For years I have handled every aspect of this website on Social Security Disability law. I do not know how to write website code and I have never gone to school for website marketing. I am a lawyer and Social Security disability specialists and know quite a bit about Veterans Disability as well. I have written every word on this website with the only exception being rules and regulations that I quote from the Social Security Administration website and Veterans Administration website. I have come to the conclusion, that in order to reach more people looking for real helpful and informative information on disability law that I would need help. I have been able to reach many people because of the content I have written on this website. However, it has become clear to me that search engine technology still does not have the ability to separate good quality content from cookie-cutter websites that have search engine experts helping these cookie-cutter websites achieve higher rankings on the major search engines. For those of you who have searched for information on Social Security disability or VA law, I am sure you have experience how difficult it is to find good quality content on the subject matter. I have used the different major search engines to see what results show up for information on SSDI and SSI and I have found that there is only a handful of websites that have any useful information on the subject. It has also become apparent to me that the look of my website is showing its age and needs a new look. That being said, I will continue to write all the content on my website, so that I know the information is as accurate and as helpful as possible for all of those seeking help with their disability claims. By next week if goes as planned the new site will be launched,my new website will be better organized with a similar but more modern look. I firmly believe I do provide the best free information on Social Security Disability law and VA Compensation law on the Internet and hopefully with a little help from some search engine experts my website and it's information will be easier to find for all those looking for great information on SSDI, SSI and VA disability. If you are a regular reader of my website or new to my site, I welcome any comments on the new look and usability of the new website when it goes live next week. My website will never be a cookie-cutter website, and as I stated earlier, I will continue to write all the content for the Ultimate Disability Guide and I personally will still answer all e-mail questions. I am very pleased with the new look and usability and I hope you will be to. Hopefully, not only will I still provide the best information on disability law but will now also be able to reach even more people in need of this information.

In a recent press release, The Social Security Administration has announced the opening of its fifth National Hearing Center (NHC) in St. Louis Missouri. In this same facility will also be a new National Case Assistance Center (NCAC) and the Midwest Training Center. This was paid for by the American recovery and reinvestment act of 2009. The purpose of these National Hearing Centers are to hold of video hearings in parts of the country where Social Security disability hearing backlogs are heaviest. There will be 18 new administrative law judges and 82 person support staff at this office. The NHC of St. Louis will start hearing cases for the Cleveland, Ohio and Minneapolis, Minnesota hearing offices since these two hearing offices are two of the most backlogged in the nation. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, there are also National Hearing Centers in Albuquerque New Mexico, Baltimore Maryland, Falls Church Virginia, and Chicago Illinois. The addition of all these NHCs is to help deal with the increased caseload and huge backlog in Social Security Disability hearings. These NHCs are much needed as the wait time for hearing can be anywhere from one to two years and sometimes even longer. The hope is that with the opening of these new hearing offices the wait time will be reduced for all those waiting for hearing for their Social Security Disability or SSI claim. In all probability however, due to the tremendous increase in cases due to the poor economy, even a slight improvement or a prevention of the backlogs getting worse make this investment well worth it. The Social Security Administration states that they plan to issue approximately 750,000 SSDI and SSI decision this year in total. Perhaps just as important, if not more important, is the National Case Assistance Center which will focus on decision writing assistance to backlogged hearing offices throughout the country. It has been my experience in my practice, that lately there has been a delay in getting out decisions after hearing due to the shortage of writers. This means that in many cases the decision for the claim has been made but the file is simply waiting for a writer to write up a decision so it can be sent to the claimant. The NCAC was set up to specifically address this issue. Lastly, the Midwest Training Center will be used to train Midwest and western employees for their work for the Social Security Administration. This announcement of these three new offices is good news for all those with Social Security Disability claims presently, and will also be an asset for future SSD and SSI claims.