Virginia Administrative Code
Title 22 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Agency 40 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 295 - TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)
Section 22VAC40-295-110 - Hearings
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. Every applicant or recipient shall have the right to request a hearing before a hearing officer. An opportunity for a hearing shall be granted to any applicant who requests a hearing because his claim for financial assistance is denied, or is not acted upon with reasonable promptness, and to any recipient who is aggrieved by any agency action resulting in suspension, reduction, discontinuance, or termination of assistance, or determination that a protective, vendor, or two-party payment should be made or continued. A hearing need not be granted when either state or federal law required automatic grant adjustments for classes of recipients unless the reason for an individual appeal is incorrect grant computation. A hearing may be requested by a clear expression, oral or written, by any member of an assistance unit or its authorized representative to the effect that it wishes to appeal a decision or that an opportunity to present its case to a higher authority is desired.
B. An applicant or recipient shall be allowed to request a hearing on any agency action or loss of assistance for up to 30 days after receipt of the notice of adverse action if the proposed action is effective within the next 30 days. If the proposed action is effective more than 30 days following receipt of this notice, an appeal may be filed until the effective date. In addition, an assistance unit may at any time request a hearing to dispute its current level of assistance. Within 90 days of the receipt of a request for a hearing, the hearing shall be conducted, a decision reached, and the applicant or recipient shall be notified of the decision.
C. The applicant or recipient shall be afforded all rights as specified in this section.
D. Every applicant or recipient shall be informed in writing at the time of application and at the time of any action affecting his claim:
E. The hearing shall be conducted at a reasonable time, date, and place, and adequate preliminary written notice shall be given.
F. When the hearing involves medical issues such as those concerning a diagnosis, an examining physician's report, or a medical review team's decision, a medical assessment other than that of the person or persons involved in making the original decision shall be obtained at agency expense and made part of the record if the hearing officer considers it necessary.
G. The hearing shall include consideration of:
H. The claimant, or his representative, shall have adequate opportunity to:
I. Decisions of the hearing officer shall be based exclusively on evidence and other material introduced at the hearing. The transcript or recording of testimony and exhibits, or an official report containing the substance of what transpired at the hearing, together with all papers and requests filed in the proceeding, and the decision of the hearing officer shall constitute the exclusive record and shall be available to the claimant at a place accessible to him or his representative at a reasonable time.
J. Decisions by the hearing officer shall:
K. The claimant shall be notified of the decision in writing.
L. When the hearing decision is favorable to the claimant, or when the agency decides in favor of the claimant prior to the hearing, the Department of Social Services shall promptly make corrective payments retroactively to the date the incorrect action was taken.
Statutory Authority
§ 63.2-217 of the Code of Virginia.