Details Coming Soon FIRST QUARTER 2020
IN THIS ISSUE:
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A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT
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COSS LETTER
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SSA PHONE SCAM ACTIVITIES FACT SHEET
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FRAUD ADVISORY FAKED DOCS
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QUALIFICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY VOCATIONAL EXPERTS
12
SSA INFOGRAPHIC
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COVID-19 UPDATES FROM SSA
CONTENTS
NADR NEWSLETTER FIRST QUARTER 2020
IN THIS ISSUE 3
A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT: GREG CATES
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COSS LETTER
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SSA PHONE SCAM ACTIVITIES FACT SHEET
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FRAUD ADVISORY FAKED DOCS
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QUALIDICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY VOCATIONAL EXPERTS
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SSA INFOGRAPHICS
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COVID-19 UPDATES FROM SSA
A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT the NADR leadership is doing everything possible to keep you informed on how to best meet the current situation. We are talking with SSA leadership on a regular basis and make every attempt to get the content of the conversations out to you as soon as possible. The SSA leadership appears to have a genuine interest in meeting the needs of the claimants. The problems occur when the SSA leadership instructions are ignored or not received by Field Offices or Hearing Offices. (We have requested that SSA Directors provide written instructions for the interim procedures to reduce confusion and errors.) That increases our challenge level and leads to frustration for us and especially for our claimants. It’s not easy to be patient in stressful times, but please try. It is my hope that by the time we adapt to a new manner of appearance (mostly telephonic) that the challenge has abated and we can get back to a ‘normal’ routine. Keep in mind that I’ve always felt that ‘normal’ is a concept that occurs only in text books and dictionaries.
Greetings NADR colleaguesI must be getting old; I could have sworn that I had already written a 1st quarter message and then it showed up on my task list this morning. Actually, I did write the message but it waxed on about looking forward to Puerto Rico and other issues that seem like pleasant musings now. Things happen fast. I have been told from childhood that you actually have very little control over the events in your life and I’m still not fond of the reality reminders. So, for now, no Puerto Rico and no really good news. The reality and the bottom line are that we will survive as an organization to continue to advocate on the behalf of our clients and provide support and education for our members. I posted to the Forum just after our Board made the wise decision to cancel our meeting that each and every NADR member owes a huge debt of gratitude to the Board, our administrator, Eva Sirman and our Social Media Director, Julie Phelps. Each of these folks devoted (keep in mind that the Board members are volunteers) an extraordinary amount of time to assess the impact of how having or cancelling the Conference would affect the safety and well being of our members and ultimately their clients. Although this was a painful decision, I am now (03/19/2020, 3:25PM CDT) more confident than ever that the correct decision was made. I may get in trouble for putting this in writing, but Eva successfully negotiated dates for a Puerto Rico conference in 2022 (details at a later date). The good news for me is that I will be an observer by that point in time and will hopefully enjoy the trip.
The current state of affairs calls for patience, understanding and caring. Please pursue these three objectives until we can meet together again. Stay well, friends. Greg
Each of us in this profession accepts challenges willingly and most at times with enthusiasm. Currently, we are being challenged beyond anyone’s expectations. I can assure you that NADR NEWS
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SOCIAL SECURITY The Commissioner January 16, 2020
Dear Advocate: As Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), I am writing to you today about a serious and increasingly pervasive problem—Social Security phone scams. I am deeply troubled by these scams. They harm vulnerable Americans and erode public trust in Social Security. Our programs require the public to interact with us, and we cannot afford to have fraud affect that communication. Accordingly, we are working aggressively with SSA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Federal Trade Commission to curb these scams and disrupt their success. Raising public awareness is foundational to our efforts. We have implemented a comprehensive education campaign to inform the public about these scams, assure them that our employees will never threaten them, and advise them to hang up and notify the OIG if they receive a scam call. We are also working closely with telephone carriers to help prevent scam calls from reaching the public, and have activated a voice verification option for our scheduled callback feature to help callers recognize when a call is really coming from SSA. For more information about our work to fight back against these con artists, please see the enclosed fact sheet. We need your help. We are requesting that you join our effort to get the word out through your powerful communication tools. To make helping us reach your clients easier, we are enclosing an article you can use to educate the public and arm them with information to protect themselves. We hope this information will help protect your clients. If you have other ideas about how we can stop these scams or if you need further information, your staff may contact Stephen McGraw, Director, Office of Strategic & Digital Communications, at (410) 965-4013. Sincerely,
Andrew Saul Commissioner Enclosure
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION NADR NEWS
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BALTIMORE, MD 21235-0001 FIRST QUARTER 2020
SSA PHONE SCAM ACTIVITES FACT SHEET Fact Sheet: Social Security Phone Scam Education and Prevention Activities Help SSA Help Your Clients The Social Security Administration is alarmed by the volume and success of scam calls, and we are determined to do what we can to protect Americans. Public awareness is key. We are working to educate people how to recognize a scam call, end the call, and report it to our Office of the Inspector General (OIG). We are asking advocates to help get the word out. We are providing an educational article with information for you to share with your clients as well as providing this fact sheet to help your staff handle client inquiries about these scams. We welcome any other ideas you have to help us protect Americans from these scammers. Overall Message Scammers play on emotion—generally fear—to get people to act without thinking. If a caller states there is a problem with a person’s Social Security Number or account: 1. HANG UP! 2. DO NOT provide the caller with money — cash, gift card, wire transfers, or pre-paid debit cards — or personal information. 3. REPORT IT at oig.ssa.gov What SSA Is Doing to Help We have taken a number of actions to date. We:
Collaborated with major phone carriers to block many calls that attempt to spoof our tollfree phone numbers from ever reaching the public; Created an online reporting form for the public to report suspicious calls to OIG; Distributed television and radio public service announcements throughout the country, issued a national press release, and posted to social media to warn the public; Collaborated with OIG to display a video in 2,100 Walmart stores nationwide; Updated our 1-800 and field office number messages with information about the scams; Collaborated with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to help educate consumers how to avoid Social Security scams; and Shared articles and guidance with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities, and the Senior Corps, as well as Social Security advocates, third-party groups and organizations. Provided all Members of Congress with similar package to share with their constituents.
We are not done yet. We will:
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Continue to support the online reporting form so OIG can analyze scam trends and work to terminate service for scammers’ originating and call-back numbers; Produce new television and radio public service announcements, and explore radio campaigns on nationally syndicated talk shows and television appearances on highly watched morning show programs; and, Expand our work with external groups and agencies—AARP and other organizations representing seniors, representative payee organizations, motor vehicle administrations, the United States Postal Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and others.
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FRUAD ADVISORY
Fraud Advisory FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 8, 2020 https://oig.ssa.gov
Inspector General Warns Public About New Twist to Social Security Phone Scams The Inspector General of Social Security, Gail S. Ennis, is warning the public that telephone scammers may send faked documents by email to convince victims to comply with their demands. The Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has received reports of victims who received emails with attached letters and reports that appeared to be from Social Security or Social Security OIG. The letters may use official letterhead and government “jargon” to convince victims they are legitimate; they may also contain misspellings and grammar mistakes. This is the latest variation on Social Security phone scams, which continue to be widespread throughout the United States. Using robocalls or live callers, fraudsters pretend to be government employees and claim there is identity theft or another problem with one’s Social Security number, account, or benefits. They may threaten arrest or other legal action, or may offer to increase benefits, protect assets, or resolve identity theft. They often demand payment via retail gift card, cash, wire transfer, internet currency such as Bitcoin, or pre-paid debit card. Inspector General Ennis urges continued vigilance against all types of phone scams no matter what “proof” callers may offer. As we continue to increase public awareness of phone scams, criminals will come up with new ways to convince people of their legitimacy. Social Security will never: threaten you with arrest or other legal action unless you immediately pay a fine or fee; promise a benefit increase or other assistance in exchange for payment; require payment by retail gift card, cash, wire transfer, internet currency, or prepaid debit card; or send official letters or reports containing personally identifiable information via email. If there is ever a problem with your Social Security number or record, in most cases Social Security will mail you a letter. If you do need to submit payments to Social Security, the agency will send a letter with instructions and payment options. You should never pay a government fee or fine using retail gift cards, cash, internet currency, wire transfers, or pre-paid debit cards. The scammers ask for payment this way because it is very difficult to trace and recover. If you receive a call or email that you believe to be suspicious, about a problem with your Social Security number or account, hang up or do not respond. We encourage the public to report Social Security phone scams using our dedicated online form, at https://oig.ssa.gov. Please share this information with your friends and family, to help spread awareness about phone scams. For more information, please visit https://oig.ssa.gov/scam. Members of the press may make inquiries to Social Security OIG at (410) 965-2671.
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QUALIFICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY VOCATIONAL EXPERTS Qualifications for Social Security Vocational Experts: What’s new?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) issued a new solicitation for vocational experts on 11/8/2019. This solicitation includes new requirements for education and experience in order to assure the quality of SSVE testimony in disability hearings. Professional representatives should familiarize themselves with the new requirements that take effect on April 1, 2020 and confirm that the SSVE participating in their claimants’ hearings meet those qualifications. These qualifications are similar to those written in the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP) White Paper. The White Paper can be found here: https://cdn.ymaws.com/rehabpro.org/resource/resmgr/docs/ssve/IARP_SSVE_White_Paper_4_2 5_1.pdf There are two categories of qualifications, one being those who met the minimum qualifications at time of response to the solicitation and those who are in the transitional (i.e. grandfather) period. The qualifications apply to not only the BPA but also to anyone that may work under the BPA holder’s contract (subcontractors). The BPA holder is required to submit documentation of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) or American Board of Vocational Experts (ABVE) certification at least 30 days in advance of the first hearing the new vocational expert will testify in. Vocational experts are also required to submit documentation of certification renewal on an ongoing basis.
SSA, in the Statement of Work document, indicated that the areas of expertise must include current knowledge of working conditions and physical and mental demands of various occupations; transferability of skills; knowledge of the existence and numbers of jobs at all
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QUALIFICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY VOCATIONAL EXPERTS (CONTINUED) exertional levels in the national economy; and involvement in or knowledge of placing individuals with disabilities into jobs. With the above in mind, SSA issued the following qualifications to provide vocational expert services: “To ensure all individuals serving as a VE have the knowledge, skills and ability to provide expert opinions, all VEs must meet and maintain all of the following requirements: 1. At least five years of direct experience providing vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities, 2. Current national certification as either a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC), or National certification as a Fellow or Diplomate by the American Board of Vocational Experts (ABVE), and 3. Meet the continuing educational requirements of their national certifications from either the CRCC or ABVE.” The first requirement is five years of direct experience providing vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities. Vocational rehabilitation services are an array of services that are designed to assist individuals with disabilities to obtain and/or maintain a job. Services can include vocational assessment to determine a person with a disability’s ability to work, assistance with maintaining a job after an injury or disability, provision of funds to pay for educational or vocational training to a person with a disability, job placement and development, advocacy and assistance with accommodations. In simple speak, a person who recently graduated from a master’s program but has little actual work experience does not meet this requirement. NADR NEWS
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QUALIFICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY VOCATIONAL EXPERTS (CONTINUED) The second requirement relates to national certification. An individual who is and will provide expert testimony in the SSA system must have either the CRC or ABVE F or D certification. Both certifications require a Master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation or related discipline to obtain the certifications. These certifications require an individual to pass an examination that demonstrates their knowledge of the vocational rehabilitation and counseling field. They also require an individual adhere to an ethical code. Further, they require an individual to obtain continuing education to qualify for recertification, is the third requirement. Not only must the individual have one of the two certifications, they must maintain the certification to continue testifying in the SSA system. These new qualifications are in line with what is most commonly held by vocational experts serving in other venues such as state and federal court. However, SSA recognized that they had some individuals who were currently working as a vocational expert in their system and had been doing so successfully but do not meet the certification requirements for CRC or ABVE. SSA allowed for a period of five years for those vocational experts to meet the new requirements. However, in addition to being required to have five years of providing vocational rehabilitation experience SSA required that the vocational expert have five years of providing vocational expert testimony in the SSA system. SSA indicated the following: “Five years of recent experience serving as a VE discussed above means: • •
A total of 60 months experience within the last 10 years providing service as a VE for SSA, and A total of 30 of those months of experience must have occurred between 20152019.
Any VE working under these transitional requirements shall submit a signed selfcertification swearing or attesting that he or she, or any VE working under his or her BPA who does not meet the CRCC or ABVE certification requirements, has the requisite months of experience serving as a VE for SSA required above.”
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QUALIFICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY VOCATIONAL EXPERTS (CONTINUED) Another new requirement is that vocational experts will be required to submit their CVs or resumes themselves via the Electronic Records interface at least 20 days before the hearing. This requirement goes into effect on 4/1/2020. Do not be surprised if there are hiccups and glitches. It may take some time for that process to be fully in place. It is important for representatives and attorneys to understand these new qualifications and to question vocational experts. In my experience as a vocational expert, I am rarely questioned about my qualifications. However, if I am, I am happy to answer any questions that may be posed. It is important. Given these new qualifications and the increased prevalence of phone vocational experts whom you may not be familiar with, it is exceedingly important that you review the qualifications of experts. Spend time reviewing the provided CVs/resumes. Develop questions, i.e does the person have five years of vocational rehabilitation experience? If the person does not have the CRC or ABVE certification, do they meet the five-year testimony requirement. Further, as a member of the public, you can easily verify someone’s certification status online. If you find someone is not certified, I do recommend you call the entity to verify as there can be errors in an online database. The bottom line is to make sure the vocational expert meets the qualifications, certification or transitional period, and if they do not you should question the vocational expert and raise objections if necessary. As a vocational expert, I would expect nothing less. Should anyone have questions, I am available for questions or consultations. I can be reached at michelle.aliff@gmail.com Michelle Aliff Ph.D, CRC, IPEC
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SSA INFOGRAPHIC
Beware of Social Security Phone Scams Telephone scammers are pretending to be government employees. They may threaten you and may demand immediate payment to avoid arrest or other legal action. Do not be fooled!
UNK
NOW
N CA
LLER
If you receive a suspicious call: 1. HANG UP! 2. DO NOT GIVE THEM MONEY OR PERSONAL INFORMATION! 3. REPORT THE SCAM AT OIG.SSA.GOV
What to look out for Scammers pretend they’re from Social Security or another government agency. Caller ID or documents sent by email may look official but they are not.
The caller says there is a problem with your Social Security number or account.
Any call asking you to pay a fine or debt with retail gift cards, cash, wire transfers, or pre-paid debit cards.
Callers threaten you with arrest or other legal action.
Be Alert
Be Active
Social Security may call you in some situations but will never:
Protect yourself and your friends and family!
» Threaten you » Suspend your Social Security Number
UNKNOWN CALLER
» Demand immediate payment from you
» If you receive a questionable call, just hang up and report the call at oig.ssa.gov » Learn more at oig.ssa.gov/scam » Share this information with others
» Require payment by cash, gift card, pre-paid debit card, or wire transfer
Social Security Administration | Publication No. 05-10535 | January 2020 | Produced at U.S. taxpayer expense
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COVID-19 UPDATES AFFECTING SSA AND DISABILITY ADVOCATES: March 17th, 2020: SSA invited NADR and NOSSCR representatives to participate in a conference call with several senior OHO officials for a status update on hearings in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closing of SSA offices to the public. Terrie Gruber led the conversation and indicated that the goal is to have hearings go forward as scheduled via telephone rather than in person. SSA will be contacting representatives to offer the opportunity to hold scheduled hearings telephonically if that is what the claimant wishes to do. If a representative has video capabilities in their office, video hearings are possible as well. For hearings that were scheduled but did not go forward yesterday or today, Terrie said that they will be given priority in rescheduling via telephone if that is what the claimant wants to do. Those claimants who do not wish to move to a telephone hearing will have their in-person hearing rescheduled, but there is no time frame for when that would happen due to the uncertainty surrounding the response to the pandemic. Any representative who has a hearing scheduled for today SHOULD NOT go to the hearing office, but should wait for a phone call from the local hearing office. If you have case-specific questions, please reach out to your local hearing office. If you encounter issues around dismissals or actions that do not appear to comply with the process outlined above, please let NADR know and we will address them with officials at headquarters. Terrie thanked everyone for their patience in what is a trying situation for all involved, and said she would be providing more information as they work out details.
“Will SSA extend our deadlines to provide documentation and other information? Created: March 18, 2020 “Yes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are extending our deadlines wherever possible. •If we asked you to contact us by a certain date, please do not come to the office. You can contact us once our offices reopen to the public or you can mail your documents to us. We will follow up with you once the COVID-19 public health emergency subsides. •We are providing maximum flexibility in applying our good cause policy. This policy allows us to extend the time limits for submitting appeals and taking other actions during this public health emergency.” AND,
“What workloads is SSA not doing during the COVID-19 pandemic? Created: March 18, 2020 “We have suspended the following workloads until further notice: •We will not start or complete any current medical continuing disability reviews. If you have a medical continuing disability review pending, please do not request medical information from your doctors at this time. We will follow up with you for any medical evidence once the COVID-19 public health emergency subsides. •Where possible, we are suspending our processing and collection of overpayments. •We are not conducting organization or individual representative payee accountings. •We will not be able to process a third party requests for information, except from appointed representatives and representative payees •We will not process any Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.”
Commissioner Saul released a Press Release recently. This is from a link to questions about SSA’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic:
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FEDERAL COURT PRACTICE
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NADR MENTORING GUIDE (For MENTO R
S and MENT
EES)
Board of Director s 2014-2015 President Robert McDowell Elizabethtown, KY Vice President Steve Skinner Redding, CA
Mentor Guide Sub-Committee, Earline
Secretary Philip Litteral Ashland, KY
Marchand, and the following folks on her
Treasurer Michael Wener Memphis, TN
Committee for their hard work on the production of the NADR Mentoring Guide.
Directors-at-Large Karen Starr Grand Rapids, MI Greg Cates Memphis, TN
Please consider signing uptio as a Mentor or a NADR Na
Patty Sexton Wauna, WA
Mentee after
Barbara Manna Pittsburgh, PA
nal Office PO Box 96503 #3 0550 Washithrough reading the guidelines. ngton, DC 2009 0-6503
We are hopeful that this will be another
NADR National Offi ce Administrators Eva Sirman 202-822-2155 eva@nadr.org Julie Phelps 202-822-2155 admin@nadr.or g
NADR PO Box 96503 Washington, DC 20090-6503 Phone: (202) 822 -2155 Fax (972) 245-67 01 Web Site: www.n adr.org
NADR NEWS
NADR would like to thank the chair of the
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invaluable NADR member benefit. Mentor Guide Sub-Committee Earline D. Marchand Carol Balderee Sherrell Rodgers Steven Gragg Brandy Bowdry Dedra Wood FIRST QUARTER 2020
a Sirman 2-822-2155 a@nadr.org
lie Phelps 2-822-2155 min@nadr.org
ADR
Box 96503 ashington, DC 20090-6503 one: (202) 822-2155 x (972) 245-6701 eb Site: www.nadr.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2019 - 2020
President C. Greg Cates, EdD., ADR Memphis, TN
Vice President Michael Wener, ADR Memphis, TN
Secretary Clifford Berkley, ADR Fullerton, CA
Treasurer Christopher Mazzulli, ADR Baltimore, MD
Director At Large Kelly Blad, ADR Cook, MN
Director At Large Melissa Smith, ADR St. Louis, MO
Director At Large Meredith Marcus
Director At Large Sherrell Rodgers
Director At Large Carl Groves
NADR News is published by NADR and is the property of the National Association of Disability Representatives. Copyright 2016, NADR. The articles appearing in the NADR News do not necessarily reflect the opinions of NADR. The accuracy and content of each article is the responsibility of the individual writer.
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