Approval rates
Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, Leeanne Foster's 63% approval rate sits above the 56% office average, the 60% state average, and the 58% national average. These figures are based on 445 decisions. Aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting the outcome of your specific hearing.
SSA publishes no office- or national-level breakdown of fully favorable and denial rates. The 12 months are SSA's figures for this fiscal year to date plus the rest of the previous fiscal year; how we calculate them.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Foster's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Since 2016, Leeanne Foster has issued 3,992 decisions on record. The yearly approval rate has fluctuated, reaching 63% in the most recent partial year of 2026. This record includes a period where the rate moved between 55% and 67% over the last several years. The most recent 12-month window shows a 63% approval rate, compared to the 60% approval rate recorded across the entire period since 2016.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Foster's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
About the Valparaiso IN hearing office
The Valparaiso IN Hearing Office is the most recent office on record for Leeanne Foster as of July 2026. This office maintains a bench of 11 judges whose most recent office on record is this location. Claimants at this office saw an average approval rate of 56% over the 12 months to July 31, 2026.
Other judges whose most recent office on record is Valparaiso IN
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Among the 11 judges whose most recent office on record is Valparaiso IN, 6 judges decided cases here in SSA's latest file. These 6 judges range from 46% to 63% in their approval rates over the 12 months to July 31, 2026.
Judges with similar approval rates
These active judges' approval rates over the same 12 months (July 26, 2025 – July 31, 2026) are closest to Judge Foster's 63%. All five last decided cases in Indiana.
- 62% Approval rate, last 12 months Fredric Roberson
- 64% Approval rate, last 12 months Kevin R. Martin
- 64% Approval rate, last 12 months Gladys Whitfield
- 61% Approval rate, last 12 months Tiffani T. Jake
- 60% Approval rate, last 12 months Michael Scurry
Rates within 5 points of each other are hard to tell apart at a typical caseload, so treat these as judges with comparable records, not a ranking. See Judge Foster and the three closest side by side →
Approval rates change with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.
Frequently asked questions
Over the 12 months to July 31, 2026, Leeanne Foster's 63% approval rate is at the top of the range for the 6 judges who decided cases at the Valparaiso IN office in SSA's latest file, who range from 46% to 63%. An attorney can help you prepare for the specific tendencies of the judge assigned to your case.
Leeanne Foster's approval rate has varied over the years, with a 60% average across 3,992 decisions since 2016. While the rate has moved between 55% and 67% in recent years, the most recent 12-month window shows a 63% approval rate. An attorney can help you understand how these trends might relate to your specific claim.
No, you cannot request a specific judge. The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm to ensure efficiency, making the assignment process random. An attorney can help you prepare your case regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing.
An approval rate is a statistical summary of past decisions and does not predict the outcome of your specific hearing. Your case's success depends on the medical evidence and documentation you provide to support your disability claim. An attorney can help you gather the necessary evidence to present the strongest possible case to Leeanne Foster.
