Social Security Administration Vocational Experts
The Who, What, Where, Why and When
Original broadcast Feb. 24, 2010.
Presenters:
Michelle McBroom, MA, CRC, CCM, NCC, MSCC
John Yent, MS, CVE
This program is designed for the entry level practitioner or those considering entering into the SSA-VE specialty. McBroom and Yent will explain practice fundamentals including a description of commonly used industry “jargon”. The session will discuss how vocational experts (VEs) work for Social Security. The work is quite unique and unlike testimony VEs may provide in other venues. VE work in this venue is almost entirely dependent on the information obtained in the course of the hearing itself. It requires the expert to think on their feet and respond quickly to a wide variety of hypothetical scenarios. While other court systems require VEs to do thorough assessment of disability pre-hearing, Social Security hearings challenge VEs to develop opinions based primarily on facts presented during the hearing. Participants will learn how the work offers the expert an opportunity to serve a vital role in the disability adjudication process as well as hone testimony skills useful in other testimony cases in their practice.
Topics covered include:
*Explanation of the sequential evaluation process of SSA determinations
*The role of the VE in SSA disability hearings
*Court room methodology; reference materials and technology
*Questions and challenges to expect in the hearing and how to prepare for them
*Resources
*SSA forms
About the Presenters:
Michelle McBroom Weiss began working as a vocational rehabilitation counselor in 1991. Since that time she has worked as vocational consultant, supervisor, manager and statewide manager for vocational and medical case management for a national company for a number of years. McBroom Weiss has served as a vocational expert in workers compensation, liability, divorce and employment law cases. She has served as a vocational expert with the Social Security Administration Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (formerly the Social Security Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals) since 1995. She is currently in private practice providing all aspects of vocational rehabilitation services to include expert testimony.
John Yent has worked in the field of vocational rehabilitation services since 1986 as a case manager and vocational expert in courts. He is the founder of the Recovery At Work ™ program, a disability case management services group specializing in vocational rehabilitation services for health care workers. Since 1997, Yent has also provided vocational expert services for the Social Security Administration, first with the Office of Hearings and Appeals, later the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review. He has provided VE testimony in approximately 4,000 Social Security disability hearings. Yent is the founder and coordinator of the Louisiana Committee of Social Security Vocational Experts (LCSSVE).
