And Another One Bites The Dust

     From David Weaver writing for The Hill:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently released the results of a major study on disability and work patterns. ...

The new study, called the Supported Employment Demonstration, sought to determine whether service interventions could promote success in the labor market for younger adults (that is, under the age of 50) who suffer from mental impairments.

Individuals in the treatment groups received employment support integrated with behavioral health services. These services and supports, known as the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model, focuses on rapid job placement and eliminating barriers to work. The control group received no direct services or supports.

An important feature of the Supported Employment Demonstration is that it focused on individuals who were denied Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits. Thus, the experiences of the control group illuminate the likely outcomes of proposals by Republican leaders and conservative economists that would shrink the reach of such programs. ...

In the third year of the study, the average monthly earnings of individuals in the control group were only $395 — not nearly enough to ward off extreme hardship. ...

Conservatives often emphasize the importance of financial disincentives of disability programs. But, gold-standard random-assignment demonstrations by SSA have not found any effect on earnings from financial incentives embedded in the benefit rules. Why? Because the fundamental problem facing disability applicants stems from the way in which severe health problems, directly and indirectly, interfere with every aspect of employment. ...

Average monthly earnings among those who received employment support and behavioral health services were 40-50 percent higher than for those who received no services — further evidence that individuals with severe health problems need services and support to have some success in the labor market. ...

To be sure, the monthly average earnings of those who received services in the Supported Employment Demonstration were still modest, ranging from $553 to $590. ...

In the idealized view, only full-time work at high levels of earnings is considered a successful outcome for disabled persons. A rethink of disability and work would allow for programs, policy and communications to support diverse work patterns among persons with disabilities, including part-time work, episodic work and less formal work, including volunteer. ...

    The problem with Mr. Weaver's position, which he acknowledges, is that policymakers are only interested in programs that knock people off benefits, not programs that help them earn a little more while staying on benefits. By this standard, this study was a near complete failure, just as every other study of work incentives and work assistance programs has been a near complete failure. Even those whose disability claims are denied are too sick to work on a regular basis. They really are sick. The standards to get benefits really are difficult to meet. You can't make rational decisions about Social Security disability benefits until you realize just how harsh these programs are. One of the signs that policymakers don't realize how harsh these programs are has been the endless adoption of new work incentives and the endless funding of demonstration programs designed to put disability claimants back to work. None of it can work. The claimants are just too damn sick to benefit from these efforts in any significant number.

Didn’t Know The Show Was That Popular

      From Fox News:

The two fastest-growing names for boys in the U.S. last year are inspired by the hit show "Yellowstone," according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

SSA said the names "Dutton" and "Kayce" are ranked #1 and #2 on the list of top five fastest-growing boys' names in 2022.

Dutton is the surname of the fictional family who own the Yellowstone ranch in the hit Paramount Network show. Kevin Costner plays the patriarch, John Dutton. His son in the show is Kayce Dutton, played by Luke Grimes. …

Most Popular Baby Names Of 2022

     From the Social Security Administration:

Boys	Girls
1.     Liam	1.  Olivia
2.     Noah	2.  Emma
3.     Oliver	3.  Charlotte
4.     James	4.  Amelia
5.     Elijah	5.  Sophia
6.     William	6.  Isabella
7.     Henry	7.  Ava
8.     Lucas	8.  Mia
9.     Benjamin	9.  Evelyn
10.   Theodore	10. Luna

    One thing I notice is that eight of the top ten girls names end with an "a." Somehow, parents associate the "a" sound at the end of a name with girls.

Action On Listings

     Action on new or amended regulations at Social Security has been almost non-existent at Social Security for years so it was a surprise to me to see that something had finally happened.  The agency has received approval for new Listings for Digestive and Skin Disorders. Expect to see them in the Federal Register soon.

    Social Security now has zero new or amended regulations pending approval at the Office of Management and Budget. I don't remember that happening before.

Early Retirement And Disability

     From Kaiser Health News:

... Every year, tens of thousands of people who are disabled and unable to work consider taking early retirement benefits from Social Security. The underfunded federal disability system acknowledges that it is stymied by delays and dysfunction, even as over 1 million people await a decision on their benefits application.

The United States, which has one of the least generous disability programs among developed Western nations, denies most initial claims, leaving applicants to endure a lengthy appeals process. ...

"They don't have the luxury of waiting," said Charles T. Hall, a disability attorney based in Raleigh, North Carolina. "The vast majority of people need the money now, and you can get early retirement benefits in two months or less." ...

Most callers to the Social Security Administration are unable to reach an agent, and people seeking local field office assistance with an application can wait at least a month for an appointment ...

In a written statement, Social Security Administration spokesperson Darren Lutz acknowledged that wait times are "far too long," citing inconsistent and insufficient funding, staffing shortages, and other challenges. The agency refused to make officials available for a phone call to discuss the issue in more detail.

Caught in the tangle of dysfunction are disabled people with little or no income, who often take early retirement because they are struggling to pay for basics like housing, food, and medicine. In some cases, people end up homeless or die waiting for their disability benefits, lawyers told KFF Health News. ...

What Happens To Social Security If The Debt Ceiling Isn't Increased?

     The Biden Administration, as others before it, has said that if the debt ceiling isn't increased that there will be consequences for all recipients of federal funds. They have specifically warned that the systems used by the Department of the Treasury do not allow them to prioritize one type of payments over others. For instance, they cannot decide that they will pay Social Security benefits on time but delay payments to Defense Department contractors. I'm sure they're telling the truth. However, I'm also aware that they can generally delay payments for a period of time. That happens every month. I know because it's apparent to me that I receive little or no payments of attorney fees in the last few days routinely every month. I've written about this before and have received the response that Social Security is aware of the problem and that it affects claimants as well as attorneys but that it's nothing that the Social Security Administration is doing. It's the Department of the Treasury that holds up payments. My guess is that it has something to do with routine management of the federal debt. There's probably a lot of debt refinancing at the end of each month. That this happens tells me that their systems can hold up payments for a period of time. What else can the Treasury do if the debt ceiling isn't increased other than to delay payments? At the start, payments of Social Security benefits start showing up a day late. Payments of federal employee salaries show up a day late. Payments to Defense Department contractors show up a day late. That's for starters. The delays would increase with time.

    Anyway, that's my guess of what will happen but I don't know if Treasury's systems allow them to delay Wednesday's payments until Thursday and Thursday's payments until Friday, etc. Maybe they can hold up all payments for a time but cannot control which payments are released once they lift the hold.

    Of course, what I'm talking about would also mean delays in payments to federal bondholders which would put the U.S. into default with massive consequence for the economy but, who cares, being tough on Biden plays well on Fox News and that's all that really matters.

OHO Caseload Analysis Report

     Just released by Social Security (notice that it still refers to ODAR which hasn't been the correct name for several years now):

Click on image to view full size

A Pet Peeve

     There doesn't seem to be any Social Security news so far today so I'll tell you about a pet peeve. Does talking on a cell phone using earbuds cause people to talk very LOUD? I was at the NOSSCR conference last week. In the halls there were attendees talking directly into their cell phones, quietly. Those using earbuds broadcast their side of the call to everyone within 50 feet.

High Standards Required

     When I read that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas received private extremely valuable considerations from those interested in the Court’s business, I am reminded of a Social Security Administrative Law Judge who got into trouble because a local attorney allowed the ALJ to park his boat on a vacant lot the attorney owned.

Shakeup At Social Security

  

SOCIAL SECURITY

MEMORANDUM

Date:​May 4, 2023​Refer To: S7A-4

To:​Senior Staff

 

From:​Kilolo Kijakazi /s/

​Acting Commissioner

 

Subject:​Executive Personnel Assignments - INFORMATION

 

I have several announcements.

 

In the Office of Transformation, Betsy Beaumon, currently the Senior Advisor for IT Modernization and Innovation, is the Chief Transformation Officer.  In addition to his role as the Assistant Deputy Commissioner (ADC) in the Office of Systems, Patrick Newbold will begin an assignment as the Deputy ChiefTransformation Officer. Kim Baldwin Sparks is the Customer Experience Officer.

 

In the Office of Operations, Michelle King, currently the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the Office of Budget, Finance and Management (OBFM), will be the Deputy Commissioner forOperations. Linda Kerr-Davis, currently the Regional Commissioner (RC) for Kansas City, is the Acting ADC, Operations. Eric Skidmore, currently the ADC for the Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs (OLCA) is the Acting ADC, Operations. Nancy Berryhill, currently a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Commissioner, will begin an assignment as a Senior Advisor to the DC for Operations.

 

Also in Operations, Tonya Freeman, currently the Deputy RC for the Kansas City Region, is the Acting RC, Kansas City.  In theAtlanta Region, Yelitza Sanchez-Garrido, currently the Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner for Management and Operations Support (ARCMOS), will begin an assignment as the Acting ARCMOS.

 

In the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), Eric Kressman, currently the Deputy General Counsel (DGC) (General Law),will be the Associate General Counsel (AGC) in the Office of Program Litigation (Office 6).  Jeff Blair, currently the AGC for Program Law, is retiring June 30, 2023.  I want to thank Jeff for his 42 years of outstanding service.  We will miss his tremendousinstitutional knowledge and we wish him good health in retirement. Mona Ahmed, currently the AGC for the Office of Program Litigation (Division 6), will be AGC for Program Law upon Jeff’s retirement.  Nancy Gonzalez, currently the AGC in the Office of General Law (OGL) (Office 4), is the AGC, OGL (Office 1). Sharese Reyes, currently the Deputy AGC, OGL (Office 4) will begin an assignment as the Acting AGC, OGL (Office 4).  We will release a solicitation of interest and vacancy announcement for the AGC, OGL (Office 4) position shortly.  

 

In OBFM, Chad Poist, currently the Associate Commissioner (AC) for Budget, will be the DC, OBFM.  Beth Chaney, currently the Deputy AC for the Office of Budget (OB), will be the AC, OB.

 

In the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy (ORDP), Erik Jones, currently the ADC in Operations, will begin an assignment as the Acting ADC, ORDP.

 

In the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO), Joe Lytle, who has been the Acting DC since August 2022, is the permanent DC, OHO.  Florence Felix-Lawson, who has been the Acting ADC (Mission Operations) since October 2022, is the permanent ADC(Mission Operations), OHO.  Terrie Gruber, who has been on assignment to the OC, is a permanent Senior Advisor in OC.

 

In the Office of Human Resources, Eddie Taylor is the Senior-Level Senior Agency Labor Strategy Expert.  Eddie will continue to serve as the Acting Deputy Associate Commissioner in the Office of Labor Management and Employee Relations, until a permanent incumbent is selected.  

 

Please join me in congratulating our colleagues.