Starving DDS

     A letter published in the Newsletter (not available online to non-members) of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives:

I am the state lead for the SOAR program in North Carolina. SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) trains case managers to assist people experiencing homelessness with applications for Social Security disability benefits.

Recently, it came to my attention that 33% of the positions at the North Carolina DDS [Disability Determination Services] are vacant. These positions include: 

• DDS specialists, 
• Supervisory positions, 
• Medical consultants, 
• Psychological consultants, and 
• Office assistants.

NC DDS must receive approval from SSA Headquarters to hire for vacant positions. NC DDS is not allowed to hire without that permission, including hiring to backfill positions where people left the agency or retired throughout the year. This hiring policy led to an ongoing deficit in filled positions at the agency. For example, in the last year (2018-2019) DDS lost 63 employees and only received permission to hire 18 people. For the coming budget year (2019-2020), NC DDS has received approval for only 36 hires. This amount still does not cover the number of people who left last year, and if any employees leave NC DDS this year, their positions will not be able to be filled, resulting in a greater net loss for the agency.

Secretary Cohen at the NC Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to the SSA Acting Commissioner in November 2018 regarding the staffing issues. The response came back from the SSA-Atlanta region that they were working to provide additional hiring authority after the budget was established which resulted in authorizing 18 hires for the year and did not address the 63 losses.

Despite the staffing shortage, NC DDS continues to receive a high volume of applications. The high number of vacant positions leads to increased caseloads for DDS specialists which presents more challenges in processing applications. The stress of managing high caseloads causes more staff attrition, continuing the cycle of vacant positions.

Every year, SSA provides DDS agencies with a staffing and hiring allocation that is tied to their projected workload. However, DDS agencies do not have the authority to backfill positions that are vacated throughout the year. These positions are already a part of the approved spending plan so do not require additional funds.

A national SSA/DDS Strike Force team was convened in 2018 to address concerns regarding hiring. A recommendation of this SSA/DDS Strike Force team was to allow hiring authority of positions lost due to attrition, as long as it was within a DDS agency’s current funding total. This recommendation was tabled by SSA until all DDS agencies could receive budget training. However, now that all DDS agencies received this training, SSA decided that they will not implement this recommendation.

To date, I have reached out to the North Carolina Congressional delegation, SSA headquarters, and the US Interagency Council on Homeless programs (USICH) regarding the vacancies in North Carolina’s DDS. The USICH is interested in finding out more about the issue and possible solutions but need to know if other DDS agencies in the country are facing similar vacancy rates.

If you are in another state that has a high vacancy rate at your DDS agency, please contact me so that I can connect you to the USICH staff who is working on this issue. Similarly, if you are in a state that has resolved a similar issue, please contact me as well so we can learn from your experience.

I appreciate your assistance with this matter.

Thank you,

Emily Carmody

Project Director

NC Coalition to End Homelessness

emily[at]ncceh.org

More Than A Year Since The Last Oversight Hearing

     I  checked to see when the House Social Security Subcommittee last held an oversight hearing. It was September 28, 2018, with Republicans still leading the Subcommittee.  The Subcommittee has certainly held hearings this year but they have all been focused on legislation to improve Trust Fund financing and improve benefits. That is a worthy goal but there is no chance for passage in this Congress and uncertain chances in the next Congress.

     I don’t remember ever going this long between oversight hearings.

OIG Report Released

     Social Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its semiannual report to Congress.

Happy Black Friday

Happy Thanksgiving!

This really is a thing

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

Can't Understand Social Security Notices? Here's Where You Complain

     From the Social Security Administration's 2018 Plain Writing Act compliance report:

It is our goal to improve the way we communicate with the public in a clear, organized way. We encourage members of the public and employees to make comments and suggestions at PlainWriting@ssa.gov. We make every effort to respond to all emails within one business day.

Expiration Date Of Five Listings Extended

     Social Security has published notice that it is extending the expiration dates of five Listings: Musculoskeletal System, Cardiovascular System, Digestive System, Skin Disorders, and Immune System Disorders. No change was made in any of the Listings.

Proposed Regs On Advance Designation Of Rep Payee

     From a notice from the Social Security Administration that will appear in tomorrow's Federal Register:

The Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018(Strengthening Protections Act)requires us to promulgate regulations specifying the information Social Security beneficiaries and applicants must provide to designate a representative payee in advance of our determination that the beneficiary needs a representative payee.We propose to revise our rules to satisfy this requirement,and to specify that we will allow individuals to designate in advance one or more potential representative payees. We also explain how we propose to consider an individual’s advance designation when we select a representative payee.