Karen Mitchell
Waxahachie,Texas
Summary
Dedicated professional with over a decade of proven leadership within the Social Security Administration, refined skills necessary to foster a positive work environment, emphasizing clear communication and fostering effective collaboration. Recognized as a team player, highly adept at navigating complex challenges with a focus on privacy protection and conflict resolution. Poised to leverage experience and dedication to drive meaningful change within any federal agency, championing excellence and inclusivity at every opportunity.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Social Insurance Specialist
Social Security Administration
11.2018 - Current
- Conduct 30+ interviews that clarifies and verifies information about initial and continuing eligibility for Retirement, Survivors, Disability, and Health Insurance (RSDHI) benefits and determines eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) including state supplement;
- Make decisions and resolve discrepancies for initial and post-entitlement benefits and payments, including Continuing Disability Review (CDR) cases;
- Process SSI and RSDHI overpayments and SSI and RSDHI Post Entitlement transactions;
- Use conflict management skills to diffuse disgruntled individuals of the public via phone and in person;
- Process RSDHI overpayments for the entire office;
- Process Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) Redeterminations;
- Identify and process fraud cases on claimants misuse of SSA benefits;
- Adjudicate and authorize entitlement or disallowance actions at all levels of difficulty and complexity under programs administered by SSA;
- Develop, investigate, and resolv claims and post-entitlement actions that may involve suspension, resumption, adjustment, or termination of eligibility, or payments;
- Respond to contacts from beneficiaries, recipients, the public or other SSA staff by researching inquiries or initiating action to make changes to the claims or beneficiary record;
- Ascertain facts through direct, mail, electronic, or telephone contacts with FOs, PSCs, WSCs/WSUs, FSPs, beneficiaries, or third parties to resolve discrepancies and to obtain complete information;
- Perform representational and information activities to secure cooperation of the public; to disseminate facts and advise on program coverage; and to enlist the understanding and cooperation of local organizations;
- Prepared comprehensive training materials for new hires, resulting in higher employee retention rates and faster onboarding times.
- Provide technical guidance and mentoring (informal and formal) to other employees;
- Analyze and prepared detailed reports of trainee's progress to management, orally or through the appropriate system;
- Participate in training sessions both as a student and/or as an instructor, as required;
- Mentor junior colleagues, fostering a supportive work environment that encouraged professional growth and development.
- Interview applicants and explained scope of different available benefits.
- Improve claim processing efficiency by streamlining workflows and implementing best practices.
- Reduced case backlog significantly through diligent review and timely resolution of pending claims.
- Adjudicate and authorize entitlement benefits and process disapproved claims at all levels of difficulty and complexity under programs administered by SSA;
- Mentor and train new employees and peers on various programs, policy, and procedures;
- Selected by management to process Social Security and Supplemental Security Insurance CDR cases for the entire office to maintain workloads;
- Proficient with all SSA applications including Worktrack, WAC, eWORK, MCS, MSSICs, SER, MS Office Suite, MS Teams, CCE, EDCS, and eView;
Lead Contact Service Representative
Social Security Administration
08.2016 - 10.2018
- Served as a Technical Advisor, a lead role for technical training, coaching, and mentoring for all Contact Service Representatives (CSRs) within the office;
- Advised management of CSR training needs and development and used appropriate training materials, schedules, and plans to meet those needs;
- Conducted training for office staff in specialized subjects and operational issues;
- Assisted management in monitoring workload receipts, including pending and backlogged cases;
- Provided assistance to Contact Service Representatives (CSRs) dealing with very unusual, complex and sensitive cases;
- Gave expert technical knowledge of SSA policy and procedures to assist employees with complex cases;
- Assisted CSRs on the proper use of systems-related records, software, and equipment;
- Assisted the Operations Supervisor (OS) with assuring timely completion of assigned workloads;
- Reviewed and provided comments on new procedures and assisted with developing supplementary procedures and/or reminder items the CSR unit
- Analyzed data and made recommendations for reducing backlogs and improving work processes;
- Possess advanced technical knowledge of a broad range of subjects dealing with SSA programs, with emphasis on basic requirements and post-entitlement processing activities;
- Able to locate, identify, and apply program policy guidelines;
- Maintained effective communication skills needed to provide clear guidance to CSRs to ensure timely and accurate completion of work assignments;
- Made determinations on claims status, payment history, general research information, and made inputs to resolve and process a wide variety of claims and post-entitlement actions;
- Ensured the security and integrity of all SSA's programs and information systems remain intact at all times;
- Facilitated registration for SSA's online services through direct customer assistance via the self-help computers as well as the Registration Customer Support (RCS) application;
- Provided continuing education on a regular basis to the office staff to promote the eServices program; Resolved routine and complex customer service problems related to online services
- Conducted service observations to evaluate telephone and face-to-face interviews and other workload to identify trends and determine training needs for the office;
- Assisted CSRs performing a variety of clerical and data entry functions in support of day-to-day workloads including ERPS, Annual Wage Reporting (AWR), Earnings Modernization Adjustments, Representative Payee Accounting, eRPA, DIPs, DMS, WAC, POMS, Worktrack, SNAAP, EV/STAR, SNO, RCS, EDCS, and PCACS
- Amended inputs and clear system rejects that resulted from incorrect CSR inputs;
- Performed quality reviews of casework completed co-workers to determine accuracy, detect trends, operational, and systems problems;
- Informed management on the quality and accuracy of the CSR units' work and made recommendations for improvements in policy, procedure, and overall workload;
- Served as a resource person on the protection and disclosure of PII;
- Safeguarded personally identifiable information (PII) from loss, theft or improper disclosure including inadvertent disclosure;
- Notified management of any breach, loss or potential loss of PII:
- Researched and identified suspicious documents and transactions, made appropriate referrals, implemented internal controls to prevent and detect fraud and served as a resource on public fraud issues on specific post-entitlement cases;
- Multi-tasked skills to research, read, and interpret information by navigating through multiple SSA systems and applications;
- Organized, prioritized, and processed the results in oral and written form to explain or reconcile divergent viewpoints in instructional materials and in assisted in applying approved operational policies and procedures;
- Interacted with the public daily via face-to-face interviews, phone conversations, video conferences, online communication, and in writing;
- Explained complex situations to minimize public relation issues to individuals;
- Provided information and data in a clear and concise manner;
- Communicated actions or situations requiring resolution succinctly and courteously to an inquirer, co-workers, management, and other components within the agency;
Service Representative
Social Security Administration
05.2014 - 08.2016
- Interviewed beneficiaries, representatives, and the public to determine a solution to their inquiry;
- Explained technical provisions, elicited relevant facts, and resolved issues with benefits or eligibility under the RDSHI, SSI, and Medicare programs administered by SSA; Reviewed and determined the validity of documents in establishing entitlement to benefits; Assisted the public in completing forms and analyzed information to initiate action on their record; Provided referral services to claimants who may be in need of other services or programs ran by the State/Government or local/private agencies; Processed all routine changes to the claimant's record such as a change of mailing address, direct deposit, and earnings information
- Enhanced customer satisfaction by swiftly addressing and resolving service-related issues.
- Streamlined customer service processes for improved efficiency and reduced response times.
- Inputted post/pre-entitlement transactions to completion and confirmed each entry updated to the appropriate record(s);
- Processed non-MSSICS case changes utilizing non-MSSICs manual input;
- Conducted interviews with applicants and made changes to their SSI living arrangements;
- Provided training and technical assistance to peers and mentored new hires;
Education
Legal Secretary & Paralegal Certificate -
National Advocacy Center
01.2001
Civil Law & Bankruptcy Certificate -
National Advocacy Center
01.2000
General Studies -
Community College
01.1993
Skills
- Confidentiality
- Financial Acumen
- Case Management Proficiency
- Strong Analytical Skills
- Policy Interpretation
- Active listening
- Decision-Making Capabilities
- Problem-solving abilities
- Time management
- Data analysis
- Conflict resolution
- Effective Communication Skills
Awards
- Commissioner Citation Award
- Commendable Act/Service Award x5
- Exemplary Service Award x2
- On the Spot Award x4
Timeline
Social Insurance Specialist
Social Security Administration
11.2018 - Current
Lead Contact Service Representative
Social Security Administration
08.2016 - 10.2018
Service Representative
Social Security Administration
05.2014 - 08.2016
Legal Secretary & Paralegal Certificate -
National Advocacy Center
Civil Law & Bankruptcy Certificate -
National Advocacy Center
General Studies -
Community College
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