Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

January/February, 1996

The Federal/State Partnership In The Disability Program Why It Should Be Retained

Proposed Position Paper of The National Association of Disability Examiners

THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL REALITIES which originally provided compelling reasons for Congress to mandate a federal/state partnership to administer the Disability Program no longer exist. Since that time, however, new reasons for the partnership have emerged. These new reasons, for the most part, relate to the ability of the states to provide timely and correct decisions to disability claimants while maintaining high levels of efficiency, productivity, and responsiveness to the public they serve. The continuity the state agencies and their employees provide during administrative and other politically driven changes is another compelling reason to maintain the federal/state partnership.

These changing realities provide the basis for a reconsideration by the National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE) of its previous position that the federal/state relationship be dissolved in favor of a federalized disability program. A recent straw poll of members in attendance at the annual meeting of the Association revealed that the previous support of the membership provided the catalyst for a reopening by the Board of Directors of this issue. After careful and thoughtful deliberation, the Board determined that NADE should now support the continuation of the federal/state partnership and only changes that will strengthen and refine this partnership should be supported. NADE believes that: *A partnership between SSA and the respective states is the best possible structure for providing timely, accurate disability decisions in a cost-effective and customer-based manner.

*Centralization of this function in SSA would be disruptive over the short term and over the long term, would not afford the highest level of service to the twin constituents of the disability program. Americans with disabilities and taxpayers who fund the program. *Contracting out decision making to for-profit entities would also produce the undesirable outcomes listed above. Accordingly, we have concluded that our previous support of federalization should be rescinded and replaced with this position.