Income Security Issues Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1997 and 1998
(Letter Report, 04/01/97, GAO/IAP-97-8).

GAO presented its Income Security Issues issue area plan for fiscal
years 1997 and 1998.

GAO plans to focus on the following pivotal areas: (1) ensuring that
public funds for income security programs are spent efficiently and
protected from fraud and abuse; (2) improving the Social Security
Administration's service to the public at reduced cost; (3) evaluating
the adequacy of Social Security, and public and private pension systems
for future retirees; (4) redesigning the nation's disability programs to
ensure the validity of the determination process and encourage work; (5)
monitoring implementation of the 1996 welfare legislation; and (6)
assessing government efforts to protect children's welfare.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  IAP-97-8
     TITLE:  Income Security Issues Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1997 
             and 1998
      DATE:  04/01/97
   SUBJECT:  Income maintenance programs
             Welfare benefits
             Social security benefits
             Disability benefits
             Disadvantaged persons
             Fraud
             Cost control
             Retirement pensions
             Program abuses
IDENTIFIER:  Supplemental Security Income Program
             Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program
             AFDC
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Health, Education, and Human Services Division

April 1997

INCOME SECURITY ISSUES

ISSUE AREA PLAN FOR FISCAL YEARS
1997 AND 1998

GAO/IAP-97-8



Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV


FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0

As the investigative arm of the Congress and the nation's auditor,
the General Accounting Office is charged with following the federal
dollar wherever it goes.  Reflecting stringent standards of
objectivity and independence, GAO's audits, evaluations, and
investigations promote a more efficient and cost-effective
government; expose fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in federal
programs; help the Congress target budget reductions; assess
financial and information management; and alert the Congress to
developing trends that may have significant fiscal or budgetary
consequences.  In fulfilling its responsibilities, GAO performs
original research and uses hundreds of databases, or creates its own
when information is unavailable elsewhere.  To ensure that GAO's
resources are directed toward the most important issues facing the
Congress, each of GAO's 32 issue areas develops a strategic plan that
describes the significance of the issues it addresses, its
objectives, and the focus of its work.  Each issue area relies
heavily on input from congressional committees, agency officials, and
subject-matter experts in developing its strategic plan.  Income
Security Issues focus on programs and policies at the Social Security
Administration (SSA), all non-health programs and policies at the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and pension programs
and policies at the Department of Labor (DOL).  Together, these
programs account for nearly 40 percent of all federal spending. 
Millions of Americans rely on income security programs for financial
support.  However, concerns about the high costs and rising caseloads
of the nation's two largest welfare programs--Aid to Families With
Dependent Children and Supplemental Security Income--led to major
legislative changes in these programs in 1996.  Moreover, the
nation's Social Security and disability programs face continued
financial pressures and are the subject of current public debate
about their purpose and structure.  On the pages that follow, we
outline Income Security's most significant planned work in the
following pivotal areas: 

  ensuring that public funds for income security programs are spent
     efficiently and protected from fraud and abuse;

  improving SSA's service to the public at reduced cost;

  evaluating the adequacy of Social Security, and public and private
     pension systems for future retirees;

  redesigning the nation's disability programs to ensure the validity
     of the determination process and encourage work;

  monitoring implementation of the 1996 welfare legislation; and

  assessing government efforts to protect children's welfare. 

Because events may significantly affect even the best of plans and
because periodic measurement of success against any plan is
essential, our planning process allows for updating the plan and
responding quickly to emerging issues.  If you have any questions or
suggestions about this plan, please call me, or Diana Eisenstat or
Mark Nadel, Associate Directors, at (202) 512-7215. 

Jane L.  Ross
Director
Income Security Issues


CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1


   TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1

4


   TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2

8


   TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3

10


TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2

Issue                          Significance                                                Objectives                              Focus of work
-----------------------------  ----------------------------------------------------------  --------------------------------------  -------------------------------------------------
Promoting efficiency, cost-    Concerned about waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the      1. Identify waste, abuse,               --Evaluate SSA efforts to ensure integrity of SSI
effectiveness: How adequate    Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, GAO designated  mismanagement, and internal control     program.
are efforts to ensure that     SSI as a high-risk program area in 1997. GAO has also       problems in SSI and welfare programs.   --Identify potential improvements to SSA's
funds for income security      identified weaknesses in SSA's efforts to ensure the                                                overpayment collection practices.
programs are                   integrity of Social Security programs. In addition,         2. Assess how well SSA controls its     --Identify means to improve initial and
efficiently spent?             because of recent changes in the nation's welfare system,   payments to recipients.                 continuing eligibility decisions.
                               accountability for more than $16.4 billion in block grants                                          --Examine SSA's controls over payments to benefit
                               under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity      3. Identify opportunities to manage     recipients.
                               Reconciliation Act of 1996 will become an increasingly      welfare, disability, Social Security,   --Evaluate HHS' implementation of its welfare
                               important issue. The agencies involved also need to ensure  and child support programs more         reform responsibilities.
                               that they identify and pursue less expensive ways to        effectively and at lower costs.         --Examine efficiency of alternative means of
                               provide services, such as through contracting out and                                               delivering welfare and other social services.
                               privatization.                                                                                      --Identify effective child support enforcement
                                                                                                                                   practices.



Improving SSA service and      SSA administers retirement, survivor, disability, and       1. Assess SSA's efforts to improve      --Assess steps SSA has taken to improve
operations:                    welfare programs that annually provide over $367 billion    agency performance.                     performance under the Government Performance and
How can SSA improve service    in benefits to about 50 million recipients. The agency is                                           Results Act.
to the public with fewer       grappling with difficult policy and program challenges,     2. Provide information to the Congress  --Evaluate SSA's reengineering implementation
resources?                     and at the same time it needs to meet customer              on SSA's efforts                        efforts.
                               expectations in the face of growing workloads and reduced   to reengineer its disability claims     --Examine SSA's efforts to identify customer
                               resources. SSA expects to redesign inefficient work         process.                                needs and develop cost-effective approaches to
                               processes and modernize its information systems to                                                  meeting its service delivery challenges.
                               increase productivity, knowing that its customer service    3. Assess how effectively SSA balances  --Monitor SSA's efforts to modernize its
                               will deteriorate to unacceptable levels if it continues to  serving the public and managing its     information systems and technology.
                               conduct business as in the past. SSA will also need to      limited resources.
                               effectively manage its workforce and consider what service
                               delivery structure will work best in the future.            4. Assess SSA's systems modernization
                                                                                           efforts.

Ensuring adequate retirement   The prospective retirement of the "baby boom" generation    1. Study proposed solutions to Social   --Examine options for addressing Social
benefits:                      raises questions about the ability of Social Security,      Security's long-                        Security's funding problems.
Can Social Security and        federal, state, and local government employee pension       term funding problems.                  --Evaluate characteristics of 401(k) pension
pensions ensure adequate       plans, and private pension systems to provide all promised                                          plans.
retirement income as the       retirement benefits. As baby boomers retire and live        2. Determine the effectiveness of       --Examine the effectiveness of selected pension
population ages?               longer, Social Security program expenditures are expected   401(k) plans in providing retirement    regulations.
                               to exceed tax income beginning in 2012. Experts project     income.
                               that the Social Security trust funds will be depleted by
                               2029, leaving insufficient funds to pay all expected        3. Assess the effectiveness of private
                               benefits. The Advisory Council on Social Security has       pension
                               recently put forth three different proposals to ensure      regulations.
                               long-term solvency. These proposals are likely to be hotly
                               debated over the next few years. In addition to
                               questioning the adequacy of funding for Social Security
                               benefits, many are concerned with the effectiveness of
                               some pension plan regulations and with recent changes in
                               plan characteristics.





Redesigning disability         The Disability Insurance (DI) and SSI programs have faced   1. Identify better ways to promote the  --Examine alternative ways to meet the needs of
programs:                      significant increases in both caseloads and expenditures.   productive                              children with disabilities.
How can these programs best    In 1995, almost 7.5 million individuals received these      capacity of disabled beneficiaries.     --Study factors that help disabled beneficiaries
ensure the                     cash benefits at a cost of $57 billion. SSA reports that                                            work.
validity of the determination  fewer than 1 out of every 500 beneficiaries on the          2. Monitor SSA's efforts to manage      --Assess alternative ways to improve return-to-
process and                    disability rolls ever returns to work. However, promising   disability                              work outcomes.
encourage work?                disability management progress in the private sector and    caseloads.                              --Assess SSA's progress in conducting continuing
                               recent medical, technological, social, and legal changes                                            disability reviews.
                               suggest that more people with disabilities can work. In                                             --Examine alternative means of making disability
                               addition, new ways to assess the ability of applicants to                                           determinations.
                               function in the work place could improve the validity of                                            --Monitor quality assurance changes under SSA's
                               the determination process. Significant legislative and                                              redesign.
                               programmatic changes would be necessary for SSA to assist
                               beneficiaries to develop their return-to-work potential.

Promoting responsibility and   The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity            1. Report on implementation and early   --Monitor implementation of the new temporary
work:                          Reconciliation Act of 1996 ended the entitlement to         results of the                          assistance for needy families block grant
What progress is being made    assistance under the Aid to Families With Dependent         block grants for temporary assistance   requirements, including state approaches and
in                             Children program and replaced it with capped block grants   for needy families in moving families   issues, funding levels and allocations, and
implementing the 1996          to the states for temporary assistance for needy families.  from welfare to work and in reducing    program outcomes.
welfare                        The act gives states broad discretion over program design,  welfare dependence.                     --Evaluate the adequacy of state and county
legislation?                   but conditions individual benefit receipt on participation                                          information management systems and data for
                               in work or work-related activity and imposes a 5-year       2. Assess progress toward meeting       evaluation and program management.
                               lifetime limit on benefits. The act also sets out personal  other personal responsibility goals of  --Evaluate child care needs of families under
                               responsibility goals, including enhancing child support     the act.                                temporary assistance for needy families block
                               enforcement, reducing out-of-wedlock births, and                                                    grants and the availability of child care for
                               strengthening families; and restricts children's and        3. Evaluate effects of welfare reform   low-income workers.
                               immigrants' eligibility for SSI benefits. The               on select SSI populations.              --Review implementation of child support
                               implementation of these changes will need to be studied to                                          changes.
                               determine their effects on families, children, and welfare                                          --Monitor implementation of welfare reform
                               caseloads and to ensure that they meet congressional                                                changes on SSI program beneficiaries.
                               intent.


Protecting children's          Dramatic increases in child abuse and neglect, and the      1. Assess the impact on child welfare   --Identify the impact of recent reforms on foster
welfare:                       resulting increases in foster care caseloads, have          of the 1996 overhaul of the welfare     care and other child welfare programs' funding
How adequate are government    stressed the entire child welfare system to the breaking    system.                                 and caseload size.
efforts to                     point. At the same time, families increasingly enter the                                            --Evaluate efforts to better manage children's
protect vulnerable children?   system with complex social problems that are difficult to   2. Examine innovative service delivery  length of stay in foster care.
                               rectify, such as poverty, substance abuse, and domestic     approaches to child welfare services.   --Evaluate efforts to privatize foster care
                               violence. All levels of government will face challenges in                                          services.
                               the years ahead as they attempt jointly to increase         3. Examine options for caring for       --Examine the expanded role of kinship care.
                               positive outcomes for abused and neglected children within  abused and neglected children who have  --Examine the implications of foster care
                               greater budgetary constraints and while overhauling         been removed from their homes.          policies and practices for cases involving
                               welfare programs.                                                                                   parental drug abuse.









------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3

Issue                          Planned major job starts
-----------------------------  -------------------------------------------------
Promoting efficiency, cost-    ï¿½SSA's management oversight of the SSI program
effectiveness                  ï¿½Effectiveness of reducing SSI benefits when
                               living arrangements change
                               ï¿½Effectiveness of SSA's fraud referral process
                               for the SSI program
                               ï¿½Preventing SSI overpayments
                               ï¿½SSA's use of waivers, suspensions, and penalties
                               for overpayments
                               ï¿½SSA's acquisition of payment control and
                               eligibility data
                               ï¿½Extent of controls over Social Security pension
                               offsets
                               ï¿½Adequacy of SSA's quality assurance program for
                               detecting and correcting errors
                               ï¿½Effectiveness of offsetting disability benefits
                               for workers' compensation
                               ï¿½Making the Social Security card tamper-
                               resistant
                               ï¿½States' compliance with requirements under the
                               Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block
                               grant
                               ï¿½HHS' implementation of its responsibilities
                               under welfare reform
                               ï¿½Means-tested program benefits paid to
                               nonqualified aliens
                               ï¿½Privatization of social services

Improving SSA service and      ï¿½SSA's efforts to improve agency performance and
operations                     address major challenges
                               ï¿½SSA's progress in reengineering its disability
                               claims process
                               ï¿½Opportunities for privatizing SSA services and
                               operations
                               ï¿½Accuracy of benefit amount calculations
                               ï¿½SSA's efforts to modernize technology (will be
                               done by Accounting and Information Management
                               Division)

Ensuring adequate retirement   ï¿½Examine options for Social Security financing
benefits                       reform
                               ï¿½Women and pensions: lessons for Social Security
                               reform
                               ï¿½Examine the impacts of raising the Social
                               Security retirement age
                               ï¿½Comparing rates of return on Social Security
                               contributions with equity investments
                               ï¿½Experience with Social Security privatization in
                               other countries
                               ï¿½Effect of 10-percent rule on 401(k) plan
                               investments
                               ï¿½Mechanisms for protecting 401(k) plan
                               participants when employers make investment
                               decisions
                               ï¿½Effects of investor education programs on
                               employee investment behavior
                               ï¿½Exemption of state and local pension plans from
                               nondiscrimination testing
                               ï¿½Options to enhance pension portability

Redesigning disability         ï¿½Alternatives for assisting disabled children on
programs                       SSI
                               ï¿½Factors affecting beneficiaries' decisions to
                               work
                               ï¿½Financial and medical incentives to return to
                               work
                               ï¿½SSA's strategy for, and progress in, conducting
                               continuing disability reviews
                               ï¿½Status of conducting mandated continuing
                               disability reviews for SSI recipients
                               ï¿½Progress in improving disability determination
                               methodology
                               ï¿½Differences in eligibility and benefits
                               determination between SSI and other means-tested
                               programs, and in the treatment of adults and
                               children on SSI
                               ï¿½Assess SSA's efforts to improve quality
                               assurance under disability redesign

Promoting responsibility and   ï¿½Effect of work participation standards and state
work                           strategies for moving welfare recipients into
                               employment
                               ï¿½State policies regarding eligibility of
                               immigrants and effects of benefit cutoffs
                               ï¿½Benefit terminations follow-up
                               ï¿½Assess state progress and federal assistance in
                               developing information technology needed to
                               implement welfare programs (will be done by
                               Accounting and Information Management Division)
                               ï¿½Impact of state welfare policies on child care
                               ï¿½Implications of time-limited welfare for child
                               support enforcement programs
                               ï¿½Effects of SSI changes on children, immigrants,
                               drug addicts and alcoholics, and prisoners

Protecting children's welfare  ï¿½Implications of welfare reform on funding for
                               foster care and related services
                               ï¿½Extent and effectiveness of concurrent
                               permanency planning for children entering the
                               foster care system
                               ï¿½Opportunities to improve the relationship
                               between child welfare agencies and the judicial
                               system
                               ï¿½Extent, effect, and outcomes of privatization of
                               foster care and other child welfare services
                               ï¿½Expanded role of kinship care
                               ï¿½Effects of parental drug abuse on foster care
                               caseloads and policies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4


      DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.1

Jane L.  Ross (202) 512-7215


      ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.2

Diana S.  Eisenstat (202) 512-7215
Mark V.  Nadel (202) 512-7215


      ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.3

Cynthia Bascetta
David Bixler
Kay Brown
Gale Harris
Roland Miller
Frank Mulvey
Michael Packard
James Wright
Fred Yohey

Clarita Mrena (San Francisco Office)


*** End of document. ***