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Dear Colleague,

We are taking an important step to strengthen stewardship of the disability programs and improve service to the public. We will begin transitioning the processing of medical Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs) from State Disability Determination Services (DDS) to our federal processing site, Disability Case Review (DCR).

CDRs are a key part of our program integrity efforts, ensuring that individuals receiving disability benefits remain medically eligible. Bringing medical CDR processing in-house will strengthen oversight and accountability, improve service and program management, and support efforts to reduce improper payments. This change allows our DDS partners to focus on adjudicating initial disability claims and reconsideration cases, which will help reduce wait times for people applying for benefits.

Our Disability Case Review organization has demonstrated strong results since federal processing sites were consolidated under DCR in FY 2025. Through improved management oversight and operational changes, DCR increased production by over 20 percent from FY 2024 to FY 2025. Building on this success, we will hire additional employees with medical CDR experience to further expand processing capacity.

Importantly, this operational change does not change the eligibility rules for disability benefits. Rather, it will help us strengthen program administration and improve service to the public.

Thank you for the work you do to support the people and communities you serve.

Sincerely,

Nick Perrine
Chief Communications Officer
External.Relations@ssa.gov