Message from Deputy Commissioner Sklar
Nov 17, 2014 14:10:04 GMT -5
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Post by ssaer on Nov 17, 2014 14:10:04 GMT -5
ODAR Deputy Commissioner Glenn Sklar just released this e-mail to the ALJ corps. It contains information about future hiring and other matters that may be of interest to the participants on this discussion board:
As we begin another fiscal year (FY), I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect on our accomplishments in FY 2014 and to outline our priorities for FY 2015.
Last year, we implemented our new approach to goals to provide a more comprehensive look at the many activities necessary to issue a hearing decision. This multi-dimensional framework helps ensure that we timely schedule and hear cases, conduct full and fair hearings, issue complete decision writing instructions, and give and accept feedback so that we issue policy-compliant, legally-sufficient hearing decisions or dismissals.
Thank you for embracing the new approach to goals. Nationally, we exceeded the target for the decisional agree rate, which is a proxy measure for quality. We were also very close to meeting the target for our dismissal agree rate. Once again, you focused attention on the claimants who have waited the longest – you handled over 97% of cases that would have been 649 days or older by the end of the year. We did not meet our disposition goal, but factors like the inability to hire a sufficient number of new ALJs affected our ability to provide more timely service to the American public. We were able to hire 71 new ALJs in FY 2014 and plan to hire 250 new ALJs in FY 2015, who will greatly improve our hearing capacity once they are trained and handling cases.
This year, we will continue to reinforce the importance of balancing quality and timely work. We have an important job that makes a huge difference in the lives of our claimants. Despite your outstanding efforts in FY 2014, we still have over one million people awaiting a decision. It is a daunting task, but I know that together we will work through these cases and that additional new hires will certainly help. We must remain focused on doing our part so that we can timely hold full and fair hearings and issue legally sufficient decisions and orders. Please keep our hearing rooms at full capacity and find creative ways to maximize the use of our office space so that we can accommodate our new ALJ hires. If you have ideas that you think will improve the efficiency or quality of our work, please continue to share them at ^ODAR ODC Employee Think Tank.
We have also invested resources in the Office of Appellate Operations (OAO), which met its request for review, timeliness, and aged case goals while simultaneously increasing important quality oversight work. Consistency and policy compliance are fundamental elements of quality decisions, and I thank OAO employees for the important work in this area in addition to helping claimants who have appealed their decisions.
While we are relieved to have a continuing resolution through mid-December, the lack of a final budget makes it very difficult to plan strategically. Fortunately, we have been able to retain overtime for decision writing, helping us work down the backlog of cases awaiting draft decisions.
We continue to look for ways to improve the service we provide and operate more efficiently and effectively. This FY we will realign some offices to help balance regional workloads. We will be realigning offices in West Virginia (currently in Region 3) and Kentucky (currently in Region 4) to Region 7. While the dates are flexible, as we work through the details with the regions, we plan to realign the offices in West Virginia (Charleston, Huntington, and Morgantown) in January 2015 and the offices in Kentucky (Lexington, Louisville, Middlesboro and Paducah) in April 2015. We will keep you informed of our progress and notify you when the realignment is complete.
ODAR remains a progressive organization. As Jim and I recently discussed in our video on demand “Another Chat with Glenn and Jim,” technology provides opportunity. Last year, we expanded the use of our Virtual Private Network (VPN) to make telework more efficient and improve protection of Personally Identifiable Information. Nearly one-fifth of ODAR is teleworking. This year, the rollout of single device laptops to replace desktop computers will make further expansion of telework possible.
Last year our “See Something, Say Something” campaign was a huge success, and we continue to receive credible employee referrals. These reports have resulted in numerous referrals to the Office of the Inspector General. I want to thank those of you who have brought concerns forward – Please continue to help us maintain the public’s trust in our programs and continue to report suspect activity.
Every SSA employee has an obligation to the American public to perform his or her job well – to work efficiently and to do a quality job. FY 2014 was a challenging year, and FY 2015 will continue to challenge us. I am confident that you will continue to uphold our values and will remain committed to quality, timely service. Thank you!
Glenn
As we begin another fiscal year (FY), I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect on our accomplishments in FY 2014 and to outline our priorities for FY 2015.
Last year, we implemented our new approach to goals to provide a more comprehensive look at the many activities necessary to issue a hearing decision. This multi-dimensional framework helps ensure that we timely schedule and hear cases, conduct full and fair hearings, issue complete decision writing instructions, and give and accept feedback so that we issue policy-compliant, legally-sufficient hearing decisions or dismissals.
Thank you for embracing the new approach to goals. Nationally, we exceeded the target for the decisional agree rate, which is a proxy measure for quality. We were also very close to meeting the target for our dismissal agree rate. Once again, you focused attention on the claimants who have waited the longest – you handled over 97% of cases that would have been 649 days or older by the end of the year. We did not meet our disposition goal, but factors like the inability to hire a sufficient number of new ALJs affected our ability to provide more timely service to the American public. We were able to hire 71 new ALJs in FY 2014 and plan to hire 250 new ALJs in FY 2015, who will greatly improve our hearing capacity once they are trained and handling cases.
This year, we will continue to reinforce the importance of balancing quality and timely work. We have an important job that makes a huge difference in the lives of our claimants. Despite your outstanding efforts in FY 2014, we still have over one million people awaiting a decision. It is a daunting task, but I know that together we will work through these cases and that additional new hires will certainly help. We must remain focused on doing our part so that we can timely hold full and fair hearings and issue legally sufficient decisions and orders. Please keep our hearing rooms at full capacity and find creative ways to maximize the use of our office space so that we can accommodate our new ALJ hires. If you have ideas that you think will improve the efficiency or quality of our work, please continue to share them at ^ODAR ODC Employee Think Tank.
We have also invested resources in the Office of Appellate Operations (OAO), which met its request for review, timeliness, and aged case goals while simultaneously increasing important quality oversight work. Consistency and policy compliance are fundamental elements of quality decisions, and I thank OAO employees for the important work in this area in addition to helping claimants who have appealed their decisions.
While we are relieved to have a continuing resolution through mid-December, the lack of a final budget makes it very difficult to plan strategically. Fortunately, we have been able to retain overtime for decision writing, helping us work down the backlog of cases awaiting draft decisions.
We continue to look for ways to improve the service we provide and operate more efficiently and effectively. This FY we will realign some offices to help balance regional workloads. We will be realigning offices in West Virginia (currently in Region 3) and Kentucky (currently in Region 4) to Region 7. While the dates are flexible, as we work through the details with the regions, we plan to realign the offices in West Virginia (Charleston, Huntington, and Morgantown) in January 2015 and the offices in Kentucky (Lexington, Louisville, Middlesboro and Paducah) in April 2015. We will keep you informed of our progress and notify you when the realignment is complete.
ODAR remains a progressive organization. As Jim and I recently discussed in our video on demand “Another Chat with Glenn and Jim,” technology provides opportunity. Last year, we expanded the use of our Virtual Private Network (VPN) to make telework more efficient and improve protection of Personally Identifiable Information. Nearly one-fifth of ODAR is teleworking. This year, the rollout of single device laptops to replace desktop computers will make further expansion of telework possible.
Last year our “See Something, Say Something” campaign was a huge success, and we continue to receive credible employee referrals. These reports have resulted in numerous referrals to the Office of the Inspector General. I want to thank those of you who have brought concerns forward – Please continue to help us maintain the public’s trust in our programs and continue to report suspect activity.
Every SSA employee has an obligation to the American public to perform his or her job well – to work efficiently and to do a quality job. FY 2014 was a challenging year, and FY 2015 will continue to challenge us. I am confident that you will continue to uphold our values and will remain committed to quality, timely service. Thank you!
Glenn