In Fort Wayne, as of February 1, 2011, average processing time had fallen to 411 days. Evansville is at 318 days, and the recently opened Valparaiso office is at 285 days.

If you check in the archives of this site  for the other postings for processing time, you will be able to see the other rankings for past times. Indianapolis has improved so that it no longer hovers in last or next to last place, and it has not for many months now. Be sure you check out the Archives for postings on many different issues connected to a Social Security Disability claim or you are not getting the full benefit from this site!

When you apply for Social Security Disability, you are stating that you cannot do an 8 hour a day job 5 days a week. If you have posted your resume seeking work, some might conclude that you really think you can work. The old adage “you cannot have your cake and eat it too” comes to mind. Some will conclude that you really are not disabled and you are only using the Social Security Disability system to provide you a means of support while you are looking for work. After all, if you cannot work, why would you be posting your resume seeking work?

Perhaps you posted a resume on line shortly before you became disabled. Have you forgotten about it? Did you remember to remove it from the site when you became unable to work? Even if you did, can it still be retrieved from the web?

Much has also been made in the news media about potential employers looking at social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace to see what they can learn. If someone might research you, what might they learn about you at these sites? If you participate in an online chat group, how might your comments be misconstrued? Also, if you are posting all the time, what might that say about your computer skills and your ability to concentrate? Do not assume that the postings are private because it is a disease support group web site. Who knows, your ALJ may actually belong to the support group and be reading about you.

There used to be an ALJ in Indianapolis that would state that he got on the SSA system the day before the hearing and personally ran the earnings records to see what it showed. He would then ask the claimant pointed questions about the latest findings. You need to be prepared to answer the ALJ’s questions about what the internet reveals about you. You may hear the ALJ begin a question with “I see on the web that…..”

The bad news is that the wait is still over two years long from the Request for Hearing. It is important that you keep seeing your doctor during your long wait so that your medical condition will be documented.

Most people tell me that they have heard that ‘everyone gets turned down twice,’ but they always think it will not happen to them. With odds like these, year after year, you have to know the rules . You need to know when to hire an attorney to represent you.

“SSA is responsible for the Nation’s two primary Federal disability programs: Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. Over the last 5 years, our disability workloads have grown significantly, and this trend will accelerate as baby boomers reach their most disability-prone years. We cannot lose sight of the fact that this longer-term increase in disability claims is coming, regardless of when the American economy begins to recover.

The time is now, despite the challenges of the economic downturn and the hearings backlog, to modernize the disability process to avoid future backlogs and provide applicants with speedy decisions. Technological improvements alone cannot remedy the issues in the disability process. We must revise the policy and medical guidance at the core of the program to align with medical technology and knowledge. A modernized disability process will help us to better serve the public and fulfill our obligation to provide a fair process to the American people. The following initiatives form the core of our disability modernization program in FY 2010:

Improve Occupational Information for Making Disability Determinations and Decisions

SSA is working on the development of a new occupational information system that will replace the out-of-date Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) used in SSA’s disability determination process. The DOT was originally created by the Department of Labor (DOL) and has become a cornerstone of our disability policy. We rely on the descriptions of work in the DOT to determine whether individuals can do their usual work or any other work in the U.S. economy. However, DOL has not updated the DOT since 1991 and has no plans to do so. DOL’s replacement for the DOT, O*NET, does not serve SSA’s purposes. It is critical that we base disability determinations on current job information.

SSA awarded contracts in 2008 for the use and evaluation of updated occupational information. In December 2008, Commissioner Astrue established the Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel to provide advice and recommendations on plans to replace the DOT. The panel advises SSA on the creation of an occupational information system for disability programs and adjudicative needs. Specifically, the panel will advise on medical and vocational analysis, occupational analysis, data collection, use of occupational information, and other areas. The panel had its first meeting in February 2009 and has three more meetings scheduled this year.

SSA will continue its efforts to replace the DOT in FY 2010, when the agency will begin identifying the physical and mental abilities and skill levels that occupations require, developing the means of gathering occupational information, and researching assessment of residual functional capacity.

Update Medical Listings

SSA uses the Listings of Impairments to describe impairments considered severe enough to prevent an individual from working and earning above a defined level. The listings are a critical factor in our disability determination process; however, we have not updated some listings in decades. We are working to expand the listings to include rare disease and permanently disabling conditions. We are also working to update all of our existing listings by the end of FY 2010. We have also developed a long-term schedule to ensure that in the future we update all listings, as needed, but at least every 5-7 years. Updated listings allow disability examiners and SSA adjudicators to identify eligible applicants early in the disability determination process and result in improved disability decisions.”

All of this sounds good in the abstract. However, ONET was going to replace the DOT for disability hearings until it was determined it would not actually work in a disability hearing. Listings have been updated and some old listings have been completely removed because the listing was supposed to be covered by the new listing; however, the ALJ’s and Medical Experts do not always understand this. SAA has rolled out other plans that were supposed to help but only made things worse. Time will tell if these “improvements” actually improve things in the real world.