1. a. 

   Proposal must describe or provide:

   • •

     What problems exist which have given rise to the proposal to decentralize and what specific goals or solutions are expected as a result of decentralization.

   • •

     What alternative approaches, other than decentralization, have been considered.

   • •

     The views of State officials regarding decentralization and any State laws or regulations, prohibiting, limiting, or controlling any such move.

   • •

     The factors predicting the location of new office(s) e.g., the actual advantages of a particular geographic location.

   • •

     A cost-benefit analysis of the proposed decentralized operation. Examples of data that are available are space costs, employee ratios, and medical costs.

   • •

     How the regulated performance goals can be attained, or how DDS performance can be improved by decentralization. This should include an analysis of processing time and accuracy for the past 6 months.

2. b. 

   Space considerations must describe:

   • •

     The availability of space in present city of location and proposed decentralized location(s).

   • •

     The lease provisions of currently occupied space and contemplated lease provisions of proposed space. This must include the actual or proposed renewal and cancellation provisions.

   • •

     The time overlap of payment or double rent during the transition period.

   • •

     The actual number of square feet and the cost per square foot for all locations either occupied or proposed.

   • •

     Any renovation or alteration changes and the costs of these changes.

   • •

     The potential for further expansion in the immediate or foreseeable future.

   • •

     Any reduction in central location space requirements.

3. c. 

   Personnel considerations must describe the:

   • •

     Actual recruitment, retention, morale, quality, and stability of the DDS staff at the present location and anticipated at the new location.

   • •

     Availability of a nucleus of trained staff at the new location and status of recruitment of new staff.

   • •

     Positions created exclusively for the decentralized office, i.e., coordinator, assistant administrator, or any duplicate positions that will be necessary; and conversely any positions eliminated as a result of decentralization.

   • •

     Administrative effectiveness as a result of the supervisory-line adjudication ratio.

4. d. 

   Organizational considerations must describe the:

   • •

     Organizational setup of the decentralized office including the administrative and supervisory span of control.

   • •

     Extent of autonomy allowed the office, i.e., is it self-contained; is it managed and controlled by the administrator in a centralized location?

   • •

     Provisions and staff allocations made for such matters as quality assurance, vocational case consultants, CE oversight, professional and public relations, training, administrative support, word processing and other equipment.

   • •

     Any in-house reorganization made in preparation for the actual physical decentralization.

5. e. 

   Service area of the decentralized office, percent and mix of the workload, population centers, geographic, and FO service areas involved.

6. f. 

   Local medical community and its receptiveness to the program, any enhancements to medical and public relations, and the availability of medical resources and medical specialties.

7. g. 

   Current statistics of cases processed in the area affected by the decentralization, and how this compares to the agency as a whole.

8. h. 

   Initial cost of the decentralization, to include the initial physical move, relocation or temporary details of staff including per diem for staff on detail, installation of telephones, systems additional equipment, purchases, etc.

1. a. 

   The DDS will submit its proposal to the SSA RO for review and evaluation, and

2. b. 

   will forward the proposal to OD with the RO's recommendations.

1. a. 

   SSA CO (OD) will review evaluate, and coordinate the DDS proposal with all interested CO components, and

2. b. 

   notify the DDS through the respective SSA RO, of its evaluation of the proposal and what further actions, if any, are required.

1. a. 

   Provide the RO with a formal status report on the progress of decentralization at the end of the first 6 months of operation and at the end of the first full year of operation. The form and content of the report(s) will be at the direction of the SSA RO and based on individual experience and needs and will include a summary of benefits derived from the decentralization of operations.

2. b. 

   Identify the decentralized operation as a separate entity in all your regular and special statistical reporting to the SSA RO and CO. This includes the State Agency Operations Report, the YY Report and State Agency Work Sampling.

Use combined reporting only as an interim or temporary expedient while adjustments and reprogramming by SSA CO are being completed.