All,
Its time, we have to discuss politics. This is not your personal politics rather this is politics that impact our profession and people with disabilities. Below, I will describe recent events and how they can and will impact services we provide to SSA as vocational experts. Some may believe SSA will not go through with this, but from our perspective, it would be unwise to not be aware and make plans to speak out against this.
There have been some recent issues/developments with SSA. Last week, the Washington Post published an article indicating that there were plans in the works to end phone services for Americans filing for disability and retirement benefits. See this article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-security-administration-number/
The above led SSA to issue a press release saying the above was not true. SSA indicated that they would only discontinue changing bank account information over the phone. See: https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases/2025/#2025-03-12
Yesterday, a memo was leaked from SSA. Popular broke the story. It has been picked up by most mainstream media. The Hill is very active on this issue today. My understanding and verification indicate that this memo is indeed true. See this story here: https://popular.info/p/exclusive-memo-details-trump-plan
Breaking down this issue more, we know SSA offices are being closed. We know they are terminating staff. These are not rumors or media spin. SSA has made these statements. SSA's own words indicate that ending phone applications will increase in person office visit needs by 75,000 to 85,000. They admit that this will cause significant issues. If people cannot apply for benefits or experience significant delays in applying, specifically disability, there will be limited hearings. The back log is likely to grow. There is no way to automate or use AI for in person requirements.
This does not account for other impacts to people applying for either disability or retirement.
Also, there was an opinion piece published in The Hill. David Weaver is a former SSA employee and has a deep knowledge of how SSA works. Weaver describes some of the issues facing SSA and the impacts that can or could occur. See: https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5188600-social-security-disability-backlog/
I will have more later, with a specific call to action.
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Michelle Aliff
Ph.D, CRC, CVE
michelle.aliff@gmail.com[Keller], TX United States
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