The Board believes SSA should pay much closer attention to measuring the service needs of SSI recipients and using this data to improve the service it provides. Many of the agency’s employees are uncomfortable with the fact that they are unable to provide needy aged and disabled individuals with an appropriate level of service. They believe waiting times are often too long, interviewers are too pressed for time to provide the quality assistance needed to file a claim, and determining benefit eligibility takes too long.
Improvements in quality cannot rest only or even primarily on quality assurance and investigations of fraud and abuse, as important as these activities are. Quality needs to be built into work processes from the beginning, not just measured at the end. Downsizing and the accompanying reduction in the number of managers and supervisors have led to a decline in the amount of review, training, and mentoring in the field. Review, training, and mentoring will be increasingly important as SSA hires many new employees to replace the experienced employees who will soon be retiring.
The Statement is included in SSA’s 2000 Annual Report on the SSI Program. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 gives Board members the opportunity, individually or jointly, to include their views on SSI in SSA’s annual report to the President and Congress on the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. The Board or one of its members has submitted a statement every year since 1998, except for 2024 due to the lack of a quorum.