Hearings Backlog Reduction Update Fiscal Year 2009, End of Year Update for Mississippi Hearing Offices We made tremendous progress toward reducing the disability backlog during fiscal year (FY) 2009, processing nearly 661,000 hearing requests. We reduced the pending level nine consecutive months and not only beat our budgeted goal of 754,600, but also our most optimistic goal of 725,000, ending the year with 722,822 hearings pending. Moreover, we nearly eliminated our oldest cases. In FY 2009, we identified and targeted 166,838 cases that were 850 days old or more. Through the end of the fiscal year, we processed 166,610 of these cases, nearly 100%. We credit much of our ability to work down the backlog during FY 2009 to the support and additional funding from Congress this year, which allowed us to hire additional administrative law judges (ALJ) and staff. Timely, adequate, and sustained funding is critical to our ability to continue our progress and provide better service to the public. Thankfully, we continue to receive the support of Congress. In fact, our successes this year were publicly noted by several Members of Congress. Our Plan to Eliminate the Hearings Backlog remains the driving force behind our success. We reached a number of milestones with many of the initiatives under the Plan and added new initiatives to carry us into FY 2010. We not only improved service at the national level, we made great strides at the State level through strategic hiring and training and thoughtful workload management. Line Graph: Hearings Pending: Actual vs. Budgeted FY 2009 We started FY 2009 with 760,813 pending hearings. In April, we reached the tipping point, where the actual closing pending dropped below the opening pending. At the end of September, the pending was 722,822 cases, a drop of 37,991 cases for the year. We were budgeted to end the year with 754,600 cases pending. “Social Security’s disability hearings backlog has skyrocketed in recent years due to a lack of resources...We are very pleased that, due to the increased commitment from Congress and the concerted efforts of the Social Security Administration and its hard-working staff, we have finally turned the corner; the backlog is decreasing for the first time in nearly a decade.” —Representative John Tanner, Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security HIGHLIGHTS • We hired 10 ALJs and 31 support staff in Mississippi. • In FY 2009, we expanded the new standardized electronic business process to the Hattiesburg and Tupelo Hearing Offices. • We installed additional video hearing equipment in the Hattiesburg, Jackson, and Tupelo Hearing Offices, and in the McComb Permanent Remote Site. • At the beginning of FY 2009, we identified all Mississippi cases that would be 850 days old or more by the end of the fiscal year. Through September, we cleared 4,951 or 100% of these cases. • Under the Service Area Realignment and Permanent Case Transfer Plan implemented in FY 2008, we continued to transfer Mississippi cases to hearing offices in other regions with lower receipt and lower pending levels. • In FY 2009, we eliminated the need to operate from temporary remote sites by coordinating the use of other space to hold hearings in the Clarksdale and Olive Branch Field Offices. • In FY 2010 or 2011, we will collocate new permanent remote sites with the Clarksdale, Olive Branch, and Grenada Field Offices. We will also collocate the McCombs Permanent Remote Site with the field office. Chart 1: Bar Graph Request for Hearing Receipts for the Hearing Office(s) in the State of Mississippi. In FY 2007, hearings receipts by quarter were 2,911 in the 1st quarter; 3,169 in the 2nd quarter; 2,662 in the 3rd quarter and 3,079 in the 4th quarter. In FY 2008, hearings receipts by quarter were 2,802 in the 1st quarter; 3,718 in the 2nd quarter; 2,964 in the 3rd quarter and 2,639 in the 4th quarter. In FY 2009, hearings receipts by quarter were 2,627 in the 1st quarter; 2,941 in the 2nd quarter; 3,110 in the 3rd quarter and 2,989 in the 4th quarter. Chart 2: Bar Graph for Hearing Decisions for the Hearing Office(s) in the State of Mississippi. In FY 2007, hearings decisions by quarter were 2,441 in the 1st quarter; 2,449 in the 2nd quarter; 2,747 in the 3rd quarter and 2,906 in the 4th quarter. In FY 2008, hearings decisions by quarter were 2,646 in the 1st quarter; 3,021 in the 2nd quarter; 3,140 in the 3rd quarter and 3,438 in the 4th quarter. In FY 2009, hearings decisions by quarter were 3,281 in the 1st quarter; 3,817 in the 2nd quarter; 3,753 in the 3rd quarter and 3,832 in the 4th quarter. Chart 3: Bar Graph Average Days to Process a Request for Hearing for the Hearing Office(s) in the State of Mississippi. In FY 2007, the average days to process a request for hearing by quarter were 498 in the 1st quarter; 505 in the 2nd quarter; 526 in the 3rd quarter and 482 in the 4th quarter. In FY 2008, the average days to process a request for hearing by quarter were 490 in the 1st quarter; 553 in the 2nd quarter; 594 in the 3rd quarter and 590 in the 4th quarter. In FY 2009, the average days to process a request for hearing by quarter were 531 in the 1st quarter; 551 in the 2nd quarter; 572 in the 3rd quarter and 506 in the 4th quarter. Chart 4: Bar Graph Pending Cases for the Hearing Office(s) in the State of Mississippi. In FY 2007, the number of pending cases by quarter was 16,346 in the 1st quarter; 17,066 in the 2nd quarter; 16,981 in the 3rd quarter and 17,154 in the 4th quarter. In FY 2008, the number of pending cases by quarter was 17,310 in the 1st quarter; 18,007 in the 2nd quarter; 17,831 in the 3rd quarter and 17,032 in the 4th quarter. In FY 2009, the number of pending cases by quarter was 16,378 in the 1st quarter; 15,502 in the 2nd quarter; 14,859 in the 3rd quarter and 14,016 in the 4th quarter. “SSA has taken a good first step in its effort to reduce the huge number of backlogs of disability hearings. I am pleased with this progress … and though much work remains to be done, I commend the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review and other offices at SSA for their hard work and commitment to this important goal.” —Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee National Highlights Service Delivery Successes FY 2009 was a remarkable year for the Social Security hearing process. This was the most productive year in over a decade. Aside from the outstanding success of reducing the disability backlog nine consecutive months and nearly eliminating all cases that were 850 days or older, we surpassed other significant goals. Average Processing Time Despite targeting the oldest cases, which typically increases average processing time, we reduced the time it takes to issue a hearing decision. We ended FY 2009 with an average national processing time of 491 days, 21 days better than when we started our initiative in FY 2007. This is also 25 days faster than the FY 2009 target of 516 days. Hearings Processed In FY 2009, the increase in initial claims we projected due to the economic downturn was greater than expected. Fortunately, we did not receive an equivalent increase in hearing requests. Increased funding for critical hiring and the diligence of the agency’s employees, helped us process more cases in FY 2009 than in recent years. We processed 660,842 cases, nearly 14,000 more than the target of 647,200. Bar Graph with Trend Line: National Average Processing Time, Improved by 21 days Since FY 2007 In FY 2007, the average processing time was 512 days. In FY 2008, the average processing time was 514 days. In FY 2009, the average processing time was 491 days, a decrease of 21 days since FY 2007. Hiring and Training • Hired 147 ALJs and over 1,000 support staff. • Trained approximately 2,000 employees between March and September 2009. • Opened a state-of-the-art training facility in Falls Church, Virginia in early Fall 2009. Electronic Initiatives • Conducted 86,320 video hearings - over 30,000 more than in FY 2008. • Expanded the volume of video hearing equipment including desktop video units. • Implemented the Representative Video Project that allows claimant representatives to hold video hearings using their own equipment. • Implemented Centralized Printing and Mailing of hearing notices – issued over 2 million documents. New Offices • Opened new National Hearing Centers (NHC) in Albuquerque, Baltimore, and Chicago. • Worked with the General Services Administration in preparation for opening new offices in FYs 2010 and 2011. Bar Graph with Trend Line: Total Hearing Requests Processed, Increased 21% Since FY 2007 In FY 2007, 547,951 hearing requests were processed. In FY 2008, 575,380 hearing requests were processed. In FY 2009, 660,842 hearing requests were processed, an increase of 21% since FY 2007. FY 2010 and Beyond In FY 2010, we will build upon our accomplishments in FY 2009. Adequate funding is essential to help us make permanent improvements that will allow for timely and quality service to the American public, well into the future. We expect to receive approximately 86,000 more hearing requests in FY 2010 than in FY 2009. To address these added workloads, we will continue to operate under the Plan to Eliminate the Hearings Backlog and expand upon the initiatives under the Plan. We will also hire additional ALJs and support staff and open more offices. To hire more ALJs in a timely manner, we must have an updated list of eligible candidates. We are pleased that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) reopened the ALJ examination to invite new candidates. We estimate that it will take six months from the time OPM closes the announcement to receive a new ALJ register. Special Initiatives We continue to seek creative and productive ways to bring down the disability backlog and, thus, improve service to the American people. Our goal is not only to work down the disability backlog but also to improve the disability process. As such, we will standardize and strive to make seamless our business process, pursue avenues for issuing decisions earlier in the process, and focus on ways to improve the quality of the decisions we issue. Business Process • Expand to all hearing offices a standardized electronic business process designed to improve efficiency. • Partner with the State Disability Determination Services (DDS) to establish a more seamless disability process. Issue Decisions Earlier • Expand our current screening initiative to identify additional fully-favorable on-the-record decisions (eliminating the need for a hearing). • Establish an electronic process to identify cases that are ready for a hearing. • Expand our capacity to write hearing decisions by temporarily assigning additional staff to help write fully-favorable decisions. Quality Initiatives • Expand the Appeals Council’s quality assurance and feedback role for ALJ decisions. • Establish quality review positions in the regional offices of the hearing operation. Electronic Initiatives • Appointed Representative Suite of Services - We will implement the Appointed Representative Suite of Services to allow claimant representatives to access their clients’ electronic files. • Electronic Hearings (eHearings) - Part of our effort to create a seamless disability process, eHearings incorporates the best functionality of the DDS case analysis tool and the hearing level decision writing tool to create an integrated, web-based tool for applying the 5-step sequential evaluation process. • Health Information Technology (HIT) - In addition to other agency HIT efforts, we will launch a demonstration project in a hearing office to explore how HIT can assist in the hearing process. • Disability Adjudication Reporting and Evaluation System (DARES) - We will implement a management oversight tool to assess the overall “health” of the backlog reduction initiatives and keep the initiatives on track. Hiring and Space • Hire 226 ALJs and 950 support staff • Open 14 new hearing offices • Open new NHC and centralized unit in St. Louis • Open centralized unit in McLean, Virginia “For over a decade, the Social Security Administration’s backlog in disability claims was far too high and growing, so I commend the agency for reducing this number. For those living with disabilities, waiting for benefits is a long, difficult process ... I expect the SSA to continue to aggressively tackle this problem in order to eliminate this backlog completely, and will continue my work to ensure that the agency has the resources in order to do so.” —Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Social Security Benefits America FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE – www.socialsecurity.gov