Back to all states
Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

State Profile

New Jersey

NJ · Region NYC

DDS approval rate

38.4%

-1.4 pts vs national

DDS approval rate

38.4%

National: 39.8%

3-year change

-1.2 pts

Annual receipts

47,709

FY2024

Hearing offices

3

28 ALJs

Latest monthly DDS data · 2026-03

Initial receipts

5,857

Initial determinations

5,474

Initial allowance rate

35.0%

Initial pending

13,703

Recon determinations

1,010

Recon allowance rate

15.1%

Hearing offices in New Jersey

OfficeRankProcessing daysPendingApprovalJudges
JERSEY CITY1422993,34166.1%10
NEWARK1453013,96756.2%10
SOUTH JERSEY1523233,37470.0%8

ALJs in New Jersey (28)

Sorted by approval rate.

JudgeOfficeApprovalDecisionsAwardsTrend
Barr, SheenaJERSEY CITY81.7%224183
Patterson, KarenSOUTH JERSEY81.3%342278
Varillo, KimberlySOUTH JERSEY80.8%291235
Merrill, TheresaNEWARK79.3%193153
Cornell, KathleenSOUTH JERSEY76.4%284217
Addison, AndreaJERSEY CITY72.4%257186
Timm, FrederickSOUTH JERSEY67.9%268182
Hibner Olson, LisaSOUTH JERSEY66.7%246164
Pantuso, Gina AJERSEY CITY66.5%176117
Russak, JackJERSEY CITY66.0%244161
Lardaro, Elizabeth A.SOUTH JERSEY65.7%213140
Moore, TrinaJERSEY CITY65.4%280183
Gonzalez, RobertJERSEY CITY65.0%309201
Kenneally, KevinJERSEY CITY64.9%328213
West, RichardNEWARK64.5%200129
Shillin, BethNEWARK63.9%13385
Cerulli, NicholasSOUTH JERSEY63.4%12378
Suna, DavidJERSEY CITY62.4%189118
Costa, LeonardNEWARK60.5%233141
Campbell, JohnNEWARK60.0%9054
Shelton, KarenNEWARK59.6%208124
Allard, SharonNEWARK56.5%200113
Damille, RicardyNEWARK55.6%277154
Loewy, Dina RJERSEY CITY49.4%17486
Green, TonyaSOUTH JERSEY48.1%260125
Ayers, KennethNEWARK43.9%237104
Toland, MargueriteJERSEY CITY40.0%2510
Lee, PeterNEWARK23.8%18945

Next step

Estimate approval odds

See SSA historical approval base rates for a New Jersey claim by condition, age, and stage.

Related reading