Library & Tools

While we do our best to help eligible individuals get approved on the initial application, sometimes the application is denied and we need to help someone through the appeals process. This article provides an overview of the several levels of appeals and the steps to take to file an appeal.

Under certain circumstances, the SOAR representative can request that a case be referred back to DDS for a Prehearing Review or that the Office of Hearing Operations (OHO) make an On-the Record (OTR) decision prior to an ALJ Hearing. As well, when OHO feels they can make a fully favorable decision without holding a hearing, they can independently refer a case back to DDS and/or make an (OTR) decision.

The Social Security Administration now offers a video option for Administrative Law Judge appeal hearings.

Read our Q&A with a SOAR case worker from New York who has an appeals success story!

Online access to applicants’ electronic folders or eFolders (EFs) is now available for Appointed Representatives with ALJ hearing and Appeals Council level cases.

The following resources have been created and/or revised to provide guidance and action steps that SOAR providers can implement in SOAR service delivery as well as resources that supervisors are encouraged to use to support them.

One of the most important tasks for you to accomplish is to make the link between diagnosis and functional impairment so that DDS can fully understand the applicant’s disability. This article discusses how to ask questions that elicit the information you will use to write your Medical Summary Report (MSR).

For applicants with mental disorders, DDS examiners look at a person’s ability to function in four primary areas. Your responsibility is to describe the functioning of the individual in as much detail as possible and to document how the person’s illness impairs his or her ability to function and maintain employment at a substantial gainful level.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) keeps all new disability files in electronic format. Applicants and authorized representatives have the right to obtain relevant application information on a CD-ROM. When you are preparing to appeal a denial of disability benefits, you should request the case file so that you can review key components of the file and decision.

It is important to find out whether someone has a pending initial claim or is waiting for a reconsideration or an appeals hearing before starting a new application.