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| Cover Letter |
SOCIAL SECURITY February 24, 2004 Dear Ms. Mitchell: I am writing to provide you with the results of the first of two required Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) customer satisfaction surveys. SSA is conducting customer satisfaction surveys in years two and five of the BPAO project as part of our program evaluation. The customer survey elicited opinions of the information and services provided by benefits specialists in BPAO organizations, and addressed participant work activity before and after counseling. The survey was conducted in the last quarter of calendar year 2002, with 1,764 individuals nationwide who had received intensive BPAO services. Findings resulted in statistically valid data at the national level. Overall, the survey found that participants had a very positive view of the BPAO program, with 89 percent of beneficiaries providing a rating of excellent, very good, or good. In addition, benefits specialists received high ratings for the quality of service provided when counseling program participants. This included the courtesy of the benefits specialist, time spent with the beneficiary, helpfulness, and information imparted as the result of the counseling. Furthermore, respondents’ recollection of work activity indicated that benefits counseling had a positive impact in this area. Prior to receipt of benefits counseling, 28 percent of participants indicated that they were working. The percent of beneficiaries who reported that they were working subsequent to their contact with the BPAO increased by 19 percentage points to 47 percent. If you would like, a representative from the Office of Quality Assurance and Performance Assessment (OQA), the component responsible for the customer satisfaction survey, is available to present the survey findings by teleconference at the next Panel meeting. Please let me know so that I can arrange for OQA participation. I will be happy to discuss the survey findings with you, if you wish. Sincerely, Martin H. Gerry Enclosure cc: |
