Division of Disability Determination
The Division of Disability Determinations (DDD) is responsible for
making decisions regarding the medical eligibility of Florida citizens
applying for disability benefits under the federal Social Security and
Supplemental Security Income programs, and the state Medically Needy
program. It is also responsible for conducting reviews of existing
beneficiaries under the federal programs and determining continuing
eligibility.
Annual budget is approximately $89 million with 972 positions assigned
to offices located in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Miami and
Pensacola. Florida is the fourth largest state disability determinations
service in the nation, processing approximately 6% of the national
workload each year. During fiscal year 2002-03, Florida DDD completed
decisions on 253,988 federal and 10,432 Medically Needy claims.
Applications for disability benefits are filed at the claimantÂ’s local
Social Security field office when the claimant is seeking disability
benefits under the Social Security Act, or at a local office of the
Department of Children and Families (DCF) when benefits are being sought
under the Medically Needy program. In both cases the application is
forwarded to DDD for a determination of medical eligibility. The claim is
then returned to either SSA or DCF for a final determination of
non-medical eligibility and effectuation of any benefits due the claimant.
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