Tennessee Disability Determination Services Ranked First in the Nation for Quality and Accuracy

NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s Disability Determination Services Unit at the Department of Human Services is ranked first in the nation for quality and accuracy by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA).

Disability Determination Services (DDS) processes thousands of Disability Insurance Benefit (DIB) and Supplemental Security Benefit (SSI) applications each year through an agreement with the Social Security Administration. The highly detailed process requires coordination with medical and psychological professionals, the community, and other state and local organizations. The quality accuracy rating means all of the cases reviewed by SSA for quality assurance were processed correctly by Tennessee’s DDS.

“Congratulations to our DDS team for their continued focus on quality and accuracy,” said TDHS Commissioner Danielle W. Barnes. “We appreciate their commitment to getting it right for the Tennesseans we serve.”

Three Disability Determination Services employees received national recognition from the Social Security Administration for their exemplary service last month.  Nevein Ayoub was named National Adjudicator of the Year. Broderick Bayless and Olubunmi Olakunle were awarded a 2016 Associate Commissioner Citation. 

“We’re very proud of our DDS employees for their hard work and dedication. To be recognized by the Social Security Administration multiple times for their commitment to accuracy, efficiency, and program integrity is an amazing accomplishment,” said TDHS Chief Officer of Program and Services Cherrell Campbell-Street.

In August 2016, SSA also recognized DDS employees for their contributions to effectiveness and efficiency with a People Responsibly Influencing Decision Excellence, or PRIDE Award. The Quality Assurance (QA) Streamlining Workgroup tasked with making the QA process more efficient and paperless consisted of Chris Allen, Jeremy Edwards, Stephanie Flick, Cristi Heughan, Sherry Holt, Kim Joseph, Marcella Morgan and Sheila Romines.

For more information on Disability Determination Services visit: https://www.tn.gov/humanservices/topic/disability-determination-services

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