Op Ed

The First 23 Years of People With Disabilities Foundation (PWDF) Holiday Op Ed

By Steven Bruce, Legal Director

Since the year 2000, PWDF has focused on people with mental or developmental disabilities. In about 20 discrimination cases, with 6 going to court against the Social Security Administration (SSA) in 2001, 2006, 2009, and 2 presently in 2023, we come to the undeniable conclusion that the SSA intentionally carries out its policy and practice of making it dangerously difficult for these populations to get on disability benefits and to stay on them when the Agency effectuates medical or work Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs).

As field office employees and Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) are pressed to do, they avoid taking into account the difficulty these individuals have in effectively communicating based on severe mental disabilities even though the disability information is in the SSA computer systems and can easily be ascertained just by looking.

Case in point – during two recent ALJ hearings, the judge first proclaimed “this is not a disability hearing,” the purpose being to leave out mental limitations affecting the CDR and alleged overpayment.  This ALJ talked directly to my client with schizophrenia stating “don’t you think you should pay us back money that belongs to us?” It was only because a treating psychologist then testified that this claimant’s functional limitations included disorganized thinking, and visual, auditory and olfactory hallucinations, that the ALJ was then forced to take into account that my client would not have known facts regarding an alleged overpayment and a work CDR.

The same is true for all employees at the approximately 1,500 field offices in the U.S. since they are not medically trained, but nevertheless conduct work reviews.  In one case, a supervisor spent a year at a field office conducting a work CDR and testified under oath that he never knew the disabled claimant’s disability, schizophrenia.

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PWDF Profile

Who We Are

People With Disabilities Foundation is an operating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, which focuses on the rights of the mentally and developmentally disabled.

Services

Advocacy: PWDF advocates for Social Security claimant’s disability benefits in eight Bay Area counties. We also provide services in disability rights, on issues regarding returning to work, and in ADA consultations, including areas of employment, health care, and education, among others. There is representation before all levels of federal court and Administrative Law Judges. No one is declined due to their inability to pay, and we offer a sliding scale for attorney’s fees.

Education/Public Awareness: To help eliminate the stigma against people with mental disabilities in society, PWDF’s educational program organizes workshops and public seminars, provides guest speakers with backgrounds in mental health, and produces educational materials such as videos.