Topeka ? On Tuesday, the head of the Social Security Administration Commissioner Michael Astrue arrived in Topeka to mark the opening of the state’s newest hearing office. The Topeka office is expected to cut down on the amount of time people must wait for a judge to hear their disability case. Next week, the office will start hearing cases.

“In the short term, this office allows times in Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas to start dropping very dramatically. Also, in the bigger picture, it is a great sign for the future of the agency we started 75 years ago, SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue said.

Here’s what the new hearing office means to Kansas:

No. 1

Where Kansas ranked in 2007 for states with the worst backlog in the country. At that time, people filing an appeal with the Kansas City, Mo., office had to wait an average of 628 days for a hearing and people in Wichita had to wait 498 days.

438 days

Average wait time for a hearing in Kansas this year.

270 days

Commissioner Astrue’s goal on how long those across the country should wait for a hearing. Astrue expects the new Topeka office to reach this goal. With that office picking up other cases, the Kansas City office is expected to dip below 300 days.

25 offices

The number of hearing offices that will open across the country in the next 18 months. The Social Security Administration was given $500,000 in Recovery Act money to work toward easing the backlog.

$16 million

The amount SSA spent on the Topeka office, which has three hearing rooms, state of the art video conferencing and high-end security. The office will pick up cases from Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

5 judges

The number of administrative law judges hired to staff the Topeka office. An additional 25 employees will help prepare cases. While most judges will come from outside Kansas, many support staff are local.