Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and 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 revisions of OMB-approved information collections, and one new collection for OMB-approval.

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, Fax: 202-395-6974

(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. Pleas reference Docket ID Number [SSA-2024-0025] in your submitted response.

I. The information collection below is pending at SSA. SSA will submit it to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than September 3, 2024. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection instruments by writing to the above email address.

1. Social Security Number Verification Services—20 CFR 401.45—0960-0660. Internal Revenue Service regulations require employers to provide wage and tax data to SSA using Form W-2, or its electronic equivalent. As part of this process, the employer must furnish the employee's name and Social Security number (SSN). In addition, the employee's name and SSN must match SSA's records for SSA to post earnings to the employee's earnings record, which SSA maintains. SSA offers the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS), which allows employers to verify the reported names and SSNs of their employees match those in SSA's records. SSNVS is a cost-free, voluntary method for employers to verify employee information via the internet. SSA annotates data an employer supplies to SSA for verification that does not match SSA's records with a no match indicator and returns it to the employer. The respondents are employers who need to verify SSN data using SSA's records.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

2. Request for Deceased Individual's Social Security Record—20 CFR 402.130—0960-0665. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), at 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3) of the U.S. Code, provides instructions for members of the public to request records from Federal Agencies. When a member of the public requests an individual's Social Security record under FOIA, SSA needs the name and address of the requestor as well as a description of the requested record to process the request. While SSA respondents may submit these requests in writing, SSA also allows for the use of Form SSA-711, Deceased Individual's Social Security Records, for FOIA requests for a deceased individual's records for genealogical research, family estate matters, and other reasons. SSA then uses the information the respondent provides on Form

SSA-711, or via an internet request through SSA's electronic Freedom of Information Act Xpress (FOIAXpress) website, to: (1) verify the wage earner is deceased; and (2) access the correct Social Security record. Respondents are members of the public requesting deceased individuals' Social Security records.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

II. 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 August 5, 2024. Individuals can obtain copies of these OMB clearance packages by writing to the OR.Reports.Clearance@ssa.gov.

1. Supportive Housing & Individual Placement and Support (SHIPS) Study—0960-NEW

Background: Homelessness and unemployment are linked issues, with rising housing costs often leaving people unable to afford homes when combined with unemployment. The instability of housing makes finding employment even more challenging, creating a difficult cycle to break. While studies have shown that supportive housing programs improve housing stability, there is no significant evidence that such programs reliably increase employment among residents. (For the purposes of this study, we define supportive housing as housing services coupled with additional services that include case management support. These include place-based permanent supportive housing, scattered site permanent supportive housing, and rapid rehousing.) Conversely, Individual Placement and Support (IPS), a proven method for supporting employment, has not demonstrated effectiveness in stabilizing housing. SSA is requesting clearance to collect data for the Supportive Housing and Individual Placement and Support (SHIPS) study, under the Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP), to determine whether participation in Individual Placement and Support (IPS) improves the employment, income, health, and self-sufficiency of people who are recently homeless and living in supportive housing. ICAP allows SSA to partner with various non-federal groups and organizations to advance interventional research connected to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs. SSA awarded Westat a cooperative agreement to conduct SHIPS. In addition to SSA, Westat is partnering with three subrecipients for this project: (1) People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), (2) the University of Southern California (U.S.C.), and (3) the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene (RFMH) to implement the SHIPS study.

ICAP SHIPS Study Project Description

The SHIPS study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to determine whether participation in Individual Placement and Support (IPS) improves the employment, income, health, and self-sufficiency of people who are recently homeless and living in supportive housing. The SHIPS study will mark the first study testing the effectiveness of implementing IPS in a supportive housing program. SSA hypothesizes that combining the two most successful evidence-based practices that separately address homelessness and supported employment will yield a single intervention that effectively addresses both. The intent of the SHIPS study is to measure the effectiveness of evidence-based IPS compared to the services provided by local WorkSource Centers broadly available to jobseekers in the Los Angeles area, The housing case managers will refer PATH clients interested in finding employment and will randomly assign participants to one of two groups:

a. IPS: The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) service team will offer a range of structured services customized to participants' personal needs, preferences, and challenges related to disabilities and/or mental health conditions. IPS was specifically designed as a supported employment model for individuals with serious mental illness and includes standardized training and fidelity requirements. Components of IPS that differ from those offered by WorkSource Services include integrated treatment that incorporates vocational and mental health services; benefits planning; and focus on rapid job search without extensive training.

b. WorkSource Centers: Under PATH's current housing model, housing case managers refer PATH clients who express interest in finding employment to local American Job Centers, known as WorkSource Centers in Los Angeles. The City of Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development Department operates the WorkSource Centers, and follow an employment services model that varies by WorkSource Center; is not evidence-based or subject to fidelity monitoring, and is not necessarily responsive to the individual needs of jobseekers with disabilities.

The primary goals of the SHIPS study are:

• To measure the effects of IPS participation on employment, income, health, and long-term self-sufficiency measured as a combination of housing stability, income, and receipt of DI and SSI benefits.
• To describe the study population in order to understand both the generalizability of the study's findings and the potential reasons for the observed effects.
• To explore the IPS implementation process to understand barriers and facilitators to high-fidelity IPS implementation in the supportive housing context.

Grantee researchers and SSA will use the information collected during this study to (1) assess the short-term and long-term effectiveness of the proposed intervention to improve employment, income, and self-sufficiency; (2) understand the implementation process; (3) provide detailed subgroup-specific data related to the effect of IPS.

The respondents are residents in supportive housing units operated by PATH who are unemployed and looking for employment.

2. Partnership Questionnaire—20 CFR 404.1080-404.1082—0960-0025. SSA considers partnership income in determining entitlement to Social Security benefits. SSA uses information from Form SSA-7104 to determine several aspects of eligibility for benefits, including the accuracy of reported partnership earnings; the veracity of a retirement; and lag earnings where SSA needs this information to determine the status of the insured. The respondents are applicants for, and recipients of, Title II Social Security benefits who are reporting partnership earnings.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

3. Certification by Religious Group—20 CFR 404.1075—0960-0093. SSA is responsible for determining whether religious groups meet the qualifications exempting certain members and sects from payment of Self-Employment Contribution Act taxes under the Internal Revenue Code, Section 1402(g). SSA sends Form SSA-1458, Certification by Religious Group, to a group's authorized spokesperson to complete and verify organizational members meet or continue to meet the criteria for exemption. The respondents are spokespersons for religious groups or sects.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

4. Medical Source Statement of Ability To Do Work Related Activities (Physical and Mental)—20 CFR 404.1512-404.1513, 416.912-416.913, 404.1517, and 416.917—0960-0662. When a claimant appeals a denied disability claim, SSA may ask the claimant to have a consultative examination at the agency's expense, if the claimant's medical sources cannot, or will not, give the agency sufficient evidence to determine whether the claimant is disabled. The medical providers who perform these consultative examinations provide a statement about the claimant's state of disability. Specifically, these medical source statements determine the work-related capabilities of these claimants. SSA collects the medical data on the HA-1151 and HA-1152 to assess the work-related physical and mental capabilities of claimants who appeal SSA's previous determination on their issue of disability. The respondents are medical sources who provide reports based either on existing medical evidence or on consultative examinations.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

5. Filing Claims Under the Federal Tort Claims Act—20 CFR 429.101-429.110—0960-0667. The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) is the mechanism for compensating people who Federal employees injured through negligent or wrongful acts that occurred during the performance of those employees' official duties. SSA accepts claims filed under the FTCA for damages against the United States; loss of property; personal injury; or death resulting from an SSA employee's wrongful act or omission. The various types of claims included under this information collection request require claimants to provide information SSA can use to determine whether to make an award, compromise, or settlement under the FTCA. The respondents are individuals or entities making a claim under the FTCA.

Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information collection.

6. Internet and Telephone Appointment Applications—20 CFR 404.620-404.630, 416.330-416.340—0960-0822. SSA offers both internet and Telephone appointment options for applicants or recipients who wish to request an appointment when they are unable to complete one of SSA's online or automated telephone applications because they failed the initial verification checks, or when they state their reading language preference is other than English.

SSA offers two modalities for scheduling appointments: (1) an internet-based option (iAppointment), and (2) the Enhanced Leads and Appointment System (eLAS):

iAppointment: iAppointment is an online process that allows members of the public an easy-to-use method to schedule an appointment with the servicing office of their choice. Since the application date can affect when a claimant's benefit begins, iAppointment establishes a protective filing date and provides respondents information related to the date by which they must file their actual application. The iAppointment application propagates information the applicant already entered onto any of SSA's internet applications for SSN, name, date of birth, and gender. However, applicants must provide minimal additional information: mailing address; telephone number; language preference; type of appointment (Disability, Retirement, Medicare); and whether they prefer a telephone interview or in-office appointment. iAppointment is a customer-centric application. If the available appointment times do not meet the customer's needs, iAppointment allows them to enter a different zip code to identify another field office, which may offer different appointment times. At this time, SSA only allows domestic first party applicants to use iAppointment. If users indicate they are filing as third parties, iAppointment provides a message directing them to call the National 800 Number for assistance. If a foreign first party user is unable to complete iClaim, iAppointment directs them to contact a Social Security representative, and provides a link to SSA's Service Around the World website.

Enhanced Leads and Appointment System (eLAS) —eLAS is an Intranet-based version of the iAppointment screens for use by SSA technicians both in the field offices and call centers. eLAS interacts with iAppointment directly to ensure we always record the same information whether an individual requests an appointment through our internet screens, or via telephone. eLAS is a non-public facing system that allows SSA employees in the field offices, workload support units, and teleservice centers to use an telephone interview process to schedule appointments and document an individual's intent to file using a specific script and asking the same questions to each individual. We use eLAS with individuals who use our automated telephone system, or who prefer not to use iAppointment to set up their appointment.

The respondents are individuals who are unable to use our internet or automated telephone systems because they failed the initial verification checks, or because they state their reading language preference is other than English.

Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.