The Role of Workforce Planning in Reorienting SSA’s Disability

Determination Process

Carol Dawn Petersen, Assistant DirectorEducation, Workforce and Income Security

U.S. General Accounting Office

Presented at the Disability Research Institute’s 2004 Symposium, SSA Disability Programs: Facilitating Employment, March 16, 2004, Washington, D.C.

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Focus on human capital issues is key to reorienting disability decision making

• Over 6500 disability examiners are employed in federally funded, state run DDSs

• Examiners review medical and vocational evidence and help decide eligibility for benefits

• Examiner’s role is likely to increase in the future

• SSA’s success at improving and reorienting the decision making process will depend greatly on having DDS staff with:

• The right skill mixes• The right areas of expertise

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DDSs face 3 key challenges in retaining examiners and enhancing their expertise

• High turnover

• Recruiting and hiring difficulties

• Gaps in key knowledge and skill areas

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DDSs face high turnover

Turnover Rates for Various Groups of Employees

Fiscal Year DDS Examiners

VBA Examiners

SSA Employees

All Federal Employees

2000 15% 5% 6% 8%

2001 14 6 5 7

2002 12 7 5 7

Average 13 6 5 7

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DDSs face recruiting and hiring difficulties

• More than 3/4s of all DDS directors reported difficulties in recruiting and hiring• Of these directors, more than 3/4s reported

that such difficulties contributed to increases in: • claims-processing times, • examiner caseload levels, • backlogs, and • turnover

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DDSs face gaps in key knowledge and skill areas

• Nearly 1/2 of all DDS directors said that at least 1/4 of their examiners need additional training in areas critical to disability decision-making

• Over 1/2 of all DDS directors cited factors related to high workload levels as obstacles to examiners receiving additional training

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Workforce planning at the DDSs

• Most DDSs do not conduct long-term, comprehensive workforce planning

• But of those that do, most DDS plans lack key workforce planning strategies

• DDS directors cited numerous obstacles to long-term workforce planning

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Workforce planning at SSA

• SSA’s workforce efforts have not sufficiently addressed current and future DDS human capital challenges

• SSA planning documents do not include a strategic workforce plan that addresses current and future DDS human capital needs

• SSA has not used its authority to establish uniform human capital standards, such as minimum qualifications for examiners

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Percentage of DDSs by type of minimum education requirement for new examiner hires

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Conclusions

• SSA needs a workforce plan to ensure that: • disability decisions are made accurately,

consistently, and in a timely manner • its workforce has the skills needed to identify and

enhance claimants’ productive capacities • Implementing a nationwide strategic workforce plan

for the DDSs will not be easy • SSA has a fiduciary responsibility to take a leadership

role in planning to address both the immediate and future workforce needs in the DDSs

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Recommendations

• While acknowledging the difficulties, GAO recommends that SSA:

• (1) develop a nationwide strategic workforce plan that addresses present and future DDS workforce challenges

• (2) establish uniform minimum qualifications for examiners

• (3) work with DDSs to close gaps between current and required examiner skills

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For more information

• SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: Strategic Workforce Planning Needed to Address Human Capital Challenges Facing the Disability Determination Services, GAO-04-121, (Washington, D.C.: January 27, 2004)

• Download copies from our website, www.gao.gov

• The author acknowledges and is grateful for the contributions to this presentation made by her colleague, Barbara H. Bordelon.