New story in Dallas Weekly

[zero]

dallasweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=875&Itemid=1

Some nuggets:
SSA hired 190 ALJs last year but pulled 48 existing ALJs to train them.

SSA has plans to expand the NHC in Falls Church, VA as well as open additional centers in Albuquerque and Chicago. In addition, the agency is working with the General Services Administration to establish new hearing offices in the most backlogged states: Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio.

Implemented procedures to allow attorney adjudicators to issue fully-favorable decisions -- over 24,000 decisions issued;

Quoting Astrue: "the effects of an extended continuing resolution are clearly slowing our progress. We simply cannot address the challenges we face without adequate and timely funding. Many things we need to do, such as increase support staff and add new hearing offices, will not happen if Congress fails to pass an adequate appropriations bill by March."

[nonamouse]

The reason for the seemingly high number of ALJs teaching at the training was that each week of training was taught by a separate team in each of 2 classrooms. This format allowed the trainers to be away from their home office only one week during each month-long training session. The teams taught the same topics/week for each "judge school." However, my understanding was that some of the trainers may not have taught at all sessions due to conflicts in their schedule.

The rooms had a divider that could be opened for certain events such as the visit from the COSS and the lectures from medical specialists. However, most of the time 1/2 of the total number of trainees was being taught by 1-3 ALJs in their respective 1/2 of the divided room or in smaller groups sent to other locations in the building.

[judicature]

Having been at the 2008 training, the only thing I would add to what nonamouse has said is that one ALJ trainer was designated to be present for all 4 weeks of each training segment,apparently for continuity with the students. I believe that it was a different ALJ, however, for each of the 4 week training classes.