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Disability Determination Services reports backlog pressures, maintains high accuracy despite rising receipts
Summary
Sherry Seil, director of the state Disability Determination Section, briefed the appropriations committee on workload, staffing and a rising backlog of initial Social Security disability claims while reporting a high quality score on sampled decisions.
Sherry Seil, director of the Disability Determination Section (DDS), told the House Appropriations Committee’s Human Resources Division the DDS continues to face increased workload and a backlog of initial Social Security disability claims while maintaining strong quality review outcomes.
Seil said the DDS determines medical eligibility for Social Security disability claims filed in North Dakota using Social Security Administration rules. The DDS (100% federally funded) adjudicates initial claims, reconsiderations and continuing disability reviews; its staff includes 23 funded positions, three current vacancies and one temporary staff member aiding case processing.
Quality and processing: Seil told the committee the DDS’s accuracy on SSA’s sampled quarterly initial-claim review was 97.7% in the most recent reporting period, above the agency performance threshold cited (about 90.6%). She said the DDS’s average processing time, once a case is assigned for adjudication, is about 68 days. The section relies on contracted medical consultants (five physician contracts) to review medical evidence and concur on medical determinations when required.
Workload drivers and staffing: Seil said the initial-claim receipts rose materially in recent years: a roughly 12% increase in federal fiscal 2023 and about a 5% increase in 2024. The higher receipts have contributed to an initial-claims backlog, she said. The DDS also operates a cooperative disability investigations (CDI) unit that includes a DDS staff member working with the attorney general’s office and SSA to investigate suspected fraud.
Budget impacts: Seil said the DDS’s proposed biennial budget increase is about $624,000, primarily driven by the governor’s compensation package and built-in salary and benefit increases rather than new positions. She said the DDS is not requesting additional FTE authority in the package presented to the committee.
Operational notes: Seil described training and quality controls—new claims analysts receive initial training (about 13 weeks) and continue learning with supervisory and QA review. She said the DDS continues to use overtime, temporary staffing and targeted hires to manage peaks in workload when Social Security provides funding authority.
Ending: Seil told the committee she would supply further detail on some data points if requested; the presentation concluded without a committee appropriation action for DDS during the session.
