OIDAP Report

Update: I am bumping this up since I regard it as being of considerable importance.

A California attorney I know happened to receive -- by accident -- a copy of the draft final report of Social Security's Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel (OIDAP). I have uploaded it to Yousendit. It is available for downloading for the next week for the first 100 people. Update: Here is another link for downloading the draft final report for when the first link stops working. It is a 500 page plus PDF so expect it to take some time to download.

Although this may sound like a boring subject, it is, by far, the most important policy issue facing Social Security. An occupational information system is fundamental to Social Security disability determination. Millions of Social Security claims will be decided based upon any new occupational information system that comes out of OIDAP's work. This is the most important policy issue that Social Security has faced in about thirty years.

SSA Hiring Disabled

From an article by Reginald Wells, Social Security's Deputy Commissioner for Human Resources and Chief Human Capital Officer in Federal Times:

There is a clear business case for the federal workforce, charged with the responsibility of public service, to reflect the diverse tapestry of America. People with disabilities are part of that tapestry and arguably constitute one of the most diverse groups in our society. ...

The Social Security Administration currently has the third-highest percentage of employees with targeted disabilities among large agencies. ...

SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue established in March an initiative to formalize a continual process through which people with disabilities remain an integral part of our diversity mosaic. Branded “SSA AccessAbility: Recruiting Individuals with Disabilities,” this initiative capitalizes on opportunities for hiring as well as agencywide coordination through an established national recruitment structure. ...

As a result of increased fiscal 2009 budget appropriations as well as funds received through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, SSA had the opportunity to hire about 7,000 employees through August. Preliminary figures show the agency hired more than 650 people with disabilities, including more than 100 individuals receiving federal disability benefits.

Updated Fee Payment Stats

Updated information on payments to attorneys and others for representing Social Security claimants.

Fee Payments
Month/Year	Volume	Amount
Jan-09	28,423	$101,128,880.69
Feb-09	31,352	$112,791,207.17
Mar-09	29,199	$104,155,187.96
Apr-09	30,963	$110,133,425.19
May-09	36,603	$126,725,262.45
June-09	31,799	$113,962,564.84
July-09	34,802	$124,621,068.71
August-09	28,218	$100,279,282.51
Sept-09	28,455	$100,918,402.40

Results Of Last Unscientific Poll

What Do You Think Of The Nomination Of Carolyn Colvin To Become Deputy Commissioner Of Social Security?

I think it was a good choice (27)	23%
I think it was a bad choice (24)	21%
I have mixed feelings about it (9)	8%
I don't know enough about her to have an opinion (55)	48%

Total Votes: 115

California Cuts SSI

First, let me give a little background. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) was created in the 1970s to give federal benefits to indigent aged, disabled and blind Americans. SSI replaced a prior system of federal grants given to the states which administered their own systems of benefits for the same population. The recipients of the state aid were grandfathered into SSI. Some state benefits were higher than the new SSI benefits. States were allowed to supplement SSI benefits in their states so that their residents would not be hurt by the change to SSI. Quite a number of states have done so ever since, but those states have always had the ability to decrease the supplementation or discontinue it. The state supplements are paid in the same check or direct deposit as the federal SSI benefit.

With that as a background, here is a report from KHSL-TV in Chico-Redding, California:

Denise Johnson and her husband have relied on their social security supplementary payments for two years now. But making ends meet this time around has been tough for the couple. lawmakers have already reduced their social security benefits twice this year, and just a couple days ago, the Johnsons received a letter in the mail stating their paychecks will get a third cut.

Johnson told Action News, "There was no warning or nothing. It was kind of like a slap in the face, here you go, it's gone," adding, "I thought it was wrong for them not to say anything at all and just make it a surprise. I think they should have just spoke up and been more honest."

The Johnsons will get another $41 deducted from each of their paychecks each month. All three cuts this year total to about $170 from the couple's combined paychecks every month. The third cut begins November. The Johnsons' paychecks are now down to a little more than $54 each. The Johnsons use the money for food, and because they are already receiving additional help from the state, they do not qualify for food stamps. Johnson says it is unfair. She said, "At least try to give us something back as far as getting food stamps from everybody that's getting the state supplementary."

Johnson says the cut this time around not only means less food on the table... it means less everything. She explained, "Just trying to really budget our money tight, and shop next to nothing."

A Social Security Administration public affairs official told me over the phone, they cannot explain the reason for the additional cuts and they are simply doing what state lawmakers tell them to do.

More than 1,000,000 people receive social security supplementary benefits in California

As you may have heard, the state of California is experiencing terrible budget shortfalls. The repeated cuts in SSI supplementation are one of the results of these budget shortfalls.

I am surprised that these cuts in SSI checks for Californians have not attracted more public attention.

University To Receive Grant From Social Security

From a press release:

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Financial Security has received first-year funding of $1.48 million to participate in the Social Security Administration's new Financial Literacy Research Consortium (FLRC). ...

The FLRC-supported research will include projects requiring extensive quantitative data analysis, as well as those gathering data through qualitative interviews and focus groups. Funded projects will define and identify forms of financial literacy during the life course and among low-income and other specific populations. This research will also explore "teachable moments," times that motivate a change in financial behavior, and identify potential financial education strategies for targeted populations. ...

The Center for Financial Security will sponsor a symposium, "Family Financial Security: Implications for Policy and Practice," on Monday and Tuesday, April 19-20, at the Fluno Center for Executive Education at UW-Madison. The symposium will convene leading applied researchers and practitioners to present current thinking across disciplines. Four panels — credit, retirement saving, thrift and banking — will each feature several papers. Participants will discuss how innovative programs, policies and products can best promote family financial literacy.

Firms As Representatives Coming And Representative ID Number Too

Under the Privacy Act Social Security must publish notices of new systems of record keeping or alterations to existing systems of records. Here are some excerpts from a notice just published by Social Security -- and note the representative number, which sounds minor to some, but attorneys and others representing Social Security claimants have been very unhappy with using their Social Security numbers as a unique identifier:

We are altering the Appointed Representative File system of records specifically to implement an online suite of services for representatives. The online services will enable us to establish a framework of new business processes and systems enhancements and to provide comprehensive online services for representatives who wish to perform services on behalf of our claimants.

To ensure that we administer the appointed representative business process in a more efficient and effective manner, we propose to: ... (3) expand the category of records we maintain in the system to include the representative's date of birth, cell phone information, and representative identification number ...

Our long-standing policy is to recognize only persons as representatives. However, in the decades since we adopted that policy, the business practices of claimants' representatives have changed significantly. For example, many claimants prefer to hire a firm rather than a single person within a firm. Accordingly, to provide claimants better flexibility in pursuing matters before us, starting in 2010, we will recognize firms and other professional entities as representatives.

No Pressures, Goals or Quotas For ALJs -- According To SSA Spokesman

From the Buffalo News (emphasis added):

The Social Security Administration is making some progress in its efforts to cut the backlog of disability cases in Buffalo and other offices.

But not enough progress, according to Social Security Administration judges who came to Buffalo for a conference this week.

Many people with serious illnesses or injuries still wait two years or more to get a hearing, and the judges say that is a source of frustration.

“People deserve the right to have their cases heard within a reasonable amount of time. The current waiting time is not acceptable,” said Marilyn Zahm, an administrative law judge in the Buffalo district.

“I once received a letter from a family member of a man who waited for a long time for his case to be heard, and before it could be heard, the man died,” said Randy Frye, an administrative law judge from Charlotte, N. C. “It made me feel terrible. . . . That just shouldn’t happen.”

Frye is the president and Zahm the vice president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges, a national union of judges that held an educational conference Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. About 130 judges attended the event in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

The two officials said the system in which they work is in a “crisis.” According to the judges, the long wait for hearings is only one of several serious problems that affect a system on which millions of Americans depend.

Among the other problems, according to the judges:

• Far too many applicants — about two of every three — are turned down, sometimes for no logical reason, when they first apply. Later — only after months of waiting and having to hire attorneys — most of those people are approved for disability.

• The system has little or no flexibility. The judges are required to approve disability pay for life to a person who, in their opinion, should receive it for a year or two.

• They are pressured by Social Security Administration officials to rush cases through the system, when, in some cases, they would like to spend more time researching a case in the best interest of taxpayers and applicants.

“Right now, the only pressure we get from Washington is to push the cases through the system,” Frye said. “That seems to be the only priority.”

Mark Hinkle, a national spokesman for the Social Security Administration, disagreed. He noted that 7.5 million Americans and their dependents now received $106 billion a year in Social Security disability benefits.

“There are no pressures, goals or quotas for judges. We’re just trying to do the best job we can for the American public,” Hinkle said. “I don’t think you’ll find anyone who feels that the waiting times are acceptable.”