National Disability Forum (NDF) Home


Welcome to Social Security's National Disability Forum (NDF) Webpage.

The NDF is a public forum that gives expert panelists an opportunity to share their unique insights on topics of particular interest with SSA early in the process and directly with policymakers. Further, the NDF provides an opportunity for stakeholders (e.g., Social Security representatives, individuals with disabilities, advocate organizations, Federal/State/local and tribal government agencies, private companies, members of the medical community, and others interested in assisting individuals) to hear from one another.

The NDF is not intended to be a means for reaching agreement on an issue, and SSA’s participation is only for the purpose of gaining insight through listening. This inclusive and collaborative approach helps us maintain and develop responsive, effective, and efficient policies. The activities under the NDF may supplement, but do not replace, the rule-making process followed by SSA under the Administrative Procedure Act.

We hope engaging interested parties in a public forum such as the National Disability Forum can help us capture innovative ideas - ensuring that our vision for the disability program continues to keep pace with advances in medicine, technology, health care delivery, and the modern workplace.