On June 1st, 1998, President Clinton issued a memorandum on Plain Language in Government Writing. It was in response to the public’s repeated expressions of frustration of not being able to understand official government correspondence. Part of the rationale was to make correspondence more understandable in all aspects of communication with the public. I was working at the downtown Rochester NY field office at the time of roll out. As I recall, we were instructed to make every communication as plain as possible, to use short sentences, and keep the English usage at a seventh grade level. It was signed into law by President Barack Obama on 10/13/2010.
Over the years we received numerous reminders to always tailor our language to the level of the understanding of the applicant.
Prior to my retirement, colleagues expressed concern over the substantial loss of institutional knowledge within the SSA. I am one of many that retired with that institutional knowledge. Over the years direct service evolved. Some of these changes included:
* automation of the disability report form in an effort to ensure a more consistent work product be sent to the Disability Determination Services (DDS) for medical determination
* changed the interviewing expectation of presenting multiple benefit rate comparisons and break even computations (they will still provide this, however you must request it)
* rescinded the expectation to counsel the applicant on the most advantageous month of entitlement selection
* automated the reporting responsibilities so it was no longer required to review them with the public
* removed the responsibility of the interviewer of ensuring the claimant understood the month of election options and their impact (month of entitlement selection and month of election internal coding options are two separate issues)
* simplified verification processes of official documents
* mandated direct deposit
* streamlined the interviewing questions in order to be able to automate the application process to direct online filing to accommodate for the volume of applicants expected from the boomer generation
* migrated from wet signature to verbal attestation and electronic attested signature
These are just a few of the workload processing enhancements implemented over the years. There are many others along with technical enhancements and regulatory changes. It was common at work to hear the only constant working there was change.
The target goals ebbed and flowed based on the seated president. Some of those goals were world class service, transparency of administration, and payment accuracy/overpayment reduction. Currently, the focus appears to be increasing the efficiency of the automation. The plain English expectation has remained consistent. Simplified, direct communication is helpful. Is over simplification financially beneficial to you?
While all of these enhancements streamlined the adjudication process, are they beneficial to the service you receive and your understanding of your benefits? Simplifying the delivery of the information does not change the law that governs your entitlement. Your SSA Rep is committed to your satisfaction, full understanding of your application, and benefit options. We are not here to sell you any ongoing services. We are here to guide you through your application with the assurance you receive all the information material to your specific circumstances. Be your best advocate.
Maryellen Eckert EDPNA
