Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

March/April, 1998

Friday March 6 - Business meeting reconvened at 8 a.m. First speaker was Cindy Bascetta of the Government Accounting Office (GAO). The board is always impressed with her knowledge of the listings and the financial impact of changes to the program.


President Gardiner presided over the Board business meeting which began at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 5. Various reports were presented by the officers, directors and committees.


After a lunch, the Board was given an update on Redesign pilots by Sue Davis (left) and Sue Roecker. Davis indicated that the pilots (SDM & FPM) are putting out a different and better product. Still a major concern is the backlog at OHA. Implementation of has been learned by the pilots will be the next step. Roecker commented on a survey done by OPIR which reported customer satisfaction was high until the 8th month as their case moved through the appeal process. The AO casework has dramatically improved the product going to OHA.


Dr. Daniels was also joined by Joe Markovic (Director of Disability Policy and Procedure in Office of Disability), Chrisann Shiro-Geist (Disability Adjudication Training System Coordinator), and Bill Anderson (Director, Division of Medical and Vocational Procedure in the Office of Disability). Anderson emphasized that there is still a medical listing for ADHD and maladaptive behavior will still be considered as to its impact on a child’s adaptive functioning. Markovic reported that targeted concerns include lost folders, notices, and streamlining the CDR process. As the DATS Coordinator, Shiro-Geist has been involved with the workgroup on a training program for all aspects of disability professionals.


President-Elect Price had the responsibility of coordinating the speakers. He introduced Susan Daniels, Associate Commissioner of Disability, with a humorous anecdote. Daniels complimented the DDSs on the speed and handling of the DC caseload. She explained that the DC cases are being reviewed because children are very vulnerable and SSA is concerned about giving each child a fair and correct decision.


Members of the NCDDD Executive Board met with the NADE Board to discuss the QA system, Process Unification and Rationale writing, Systems, Redesign issues and the DC workload. (From left) Mike Brennan (DC), Doug Willman (NE) and Art Spencer (NJ) shared their views on these issues of concern. Spencer displayed a color graph which gave a clear picture of the regional results on accuracy for the DC caseload. This has spurred discussion on the need for standardization of case review by the DQB branches.