Think from KERA How staff cuts at Social Security hurt grieving families
Apr 9, 2026
Chabeli Carrazana, an economy and child-care reporter at The 19th who investigates Social Security survivor benefits. She discusses long phone waits and months-long field office delays. She covers how staffing cuts from DOGE gutted frontline service. She highlights paperwork confusion, who misses benefits, regional disparities, and whether tech or rehiring can fix the backlog.
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Phone Fixes Didn't Solve Appointment Shortage
- The agency shifted staff to phone lines and added callbacks, which increased callers served by 65% in a year but didn't fix appointment bottlenecks.
- Call-answering improvements didn't solve in-person appointment shortages for survivors.
Experience Is Critical For Complex Claims
- Experienced staff matter because claims are complex and take long to train for; cuts removed seasoned workers.
- New hires require up to one to two years to be fully effective on complicated benefit cases.
Backlogs Grow Because Staff Juggle Phones And Intake
- Remaining staff carry massive caseloads and can't both answer phones and process intake, creating a growing backlog.
- A union survey found 84% of workers said workloads worsened and 70% said service was slower.