Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice includes two new collections for OMB approval, as well as revisions of OMB-approved information collections.

SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following addresses or fax numbers.

(OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA

(SSA) Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance Director, Mail Stop 3253 Altmeyer, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, Fax: 833-410-1631, Email address: OR.Reports.Clearance@ssa.gov

Or you may submit your comments online through https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAmain by clicking on Currently under Review—Open for Public Comments and choosing to click on one of SSA's published items. Please reference Docket ID Number [SSA-2024-0040] in your submitted response.

SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for clearance. Your comments regarding these information collections would be most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than November 21, 2024. Individuals can obtain copies of these OMB clearance packages by writing to the OR.Reports.Clearance@ssa.gov.

1. New Applicant Survey (NAS)—0960-NEW. Background: The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides income assistance to more than 13 million working-age adults and children with disabilities through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. To evaluate these respondents as they navigate SSA's application process, we are implementing the New Applicant Survey (NAS). The objective of the New Applicant Survey (NAS) is to provide SSA's Office of Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support (ORDES) with information about recent applicants' experience at different stages or touchpoints in the disability application process. SSA will use findings from the survey to inform testable policy interventions to improve the application experience for applicant.

NAS Description: The primary goal of NAS is to help SSA improve our current application process through the use of feedback from the public who use it. The research questions and survey will allow SSA to evaluate current practices and improve upon them. Ultimately, we expect the purpose of this survey will help SSA to implement a better overall application experience for respondents, as they use SSA's systems.

To provide information to SSA regarding applicants' experiences at the different touchpoints in the disability application process, SSA's evaluation will include the following analysis components:

• Comparison of Characteristics: Comparing characteristics of non-respondents (or the total sample) to those of respondents using information available for both non-respondents and respondents.
• Modeling: Modeling response propensity using multivariate analyses, including observation and analysis of several outcome variables.
• Evaluation of Differences: Evaluating differences found in comparisons between unadjusted ( i.e., base-) weighted estimates of selected sampling frame characteristics based on the survey respondents and the corresponding population (frame) parameter.
• Comparison of Estimates: Comparing weighted survey estimates ( e.g., selected error rates by type) using unadjusted (base) weights versus nonresponse-adjusted weights.

We expect the NAS will help SSA answer the following research questions:

• What are the pre- and post-application employment experiences of awarded and denied SSDI and SSI applicants?
• What employment-, vocational-, medical-, or income-related services and supports did applicants use leading up to and since application?
• What sources of information about SSDI or SSI did the applicant use or have access to?
• What were the applicants' experiences with representation during the application or post-application periods?

SSA will conduct this survey with 10,000 respondents nationally. SSA will provide a list of recent adult applicants who have applied for Social Security disability benefits to the contractor to use for sample selection. To ensure that sampled applicants have recent experiences with the application process, we will restrict the target population to those who have applied, appealed, or received a determination in the six months prior to sampling. The sample will include individuals to whom SSA awarded benefits (beneficiaries), those to whom SSA denied benefits, as well as applicants who remain at different stages of the application process.

For this survey, we will use the following methods for recruitment:

• SSA Announcement
• Email to Appointed Representative from Appointed Representative Associations
• Email to Appointed Representative (Directly)
• First USPS Mailing to All Applicants, which will include a small cash incentive of $2, a letter, and an information sheet
• Second USPS Mailing to All Applicants
• Third USPS Mailing to Nonrespondents
• Fourth USPS Mailing to Nonrespondents
• Fifth contact introducing the telephone modality.

As part of recruitment, we will also conduct experiments regarding more cash incentives, invitations to complete the survey using multiple modalities (internet, paper, telephone), as well as an early-bird incentive.

The Survey Instrument: The survey asks questions that focus on the applicant's experience with different aspects of the application process. We will use it to collect data from 10,000 new applicants at different touchpoints in the application process to understand applicant experiences at each stage and obtain the information needed to address the research questions.

To accommodate respondent preferences, we will create three modalities of the survey instrument: internet-based, automated-telephone, and paper. The internet and telephone versions will have essentially the same design as these modalities, by using dynamic pathing. This will facilitate the automatic skipping of questions based on the respondents' earlier responses. We will include instructions and formatting on the paper instrument which will also allow the respondents to skip questions based on previous responses; however, they will be able to see all of the questions (which is not the case on the internet and telephone versions).

The survey questions will focus on the following applicant experiences:

• Touchpoints in the application process completed and applicants' experience with the most recent touchpoints;
• Use of appointed representatives;
• Actions taken when applicants receive an unfavorable SSA decision;
• Use of and experience with SSA services;
• Recommendations for improvements to the application process;
• Personal financial environment including use of assistance programs;
• Personal support system; and
• Demographic information.

SSA will use the information we collect from this survey to understand applicants' experiences at different stages in the application process, as well as the types of SSA services applicants accessed, and to evaluate changes to the application process that could potentially improve applicants' experience.

We will encourage respondents to complete the survey via the internet modality, but will not restrict them, or penalize respondents who choose a different method (paper or telephone). We will require informed consent for all participants.

Ultimately, we expect the survey will help SSA to implement a better overall application experience for respondents, as they use SSA's systems.

The respondents are current SSA beneficiaries who have undergone the application process; individuals to whom SSA denied benefits; applicants for Social Security services in various stages of the application process, and their representatives (as applicable).

Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.