President Scales pens letter to ACoSS Kijakazi
August 27, 2021
Kilolo Kijakazi
Acting Commissioner of Social Security
Social Security Administration
900 Altmeyer Building
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21235
Dear Acting Commissioner Kijakazi:
The National Council of Disability Determination Directors (NCDDD) would like to congratulate and welcome you as the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. We appreciate your commitment to the disability programs, and your targeted efforts to learn from agency experts.
NCDDD is a voluntary professional organization for the Directors and managerial staff of the DDSs located in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The state Disability Determination Services (DDS) components are critical to the success of the disability programs, and NCDDD is comprised of DDS leadership across the overwhelming majority of state DDSs.
Recognizing this is a busy transition period for you and your team, NCDDD leadership would like to meet with you as soon as it is feasible. We look forward to sharing ideas and information from our front-line perspective that could be useful to you, and to discuss with you how we can maintain and strengthen our federal/state partnership to best serve the American people.
These are particularly challenging times, and even more challenging for the DDSs as we embark on a once in a lifetime transition to a new, single Disability Case Processing System (DCPS). A meeting also provides a forum to contribute our expertise proactively, to help the agency find solutions to DCPS transition challenges. We look forward to an opportunity to educate, collaborate, and share ideas, as well as, advocate for a “win-win”, customer service focused DCPS transition strategy.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Respectfully submitted,
Leon Scales
Leon Scales
NCDDD President
cc: John Owen, Associate Commissioner, Office of Disability Determinations
Michelle Minton, Disability Case Processing System, Chief Program Officer
Jacqueline Russell, President-Elect, National Council of Disability Determination Directors