0960-NEW SSA-9000 Emergency Clearance Letter 2-22-10

February 22, 20 I 0
Kevin W. Henns
Office of Infonnation and Regulatory Affairs, OMB
Room 10235, New Executive Office Bldg.
725 17th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20503
Dear Mr. Henns:
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is requesting emergency clearance for fonn SSA­
9000, the Request for Accommodation in Communication Method. Below we discuss the
background for this fonn and the need for emergency clearance.

Background
The need for this fonn stems from recent legal action, American Council ofthe Blind, et al v.
Michael Astrue and Social Security Administration (No. C 05-04696 WHA (N.D. Cal.». In
American Council ofthe Blind, class plaintiffs representing Social Security applicants,
beneficiaries, recipients, and representative payees who are blind or visually impaired challenged
the adequacy ofthe methods used by SSA in its notices and other communications. Prior to the
district court's order of October 20,2009 in American Council ofthe Blind, SSA had offered
three modes of communications for blind and visually impaired Social Security beneficiaries: (l)
a standard print notice by first-class mail; (2) a standard print notice by first-class mail with a
follow-up telephone call; and (3) certified mail. In American Council ofthe Blind, the district
court required SSA to begin offering two new communication methods to blind or visually
impaired applicants, beneficiaries, recipients, and representative payees: Braille and Microsoft
Word files (on data compact discs).
In addition, the district court ordered SSA to follow Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29
U.S.C. § 794. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, states that "no otherwise
qualified individual with a disability in the United States ... shall, solely by reason of her or his
disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the
United States Postal Service." In Alexander v. Choate, the Supreme Court detennined that
Section 504 entitles individuals with disabilities to reasonable accommodations to ensure
meaningful access to agency programs.
In American Council ofthe Blind, the district court ordered SSA to implement Section 504
through 45 C.F.R. 85.51. Under 45 C.F.R. 85.51, SSA must "take appropriate steps to ensure
effective communication with applicants, participants, personnel of other Federal entities, and
members of the public." Further, the regulation states that SSA must "furnish appropriate
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

BALTIMORE MD 21235-()()OI

auxiliary aids where necessary to afford an individual with handicaps an equal opportunity to
participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, program or activity conducted by the agency" (45 C.F.R.
85.51 (a)(1)). In accordance with the district court's order in American Council a/the Blind,
SSA must begin processing 45 C.F.R. 85.51 accommodation requests on April 15, 2010.
Form Implementation/Need for Emergency Clearance
SSA has developed form SSA-9000 to gather information from blind or visually impaired
individuals about the specific accommodation individuals are requesting, the nature of their
impairment, and why the individuals believe their accommodation request will allow SSA to
effectively communicate with them. Based on the information provided on the form, and the
legal and regulatory standards under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and 45 C.F.R. 85.51,
SSA will determine whether it will grant or deny individuals' requested accommodations.
Since the district court's order in American Council a/the Blind, over 1,000 blind or visually
impaired individuals have requested accommodations under 45 C.F.R. 85.51. Before SSA can
rule on these requests, it must be able to gather information from these individuals through use of
the form.
To meet the court-ordered April 15, 2010 deadline, we must begin ruling on these requests in the
very near future. Accordingly, we are requesting emergency clearance for this form by Monday,
March 1,2010. We plan to seek full clearance of the form within several months of receiving
emergency clearance.
Please contact SSA's Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Faye I. Lipsky, at 410-965-8783 or
faye.1ipsky@ssa.gov with any questions about this collection.

Sincerely,

Faye I. Lipsky
Acting Reports Clearance Officer
Social Security Administration