Two Hearing Offices To Open In Ohio

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Thousands of people in Ohio waiting for hearings on their Social Security disability cases -- some for more than a year -- should see that wait shortened by months after two new hearing offices open in Ohio on Aug. 16.

The two new local hearing centers, in Akron and Toledo, will bring a total of 119 new jobs to the state and increase the number of hearing offices in Ohio from four to six. ...

The ultimate goal is to reduce the average wait -- at all offices -- to 270 days by 2013, Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said in a telephone interview this week.

"The cavalry is coming over the hill," Astrue said.

"This is very good news from a backlog point of view, but it's also very important to have realistic expectations."

The centers will begin hearing cases by the end of August, Astrue said. But it will take months for them to get up to speed as new judges complete training and staffs settle in.

"You'll start to see some real contributions after about three months," Astrue said. "And that will increase steadily for the next nine months or so."

When the two new offices are fully staffed, Ohio will have 65 administrative law judges hearing disability cases across the state, 22 more than it has now....

Of the 147 offices in the United States, Columbus was dead last with an average wait time of 632 days, according to July data provided by the Social Security Administration. Cleveland was in 137th place with a delay of 549 days.