[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 22 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3757-3758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2157]



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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Prehearings Conducted by Adjudication Officers; Testing of New 
Procedures

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Notice of the test sites and the duration of tests involving 
prehearing procedures and decisions by Adjudication Officers.

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SUMMARY: The Social Security Administration (SSA) is announcing the 
locations and the duration of additional tests it will conduct under 
the final rules published in the Federal Register on September 13, 1995 
(60 FR 47469). These final rules authorize the testing of procedures to 
be conducted by an adjudication officer, who, under the Plan for a New 
Disability Claim Process published in the Federal Register on September 
19, 1994 (59 FR 47887), would be the focal point for all prehearing 
activities. Under the final rules, when a request for a hearing before 
an administrative law judge is requested, the adjudication officer will 
conduct prehearing procedures and, if appropriate, issue a decision 
wholly favorable to the claimant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Glenn-Croft, Appeals Team Leader, 
Disability Process Redesign Team, Social Security Administration, 6401 
Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235, 410-966-8331.


[[Page 3758]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 1, 1995, we announced in the 
Federal Register our intent to begin tests on or about November 1, 1995 
of the procedures to be conducted by an adjudication officer (60 FR 
55642). At that time we identified nine test sites; all of the test 
sites listed in that notice were in State Agencies which make 
disability determinations for us. We are now planning additional tests 
of the adjudication officer procedures and at this time we are 
announcing an additional 17 test sites. All of these additional test 
sites are offices of the Social Security Administration. We plan to 
begin these tests on or about February 1, 1996. We will continue these 
tests for approximately 12 months. The sites selected present a mix of 
geographic areas and case loads. We expect that these tests, together 
with the tests already being conducted in State Agencies, will provide 
us with sufficient information to determine the effect of the 
adjudication officer position on the administrative review process. We 
will publish another notice in the Federal Register if we extend the 
duration of any of the tests or expand further the number of test 
sites. The tests discussed in this notice will be conducted at the 
following seventeen Social Security Administration locations:
      SSA, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 555 Main Street, 
Suite 900, Norfolk, VA 23510
      SSA, District Office, 2600 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 
90057
      SSA, District Office, 500 Gene Reed Road, Suite 218, 
Birmingham, AL 35215
      SSA, District Office, 8585 W 14th Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215
      SSA, Office of Hearings and Appeals, American Financial 
Center, Building #1 Suite 300, 2400 Louisiana NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110
      SSA, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 1642 Kentucky Ave, 
Paducah, KY 42001
      SSA, District Office, 401 South State Street, Suite 800, 
Chicago, IL 60605
      SSA, District Office, 200 North High Street, Rm 225, 
Columbus, OH 43215
      SSA, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 1001 Office Park Rd, 
Suite 305, West Des Moines, IA 50265
      SSA, District Office, 380 Westminster Mall, Room 318, 
Providence, RI 02903
      SSA, District Office, 30 Quaker Lane, 1st floor, Warwick, 
RI 02886
      SSA, Western Payment Service Center, 1221 Nevin Ave, 
Richmond, CA 94801
      SSA, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 26 Federal Plaza 
Room 3954, New York, NY 10278
      SSA, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Federal Building 
Room 3-B, 300 West Congress St, Tucson, AZ 85701
      SSA, San Patricio Branch Office, Rexam BLDG 7th floor, 
1510 Roosevelt Avenue, Guaynabo, PR 00968
      SSA, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Suite 300, 1500 
Valley River Drive, Eugene, OR 97401
      SSA, Office of Disability and International Operations 
(ODIO), 3-B-21 Tower, 1500 Security Drive, Baltimore, MD 21241
    Not all hearing requests received in the test sites listed above 
will be handled under the test procedures. However, if a request for a 
hearing is selected to be handled by an adjudication officer as part of 
the test, the claim will be processed under the procedures established 
under the final regulations cited above. We currently plan to conduct 
these alone; they will not be conducted in combination with one or more 
of the tests we plan to conduct pursuant to the final rules ``Testing 
Modifications to the Disability Determination Procedures'' published in 
the Federal Register on April 24, 1995 (60 FR 20023). However, if we 
test the use of the adjudication officer in combination with the 
provisions of the final rules on ``Testing Modifications to the 
Disability Determination Procedures,'' we will publish the locations 
and dates of the tests in the Federal Register.

    Dated: January 26, 1996.
Charles A. Jones,
Director, Disability Process Redesign Team.
[FR Doc. 96-2157 Filed 1-31-96; 8:45 am]
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