State Profile
Florida
DDS approval rate
36.6%
-3.2 pts vs national
DDS approval rate
36.6%
National: 39.8%
3-year change
+2.7 pts
Annual receipts
119,859
FY2024
Hearing offices
8
74 ALJs
Latest monthly DDS data · 2026-02
Initial receipts
10,626
Initial determinations
6,867
Initial allowance rate
44.6%
Initial pending
46,058
Recon determinations
7,944
Recon allowance rate
17.0%
Hearing offices in Florida
| Office | Rank | Processing days | Pending | Approval | Judges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORT MYERS FL | 5 | 217 | 981 | 68.2% | 3 |
| ST PETERSBURG FL OHO | 13 | 233 | 1,336 | 64.6% | 8 |
| TALLAHASSEE FL OHO | 21 | 236 | 1,225 | 62.7% | 6 |
| ORLANDO | 28 | 241 | 2,687 | 62.2% | 12 |
| TAMPA OHO | 61 | 262 | 2,985 | 58.1% | 13 |
| JACKSONVILLE | 82 | 273 | 2,945 | 54.0% | 11 |
| MIAMI OHO | 90 | 281 | 2,306 | 65.5% | 15 |
| FT LAUDERDALE | 93 | 283 | 2,688 | 48.3% | 10 |
ALJs in Florida (74)
Sorted by approval rate.
| Judge | Office | Approval | Decisions | Awards | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartledge, James C | MIAMI OHO | 92.7% | 330 | 306 | |
| Green, Gloria W | FAYETTEVILLE NC | 92.4% | 79 | 73 | |
| Paddack, Stacy | TALLAHASSEE FL OHO | 85.7% | 301 | 258 | |
| Northington, Maria C | FORT MYERS FL | 83.3% | 407 | 339 | |
| Messina, Christopher | ST PETERSBURG FL OHO | 82.4% | 34 | 28 | |
| Tejada-Rivera, Pedro | ORLANDO | 80.1% | 156 | 125 | |
| Sprague, Jonathan | FT LAUDERDALE | 77.2% | 316 | 244 | |
| Pennock, Carol J | MIAMI OHO | 76.3% | 224 | 171 | |
| Johannes, Ryan | FORT MYERS FL | 75.5% | 375 | 283 | |
| Collins, Yelanda | JACKSONVILLE | 74.5% | 231 | 172 | |
| Ocampo, Julio | ORLANDO | 73.8% | 141 | 104 | |
| Wolfe, Rebecca | MIAMI OHO | 73.1% | 245 | 179 | |
| Gartner, Richard P | ST PETERSBURG FL OHO | 72.4% | 58 | 42 | |
| McGhee, Carl C | TAMPA OHO | 71.7% | 297 | 213 | |
| D'Alessio, Rossana L | FT LAUDERDALE | 70.8% | 356 | 252 | |
| Dixon III, Andrew | TALLAHASSEE FL OHO | 68.2% | 214 | 146 | |
| Marzan, Shirley A | TAMPA OHO | 67.8% | 363 | 246 | |
| Ballieu, Robert | TAMPA OHO | 67.7% | 235 | 159 | |
| Hemming, Norman | MIAMI OHO | 67.0% | 224 | 150 | |
| Hunn, Wendy | FT LAUDERDALE | 66.7% | 228 | 152 | |
| Houston, Pamela | ORLANDO | 66.6% | 341 | 227 | |
| Mandry, Maria T | ORLANDO | 66.1% | 286 | 189 | |
| Walker, Douglas A | ORLANDO | 66.1% | 283 | 187 | |
| Zanotti, Barbara J | TAMPA OHO | 65.8% | 292 | 192 | |
| McIntosh, Melissa J | TAMPA OHO | 65.7% | 373 | 245 | |
| Detherage, Kevin J | ORLANDO | 65.1% | 278 | 181 | |
| Lowther, Sheila | ST PETERSBURG FL OHO | 64.3% | 28 | 18 | |
| Alderisio, James P | ST PETERSBURG FL OHO | 64.3% | 414 | 266 | |
| Herin, Jr., Walter C | COLUMBIA SC | 64.1% | 220 | 141 | |
| Smith, Donald G | ST PETERSBURG FL OHO | 64.0% | 436 | 279 | |
| Landrum, Bruce | JACKSONVILLE | 63.3% | 281 | 178 | |
| Kirk, Emily | ORLANDO | 63.1% | 360 | 227 | |
| Koster, Guy | JACKSONVILLE | 62.8% | 199 | 125 | |
| Leibowitz, Tracey B | MIAMI OHO | 61.8% | 319 | 197 | |
| Aranda, Clara H | MIAMI OHO | 61.6% | 271 | 167 | |
| Craig, Margaret | TAMPA OHO | 61.4% | 249 | 153 | |
| Mahon, Janet | ORLANDO | 60.7% | 349 | 212 | |
| Slahta, Steven D | TAMPA OHO | 60.7% | 196 | 119 | |
| Greer, William H | JACKSONVILLE | 60.2% | 289 | 174 | |
| Jones, Brian | HATTIESBURG | 60.2% | 128 | 77 | |
| Heller, Joshua R | TALLAHASSEE FL OHO | 59.4% | 310 | 184 | |
| Kafkas, Peter | ST PETERSBURG FL OHO | 59.0% | 407 | 240 | |
| Ortiz-Valero, Richard J | FT LAUDERDALE | 58.3% | 400 | 233 | |
| Froehlich, Gregory J | JACKSONVILLE | 57.1% | 268 | 153 | |
| Terry, Ken B | JACKSONVILLE | 57.0% | 107 | 61 | |
| Celaya, Gracian A | MIAMI OHO | 57.0% | 300 | 171 | |
| Dawkins, John | TAMPA OHO | 56.8% | 322 | 183 | |
| Hill, Vincent | CHARLOTTE | 56.8% | 132 | 75 | |
| Vallecillo, Gonzalo | TAMPA OHO | 56.1% | 114 | 64 | |
| De Gruy, Elizabeth | JACKSON MS OHO | 56.0% | 125 | 70 |
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