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Kansas City Hearing Office - ALJ Approval Rates & Wait Times

Missouri · SSA Region 07

Approval Rate

54.1%

vs 58.3% national

Wait Time

6 months

vs 8 months national

Processing Time

264 days

avg days to decision

Cases Pending

2,653

awaiting hearing

ALJs

16

active judges

Kansas City ALJ Approval Rates and Decision Statistics

Individual judge statistics for FY 2025. Click any judge to see detailed performance data.

Judge Approval Rate Denial Rate Fully Favorable Total Decisions Dispositions
Mark Naggi 87.9% 12.1% 83% 305 354
Michael A Lehr 76.1% 23.9% 71.9% 331 395
Diana Erickson 72.1% 27.9% 63.6% 269 313
Christel Ambuehl 66.7% 33.3% 41.7% 12 18
P. H Jung 61.8% 38.2% 59.8% 259 336
Christine A Cooke 60.1% 39.9% 51.4% 333 377
Michael Comisky 53.8% 46.2% 42.7% 288 352
Joan H Deans 51.3% 48.7% 42% 343 396
Michael Werner 45% 55% 31.1% 360 411
Christina Y Mein 37.8% 62.2% 29.7% 370 439
Janice E Barnes Williams 36% 64% 30.2% 172 215
Scot Gulick 34.4% 65.6% 18.3% 93 101
Toni Neal 34.2% 65.8% 28.9% 38 57
M. S Kidd 25% 75% 25% 4 4
Robert A Kelly 22.3% 77.7% 16.3% 355 435
John J Rabaut 11.1% 88.9% 11.1% 9 9

About the Kansas City Social Security Hearing Office

Claimants in the Kansas City service area have their Social Security disability appeals heard at this office, one of the hearing locations in Missouri. The office is assigned to SSA Region 07 and has 16 active ALJs. With 16 ALJs, this is one of the larger hearing offices in the system, handling a substantial volume of disability cases each fiscal year.

The office's average approval rate is 54.1%, which is near the national average of 58.3%. The rate aligns with national patterns, though individual judges at this office may vary above or below this average. Individual judge approval rates at this office range from 11.1% to 87.9%, a 77-point spread that reflects significant variation in decision patterns among judges.

The current average wait time for a hearing at this office is 6 months, which is notably shorter than the national average of 8 months. Once a hearing takes place, this office issues decisions in an average of 264 days. There are currently 2,653 cases pending at this office. That works out to approximately 166 pending cases per judge.

Across the judges at this office, the average fully favorable rate is 40.4%. A fully favorable decision means the claimant receives benefits from the onset date they requested, as opposed to a partially favorable decision which may award benefits from a later date.

How to Interpret Kansas City Hearing Office Data

Given the significant variation in decision patterns among judges at Kansas City, thorough case preparation is especially important. Since judge assignments are rotational, the specific ALJ assigned to a case is not known in advance — ensuring medical evidence and vocational documentation are comprehensive can help regardless of which judge presides.

With an average wait time of 6 months and 264 days average processing time, claimants at Kansas City can expect a total timeline of roughly 15 months from hearing request to decision. The faster-than-average processing at this office means cases may move through the system more quickly.

Judges at Kansas City have collectively issued 3,541 decisions in the current fiscal year, averaging 221 decisions per judge. Individual caseloads range from 4 to 370 decisions, reflecting differences in hearing schedules and case complexity.

Kansas City Hearing Office FAQ

What are my chances of approval at Kansas City?
The average ALJ approval rate at Kansas City is 54.1% for FY 2025. This rate combines both fully favorable and partially favorable decisions.

Individual judges at this office have rates ranging from 11.1% to 87.9%. Of approved cases, the average fully favorable rate across judges at this office is 40.4%. The national average approval rate is 58.3%.
Who are the Administrative Law Judges at Kansas City?
The Kansas City office has 16 administrative law judges. Of these, 12 have issued 50 or more decisions in FY 2025. Decision counts range from 4 to 370 in the current fiscal year. See the judges table above for individual statistics.
How long do disability cases take at Kansas City?
The current average wait time at Kansas City is 6 months. This is shorter than the national average of 8 months. After the hearing, decisions are issued in an average of 264 days.

From hearing request to decision, the total timeline at this office averages approximately 15 months. Note that wait times are point-in-time estimates from SSA reporting and may vary from month to month based on case volume and staffing changes.
How is office data calculated?
With 16 judges handling cases, this is one of the larger hearing offices. Office statistics are calculated by aggregating individual judge decision data. See our methodology page for details on data sources and calculations. These figures rely on SSA's publicly released disposition records, which are processed and incorporated into our database as each reporting cycle concludes.
What percentage of approvals at Kansas City are fully favorable?
A fully favorable outcome awards benefits from the date the claimant first alleged disability. A partially favorable outcome also results in an award but may recognize a later onset date, reducing retroactive benefits. In the approval rate shown here, both types of favorable decisions are included. At Kansas City, the average fully favorable rate across judges is 40.4%.
How does Kansas City rank among other hearing offices in the state?
Of the 5 hearing offices in Missouri, Kansas City ranks 3 of 5 with an approval rate of 54.1%. In terms of wait time, Kansas City ranks 1 of 5 (6 months). Visit the Missouri overview page for a full comparison of all offices in the state.

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