SSA Response to OMB's Questions on 6-5-07 (per the Terms of Clearance)

OMB Comments

SSA

Site Review Questionnaires for Volume & FFS Payees and Beneficiary Interview Form

OMB No. 0960-0633

Supporting Statement Clarifications:

1. (A3) Is there no electronic input method available for the SSA employee who reviews sites?

SSA staff who are responsible for converting forms to a section 508 compliant, electronic, fillable format do not currently have the resources to automate this form. In the interim, a nonfillable PDF form will be available. Note that even if we convert this form to a useful electronic format, many SSA field personnel do not have access to the laptops they would need to actually use the electronic form. Laptops are essential because SSA staff conduct these reviews at the payee’s workplace.

2. (A4) If this is the case, please explain what steps are being taken to keep RPS up-to-date to minimize the need for duplication.

We conduct reviews to determine if payees are still complying with the reporting and fiduciary responsibilities they agreed to when they applied to become payee. To do this we need to compare information housed on RPS to what the payee reports during our review. However, we would not ask a payee to answer any questions that we have been able to confirm prior to the review. Since our reviews are infrequent due to SSA resource constraints, data on RPS may not always be up to date. We use these reviews as opportunities to reinforce our education efforts so that payees report the information we need to keep RPS up-to-date. We also continuously work with SSA’s system’s components to improve the quality of data on RPS. RPS improvements are implemented as SSA’s resources allow.

3. (A12) On average, how many claims does a respondent file annually per form? And on average, how many respondents file for a single claim?

Each payee reviewed responds to one SSA-637 per year. A review of a payee represents one “claim” (1,747 “claims” i.e., reviews per year). A beneficiary will respond to one SSA-639 whether SSA conducts a site review or random review. The number of beneficiaries responding to an SSA-639 in connection to a review is determined by the type of review conducted. 7,741 beneficiaries responding annually to SSA-639 /1,747 reviews = 4.34 beneficiaries per review. 1 payee respondent per review + 4.34 beneficiaries interviewed per payee = 5.43 average respondents per review. This can be rounded down to 5 respondents.

4. (A15) Please explain why there has been an increase in number of payees.

The number of individuals entitled to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits continues to grow each year as the U.S. population and longevity increase. As the entitled population grows, the number of beneficiaries in the entitled population who need a representative payee also grows. As the number of individuals needing a representative payee grows, the number of payees grows to meet the need.

5. (A15) Please provide a copy of the SSA-638 and the burden estimates for this form previously approved.

Please see the attached copy of the SSA-638. Also, the burden estimates for the SSA-638 which were approved in 2004 are as follows:

Form Number	No. of Respondents	Reports Annually	Time per Response	Total Hours
SSA-638	333	1	1 hour	333