Americans personal information about their Social Security contributions and potential benefits. Our website www.socialsecurity.gov has a wealth of information about our programs and the Social Security trust funds. I hope the new data we are making available will lead to a better understanding of our operations and the important role we play in people’s lives. I look forward to engaging Americans in the business of their government.”
Here are a few examples of the value of the Social Security datasets available today:
- Researchers can find out about the work-related experiences of our beneficiaries receiving Social Security disability benefits and give us policy guidance for our disability programs.
- The public can see information about hearings workloads and a breakdown of the types of decisions made by Administrative Law Judges.
- Researchers can study the effects of current and proposed legislative and program provisions.
- People who have requested a hearing on their disability claim can estimate the amount of time they may have to wait for the hearing to be held and for a decision.
- The public can see general information requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
“These new datasets are just the beginning of our efforts. In February we will launch our Open Government webpage that will include improved access to our data in a variety of formats. In April we will publish our Open Government plan,” said Commissioner Astrue. “Let me also reassure all Americans that while our goal is to become more open and transparent, we will continue to vigilantly protect the personal information the public entrusts to us. We will ensure that transparency does not put that information at risk.”
People who use social networking websites know that it can be exciting to reconnect with long lost friends and relatives over the Internet. Such surprise connections can be fun and conjure up memories of times forgotten. But what if you have a more serious situation and you need to locate a particular person? Perhaps Social Security can help.
Social Security is in the business of paying benefits, not reconnecting people. But, in some cases, we will do what we can to help.
We will attempt to forward a letter to a missing person under circumstances involving a matter of great importance, such as a death or serious illness in the missing person's immediate family, or a sizeable amount of money that is due the missing person. Also, the circumstances must concern a matter about which the missing person is unaware and would undoubtedly want to be informed.
In less dire cases, such as when a son, daughter, brother or sister want to establish contact, we will write to the missing person, rather than forwarding a letter.
Because this service is not related in any way to a Social Security program, its use must be limited so that it does not interfere with our regular program activities.
There is no charge for forwarding letters that have a humanitarian purpose. However, we must charge a $25 fee to cover our costs when the letter is to inform the missing person of money or property due. This fee is not refundable. The fee should be paid by a check made payable to the Social Security Administration.
We must read each letter we forward to ensure that it contains nothing that could prove embarrassing to the missing person if read by a third party. Letters should be in plain, unstamped, unsealed envelopes showing only the missing person's name. Nothing of value should be enclosed.
To try to locate an address in our records, we'll need the missing person's Social Security number or identifying information such as date and place of birth, father's name, and the mother's full birth name.
Unless a missing person is receiving benefits under a program Social Security administers, we would not have a home address for them. Usually, we forward a letter in care of the employer who most recently reported earnings for the person.
Requests for letter forwarding should be sent to: Social Security Administration, Letter Forwarding, P.O. Box 33022, Baltimore, MD 21290-3022.
Learn more about this service at www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/html/ltrfwding.htm.
Daniel Bowline is district manager for the Social Security Administration in Lufkin.
