Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley is making changes to improve customer service. The agency complains it is working at a 27-year low in staffing. Over and over, I hear this complaint from employees at all levels of the disability process from the local office, DDS, and hearings and appeals employees. I’m not sure whether this situation started with the Covid epidemic or was simply exacerbated by it. It’s hard for me to tell a disabled client that his wait time may be as long as three years from the date of initial application until adjudication by an ALJ.
Commissioner O’Malley includes a reduction in the average processing time for disability claims as a high priority. Let’s hope so!
The Social Security Administration claims to have reduced average telephone waiting times from 45 minutes to 24 minutes. This is not my experience.
There may be some hope on the horizon. The Commissioner has authorized the hiring of 1290 field office employees, 600 additional employees for the State disability determination services, and 300 additional staff at the hearing offices.
We’ll see what happens.
Link: https://www.ssa.gov/agency/commissioner/100-days-accomplishments.html