Mary Barros-Bailey, OIDAP Chair Sylvia Karman, OID Project Director, OIDAP Member IARP Forensic Conference  October 2009  Memphis, TN 1

OIDAP  Panel    What are the Panel’s origins and purpose?   What did we recommend to SSA?   How do you have input? 2

Only the beginning Only the beginning … Not the finish line. 3

Panel: How did we come about?   Briefed Congress, OMB, GAO   Panel Charter describes   Who we are   Our scope   Member specialties: Claimant Representatives, VRCs/VEs, IO Psychology, Orthopedics, Physical Therapy, Neuropsychology, Clinical Psychology, SSA disability programs and policy   Scope: Panel recommends  SSA decides 4

SSA’s OIS Requirements  Must reflect work requirements – SSA must be able to compare human functional deficits resulting from a severe physical or mental impairment with the physical and mental requirements of work.  Must reflect the national existence and incidence of work – Any occupational resource must reflect work that actually exists in “significant numbers” in the US (either throughout the nation or in several regions).  Must meet the burden of proof in a legally defensible way – SSA has a burden of proof regarding its determination that a claimant can work despite a medical impairment. SSA must show what types of jobs a claimant can perform. 5

The OIS and Voc Rehab  SSA’s OIS will be tailored for use in its disability programs  SSA only considers jobs a claimant can perform now despite impairments  SSA does not consider jobs a claimant can potentially perform with training or accommodation as vocational rehabilitation professionals do 6

VR’s view of work a claimant can do with training & accommodation SSA’s view of work a claimant can do w/ impairments

Panel: What are we not doing?   Policy development/changes   SSA follows APA for regulatory changes 8

Mission  “… to provide independent advice and recommendations on plans and activities to replace the Dictionary of Occupational Titles … [and] … advise the agency on creating an occupational information system tailored specifically for SSA’s disability programs and adjudicative needs. ” OIDAP Charter, 9 December

Why not just update the DOT?   DOT not intended for disability adjudication   Remarkable achievement for its time; yet intervening advances in technology, psychometrics, job analysis, taxonomic theory   SSA now has opportunity   Get information re: current US labor market   Develop product tailored for SSA’s disability programs 10

Why not just update the DOT?  Additional data for disability evaluation   Deconstructed DOT information (e.g., light strength)   More detailed data for existing DOT information   Measures that are more relevant to disability evaluation and individuals with impairments   New data not now in the DOT:  mental-cognitive demands of work  literacy 11

Build upon the best of DOT   DOT title taxonomy   DOT physical requirements   DOT use of terminology that can be associated with medical and functional evidence   DOT use of trained job analysts with expertise rating jobs 12

Listening to you …   What you told us   More discrete physical demands (e.g., Light)   Mental/Cognitive demands of work   Data elements to consider “skill”   Other: data about sit/stand or alternative work methods, communication (physical/cognitive)   What we didn’t include …   Elements not helpful or important to SSA disability adjudication (e.g., Interests)   Coding, ranges, etc. (need data first)   Nomenclature (low skilled v. unskilled)… not yet there 13

Panel Recommendations to SSA Content Model and Classification Recommendations (September 30, 2009)   Create OIS to replace the DOT   Taxonomy and data elements needed for disability adjudication   Classification for SSA disability programs 14

Panel Recommendations to SSA   Research for SSA to consider   Measurement considerations   Communication with users, public, researchers 15

Taxonomy and Data Elements  Recommendations for disability adjudication needs   Physical demands of work and worker traits   Work activities information to assess work history & skills   Mental-cognitive demands of work and worker traits 16

Classification Recommendations  Classification for SSA disability programs   Determine method to identify the existence and incidence of work in the national economy   Develop database representing all work in national economy   Classify jobs based on common metric 17

Additional Expertise  Recommendations for OIS development and maintenance needs   Create internal SSA unit of experts to address person- and work-side analysis, research and development for OIS   Develop online communities of researchers and other professionals to inform unit’s research 18

Basic and Applied Research  Recommendations for relevant research   Develop & test person/work-side instruments   Investigate link between person- and work- side for mental-cognitive, physical, environmental elements   Study new OIS data to assist SSA in work experience analysis   Conduct applied research for user needs and effects of instruments and new OIS data 19

Measurement Recommendations Doing it right: Sound psychometric principles   Person-side measures based on metrics relevant to human function   Scales specific enough to gauge person- side elements   Decomposed ratings to avoid holistic ratings of abstract characteristics 20

Communication  Recommendations for relations and input from users, public, and researchers   Explore, develop, host creation and use of traditional and emerging government and at-large media   Continue to engage and meet with stakeholders 21

Listening to you … again!  Did we miss something important to your SSA VE opinions?  Are there recommendations that might not be so helpful to SSA VE work?  What recommendations will be most helpful to you?  Other thoughts? 22

Continuing your input …   Attend public Panel meetings and teleconferences   Announced in Federal Register   Give public comment at face-to-face Panel meetings   Through the web: and by 23

Recap...   Our origins and purpose …   Discretionary FACA Panel   What we are doing and not doing …   Recommend replacing DOT to develop OIS   Advise SSA on data and OIS R&D   Not making policy; OIS not for rehab   You can have input...   Read our report & send us your thoughts We’ll be back--This is just the beginning 24