[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 19, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64389-64390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-26216]
[[Page 64389]]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA-2010-0066]
Proposed Recommendation to the Social Security Administration for
Occupational Information System (OIS) Development Planning; Request for
Comment
AGENCY: Social Security Administration.
ACTION: Notice; Request for Comment.
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SUMMARY: We need information about work that exists throughout the
nation to determine whether claimants' impairments prevent them from
doing not only their past work, but any other work in the U.S. economy.
To that end, we are developing a long term strategy to obtain current
and suitable occupational information critical for disability
evaluation. In 2008, we established the Occupational Information
Development Advisory Panel (Panel) to provide independent advice and
recommendations on plans and activities to create an occupational
information system tailored specifically for our disability programs
and adjudicative needs. The Panel is soliciting comments on a
recommendation it intends to make to us.
DATES: To be sure that your comments are considered, we must receive
them no later than November 8, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of three methods--
Internet, fax or mail. Do not submit the same comments multiple times
or by more than one method. Regardless of which method you choose,
please state that your comments refer to Docket No. SSA-2010-0066, so
that we may associate your comments with the correct activity. Caution:
You should be careful to include in your comments only information that
you wish to make publicly available. We strongly urge you not to
include in your comments any personal information, such as a Social
Security number or medical information.
1. Internet: We strongly recommend this method for submitting your
comments. Visit the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Use the Search function of the webpage to find
docket number SSA-2010-0066, and then submit your comments. Once you
submit your comments, the system will issue you a tracking number to
confirm your submission. You will not be able to view your comments
immediately as we must manually post each comment. It may take up to a
week for your comments to be viewable.
2. Fax: Fax comments to (410) 597-0825.
3. Mail: Address your comments to the Office of Program Development
and Research, Occupational Information Development Project, Social
Security Administration, 3-E-26 Operations Building, 6401 Security
Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401. Comments are available for public
viewing on the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov
or in person, during regular business hours, by appointment with the
contact person identified below.
The Panel is soliciting comments on its Proposed Recommendation to
the Social Security Administration for Occupational Information System
Development Planning. The comment period is open through November 8,
2010.
Contact Information: Anyone requiring further information should
contact the Panel staff at: Occupational Information Development
Advisory Panel, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security
Boulevard, 3-E-26 Operations, Baltimore, MD 21235-0001. Fax: 202-410-
597-0825. E-mail to [email protected]. For additional information, please
visit the Panel Web site at http://www.ssa.gov/oidap.
Debra Tidwell-Peters,
Designated Federal Officer.
Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel
Proposed Recommendation to the Social Security Administration for
Occupational Information System (OIS) Development Planning
In keeping with its charge to provide independent advice and
guidance on plans and activities to replace the Dictionary of
Occupational Titles (DOT) in disability adjudicative decisions and the
development of a new OIS that will help the Social Security
Administration (SSA) meet its burden of proof, is forensically
defensible, reflects all work nationally and links residual functional
capacity to the requirements of work, the Panel strongly recommends
that SSA:
1. Take the immediate step to develop an overarching project
plan and timeline that specifies SSA's needs and objectives with
regard to occupational information;
2. Develop a fully articulated research plan and associated
processes that provide for the coordination of necessary scientific
research and allows for the incorporation of findings and results,
as appropriate;
3. Prepare and make available to the Panel the overall project
plan, including the attendant research plans, for advice and
recommendation before further developmental activities for the OIS
proceed; and,
4. Make public the aforementioned project and research plans,
thus delineating how SSA plans to proceed in its efforts to develop
said OIS.
The project plan should include scientific and programmatic
justification for SSA's efforts going forth, as well as identification
of the criteria that will ultimately be utilized to assess the
performance of any new OIS system.
To fulfill the requirements of the aforementioned project plan, SSA
must also develop and make public a scientifically sound research plan
that addresses the needs delineated by the project plan and that will
guide the entire OIS developmental process. To meet users' needs,
maintain stakeholder confidence, and ensure legal defensibility, it is
critical that all intended research protocols be developed with
oversight by internal scientists well-versed in research methods along
with programmatic specialists and be reviewed by the Panel prior to
data collection.
Examples of issues that should be addressed by the recommended
research plan include (but are not limited to) how to develop a content
model that is legally defensible and possesses strong evidence of
validity to determine the appropriate sampling methodologies for pilot
testing of all instruments; how to develop a job analysis tool that
will be utilized for collecting occupational information (including
appropriate scales, methods of data collection, sources of data, etc.),
and so on. The Panel recognizes that any plan that is developed will be
necessarily dynamic as new information and data may inform future
steps. However, this does not negate the need for a published plan that
is scrutinized for scientific rigor and adequacy.
In conclusion, the Panel wishes to emphasize that to achieve the
goal of a legally defensible OIS, rigorous scientific methods must be
utilized. The original recommendations, and associated subcommittee
reports, identified numerous empirical studies that should be conducted
as part of the process of developing a new OIS. The Agency should
examine these recommendations and identify the proposed studies that
meet the requirements of good science and SSA's disability program law
and regulations for coordination into the project and research plans
going forth. In addition, SSA should coordinate existing efforts that
meet the requirements of good science and SSA disability program law
[[Page 64390]]
and regulations, into the project and research plans going forth.
[FR Doc. 2010-26216 Filed 10-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P