From the (California) Capitol News: The worst recession in decades is a scary period for many American families. But it is a time of particular peril for those living with work-limiting disabilities, especially in states such as California, where involuntary furloughs and layoffs of state employees who process Social Security disability claims further bog down a system that is already in crisis.
The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) system worked well for decades, but it is creaking under the weight of a growing population of people with disabilities, increasing demands on the Social Security Administration and a wave of government retirements. Social Security employees work as hard as they can to help people who deserve care, but their best efforts are only slowly winnowing down a hearing backlog of nearly 723,000 disabled Americans—including 66,000 Californians—waiting months or years to receive their rightful benefits.
The recession is making things even worse. From 2004 through 2007, application levels were stable, with the SSA processing between 2.1 million and 2.2 million SSDI applications each year. Last year, more than 2.7 million people filed SSDI applications. See article here: