SEM, PPC And SEO Help Atlanta Law Firm

From a press release:

Berry and Associates has recently expanded on their nationally targeted search engine marketing (SEM) project for its website nationaldisabilitylawyer.com. The Social Security Disability Attorney firm has recently enabled an online pay per click (PPC) campaign.

The online marketing campaign is a supplement to a recent website launch and organic search SEO [Search Engine Optimization] project. The PPC campaign is designed to help increase traffic and visibility to the website for competitive high traffic keywords. A parallel link building project is being implemented to help gain natural search visibility within Google, Yahoo and MSN for significant Social Security law keywords.

"Berry and Associates has helped thousands of disabled people win Social Security Disability benefits. Our team is committed to helping the disabled receive SSDI and SSI benefits," explains Matt Berry, Founder and Principal of Berry and Associates. "We understand the Social Security Disability process can be frustrating and time consuming. Recently we have committed additional resources to further educate and help disabled consumers with SSDI and SSI Disability cases."

Unscientific Poll Results

Political Party AffiliatioDo you consider yourself ... ?

A Democrat (48)	52%
A Republican (18)	19%
An Independent (27)	29%

Total Votes: 93

Three Parter On Backlogs In Ohio Newspaper

The Crescent News of Defiance, Ohio has put out a three part story on the struggles that disabled people face while waiting for the Social Security Administration to adjudicate their cases. Note that this is a three part story in a small local paper! Here are the links:

• Struggling to Survive
• There's Only So Much Agencies Can Do
• Filings Up, Staff Down Have Not Made A Good Mix

That's A Relief

I have heard through the grapevine that Lisa De Soto misspoke in saying that there was a 140,000 increase in the number of new requests for hearing filed this year. There are several hundred people who can attest that this is what she said on Thursday at the conference of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) in Miami Beach, but it appears that that is not what she meant to say. Exactly what the 140,000 figure she mentioned represents is unclear, but apparently that number refers to the next several years rather than just this year.

This does not mean that all is well at Social Security. It just means that we are facing the emergency that we all are all familiar with, rather than that emergency plus an additional unexpected emergency.

Well Below A+ For Social Security

From a recent audit report by Social Security Office of Inspector General:

Our objective was to determine the extent to which publication of the Death Master File (DMF) results in a breach of personally identifiable information (PII). ...

Since January 2004, SSA's publication of the DMF has resulted in the breach of PII for more than 20,000 living individuals erroneously listed as deceased on the DMF. SSA made these individuals' SSNs; first, middle, and last names; dates of birth and death; and State and zip codes of last known residences available to users of the DMF before learning they were not actually deceased. SSA attempted to retract these disclosures by deleting the individuals' information from the DMF. While these deletion transactions prevented the PII from being included in subsequent versions of the DMF, the deletions had no effect on the PII previously made available to DMF subscribers. In some instances, these individuals' PII remained available at the time of our audit for free viewing on the Internet. Public disclosure of living individuals' PII increases the opportunity for identity theft and subjects SSA to criticism from the affected individuals, the public and Congress and could subject SSA to legal action.

A+ For Social Security

From a recent online posting by the Social Security Administration:

On May 20, 2008, Tom Davis, ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced the results of the Committee's annual evaluation of agencies' ability to safeguard sensitive information on government computer systems. The grades are derived from annual reports agencies produce to comply with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).

Agencies were rated on their annual tests of information security, their plans of action and milestones or corrective-action plans, whether they certify and accredit their systems as secure, how well they manage the configuration of their computers to ensure security, how they detect and react to breaches, their training programs and the accuracy of their inventories.

SSA received a grade of A+ with high confidence in the results because of sterling financial audits. Click here for the Fiscal Year 2007 annual FISMA report card.

Lisa De Soto At NOSSCR Conference -- 140,000 Unexpected Requests For Hearing!

Lisa DeSoto, Social Security's Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, spoke today at the conference of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) in Miami. I will summarize only those things she said that sounded like news to me, with my comments in brackets and italicized following.

• The Social Security Administration is receiving 140,000 more requests for hearing this fiscal year than expected. [This is stunning news. This changes everything. Social Security had a plan that, if you squinted hard and really wanted to believe, would eliminate the backlog of cases awaiting a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) by 2013. That plan does not begin to solve the backlog with this increased number of requests for hearing. By my rough calculation, Social Security now needs 250 more ALJs than they previously thought. There was no sign that Social Security's plans have changed a bit to deal with this new fact. Has anyone mentioned this to the Congressional committees involved?]
• There are no longer any cases that have been awaiting a hearing before an ALJ for 1,000 days or longer. [But the total number of people who are waiting for an ALJ hearing has to be rising rapidly because of those 140,000 unexpected requests for hearing.]
• There were 28,623 cases in which claimants had been awaiting 900 days or longer for an ALj hearing, as of May 31, 2008. De Soto wants that number down to zero by the end of the fiscal year -- September 30, 2008. [But the total number of people who are waiting for an ALJ hearing must be rising rapidly because of those 140,000 unexpected requests for hearing.]
• Approximately 17,000 claimants have been approved as a result of informal remands, also known as re-recons.
• Informal remands, also known as re-recons, will be extended to e-files.
• As of May 31, 2008, there have been 14,974 senior attorney decisions.
• The prognosis for the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1, 2008 is "not positive." De Soto emphasized the near certainty that the agency will be operating under a continuing resolution until well into the fiscal year as a reason. [It will certainly be difficult for the agency to work under a continuing resolution for what may be six months, but the 140,000 requests for hearing that no one planned for may be an even bigger problem.]
• There are now five ALJs in the national hearing center in Falls Church, VA. They are helping out with cases from Cleveland, Atlanta and Detroit. She plans to add five more ALJs to this national hearing office.
• A second national hearing office is to be added in Albuquerque. This office is to have six ALJs.
• 73% of the the cases pending upon requests for hearing was e-files by March 2008.
• The Forms Integrated Templates (FIT) that may be used to draft favorable decisions by attorneys representing claimants is now available in MS Word on Social Security's website.
• E-pulling of exhibits is about to be implemented in Tupelo, MS on a pilot basis. De Soto claims that e-pulling of exhibits is 80% accurate. [Everyone I have talked other than De Soto has rolled his or her eyes when the subject of e-pulling came up. Skepticism about e-pulling is nearly universal in the field.]
  
• E-scheduling of hearings is to be in place nationally by October 2008. [It would be nice to get e-files truly working before we go on to "E" anything else.]
• There will be 60,000 more ALJ dispositions this year than last. [But the 140,000 unanticipated increase in the number of requests for hearing completely overwhelms the 60,000 increase.]
• Social Security is "aware" of a need for a better network of Vocational and Medical experts.
• De Soto wants new regulations in the near future regarding the Disability Review Board in Region I, to allow the Appeals Council to dispose of these cases. [This is part of the fallout from the demise of former Commissioner Barnhart's doomed plan for dealing with Social Security's backlogs]
  

Nancy Shor At NOSSCR Conference

A few excerpts from the remarks made by Nancy Shor, the Executive Director of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR), at the NOSSCR conference in Miami Beach:

• The Appeal Council will be getting the capacity to handle e-files.
• Social Security currently has 12 disciplinary actions against Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) pending at the Merit Systems Protection Board (which adjudicates these actions). Social Security Commissioner Astrue plans to decide what to do next on ALJ discipline after seeing the results of these actions.
• The Social Security Administration wants to start tracking fee petitions.
• There are problems with direct deposit of funds for representing Social Security claimants into bank accounts with Wells Fargo Bank. The bank is insisting that the direct deposits may only go in escrow accounts.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will not require attorneys to take an examination in order to represent claimants before that agency, but will require VA specific Continuing Legal Education courses.