Michael Bernick writes in the San Francisco Chronicle that California State University’s East Bay campus in Hayward is launching a college experiment for people with autism, beginning this fall.

Bernick says it is hoped that the program will help people with autism find productive work. Presently, an estimated 70 percent of adults with autism in California are unemployed.

Imagine Raymond Babbitt of “Rain Man” in college. Might it not be a better alternative for him, and much less expensive for society, than institutionalization or the SSI/SSDI government system? Might he even bring unusual skills that can enrich university life for others?

Michael Bernick, former director of the California Employment Development Department, is the chair of the advisory board of the CSU East Bay autism center.

From the Associated Press:

Social Security officials say they expect an unprecedented wave of new disability claim applications, as aging and injured baby boomers lose their jobs in the recession. There are worries that the extraordinary increase will add to processing delays that have plagued the agency for years.

It’s expected that the agency will receive 3.3 million new claims in the next year, an estimate that’s grown by 300,000 claims in just the past few months. The number of people waiting to have a claim processed is up 30 percent since last fall, to more than 736,000.

Making matters worse, at least 10 states have furloughed the federally-funded employees who process benefit claims.

“We’re going to be moving backwards this year, the question is how much,” Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said in an interview. “The trend line isn’t good.”

In the New York Times ‘Room for Debate’ blog, a conversation among experts about claims of fraud associated with skyrocketing federal disability costs.

Officials say the government can realize huge savings by eliminating fraud, abuse and waste in Medicare, Medicaid and the Social Security disability insurance program. The president’s 2010 budget proposes to spend $4.3 billion over five years attacking the problem.

But is fraud really the cause of rising costs?

Jennifer L. Erkulwater, of the University of Richmond, says no. She says changes in disability criteria have made more people eligible for benefits.

Richard V. Burkhauser, of Cornell University, says the existing system offers people with disabilities financial incentives to stop working, and needs to be reformed.

Morley White, an administrative law judge in Cleveland for the Social Security Administration, says there is too much emphasis on alleged fraud and not enough on reforming the system.

See also:

Budget targets frauds and errors in social programs — Wall Street Journal The White House estimates that every dollar spent chasing fraud in Social Security will save $11 in erroneous payments.

From the New York Times:

As states struggle to cope with growing budget deficits, more disability claims workers are being furloughed — even though their  pay comes from the federal government.

Officials say that 2,700 such workers have been furloughed in seven states, causing further delays in providing disability payments to eligible claimants. The average wait to resolve a disability claim is already a year and four months.

See also: Why the Social Security Disability Insurance system is crumbling — by Jim Allsup in the San Jose Mercury News

The Social Security Administration relies on state employees to process disability claims, but provides a full reimbursement for all expenses. So Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to force these employees to take time off won’t save the state any money. It will just add to the nation’s largest disability backlog.

From the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and New Mobility magazine:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has selected veteran disability policy advocate Henry Claypool as director of the HHS Office on Disability.

Claypool has worked on disability issues at the federal, state and local level for 25 years. As a person with a spinal injury who uses a wheelchair, he relied on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) himself during his college years.

New Mobility magazine named Claypool as its ‘Person of the Year’ in 2005, citing his advocacy on behalf of thousands of legitimate consumers who were denied power wheelchairs when allegations of fraud and abuse prompted a government crackdown. In an interview then, he told the magazine he is driven by a vision of civil rights for people with disabilities.

“Having civil rights gives me a framework or a context to work within, and I can see myself as kind of a freedom fighter, and that keeps me going. I have a right to speak out and advocate for these things, and I’m really in touch with them because I live them every day. Who better? Who better to march on Selma than the people that had a reason to march?”

Claypool currently serves as policy director at Independence Care System, a managed long-term care provider in New York City. He has served in the federal government in various advisory posts in recent years, including as senior advisor in the Social Security Administration’s Office of Disability and Income Support Programs in the Bush administration, and senior advisor for disability policy to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the Clinton administration.

(more…)

From the New York Times:

The nation’s top Social Security official has sent letters expressing “grave concern” to governors who are furloughing the state workers who oversee disability benefits programs.

Michael J. Astrue, commissioner of Social Security, said such actions are delaying benefits for tens of thousands of eligible people, damaging state budgets, and increasing the backlog of claims. He called the layoffs “completely illogical.”

Claims are evaluated by state employees, but the federal government reimburses states for the salaries of those employees and pays the full cost of benefits for people found to be disabled.

“We pay the full freight,”  Astrue said. “States do not save any money when they furlough or lay off these employees. They only delay payments to disabled citizens who rely on the monthly benefits.”

Disability workers have already been furloughed in at least five states accounting for 15 percent of all disability cases — California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and Oregon. Federal officials say another ten are considering similar actions.

Earlier post here.

From the San Jose Mercury News:

Seeking to save money, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered that all state employees stay home one day each month without pay. But by furloughing the federally funded workers who review disability claims, he’s costing California millions of dollars.

Sending those employees home one day a month means the state will forgo about $10 million – or 5 percent of the agency’s $210 million annual budget – from Washington, without saving state government any money. Meanwhile, it’s taking the agency longer to process claims, delaying disability benefits at a time when such requests are soaring.

“There really is no reason to do this, it’s a no-brainer,” said Pete Spencer, the regional commissioner for the U.S. Social Security Administration, which oversees the disability claims program.