Automated Scheduling Application (ASA)

Justification for Non-Substantive Changes for

Automated Scheduling Application (ASA)

OMB No. 0960-0797

Justification for Non-Substantive Changes to the Collection or Resubmission of the Collection within One Year of OMB Approval

• Change #1: We are changing the name from Automated Scheduling to Availability and Scheduling Calendar

Justification #1: We previously named this application “Automated Scheduling” because it automates some aspects of the scheduling process. SSA does not consider the application fully automated, because it requires an employee to operate the application. We have found that this title causes confusion and leads users to believe that the application fully automates the scheduling process. We are changing the title to “Availability and Scheduling Calendar” to better reflect the functionality of the application. We would like the title change to go into effect as soon as possible as we have already begun transitioning all corresponding documentation and references to reflect the new title. We plan to implement this change for the April 2013 Maintenance Release.

• Change #2: We are adding Vocational Expert (VE) and Medical Expert (ME) information on daily calendars for representatives and experts as shown in the enclosed screen shots.

Justification #2: Presently, when representatives receive a hearing notice in the mail, the hearing notice includes the name of the VE and ME assigned to their hearing. In ASA Calendars, when appointed representatives view a daily calendar, they cannot see the VEs and MEs associated with their hearings. We want to add this information to representatives’ daily calendars to be consistent with the hearing notice. We did not previously provide this information in the application because we were awaiting policy clarification and guidance on including all participants’ names. We now have the approval from our agency’s components to display all the hearing participants’ names that are included in the hearing notice. We plan to implement this change for April 2013 Maintenance Release.