Except when it is impractical, the general assistance administrator
will interview each applicant personally before making a decision.
The interview will be conducted in private, although the applicant
may be accompanied by a legal representative, friend or family member.
The administrator will make every effort to inform all applicants
of their rights and responsibilities as well as the general program
requirements associated with applying for and receiving general assistance,
including application requirements, eligibility guidelines, applicant
rights, and applicant reimbursement obligations.
A. Application requirements. The administrator will help the applicant
fill out the application form as described in the preceding section.
The administrator will inform the applicant of any other information
or documentation that the applicant will have to provide in order
for the administrator to evaluate the applicant's eligibility for
assistance. The administrator will fully explain the purpose of any
release of information form or reimbursement agreement before seeking
to obtain the applicant's signature or written authorization.
B. Eligibility requirements. The administrator will inform, either verbally
or in writing, the applicant of the eligibility requirements of the
program, including:
(1) The income standard of need;
(2) The applicant's ongoing use-of-income, work-related, and resource-related
responsibilities, as described in the section immediately below;
(3) The financial reduction in assistance that is the consequence of
spending household income on nonbasic necessities; and
(4) The disqualification penalties associated with committing fraud,
failing to perform work-related assignments without just cause, or
failing to make a good-faith effort to secure potential resources
when the requirement to attempt to obtain those resources has been
explained to the applicant in writing.
C. Applicant rights. The administrator will inform all applicants of
their rights to:
(1) Review the municipal General Assistance Ordinance and Maine General
Assistance Law;
(3) Receive a written decision concerning eligibility within 24 hours
of applying for assistance;
(6) Challenge the administrator's decision by requesting a fair hearing.
D. Reimbursement/recovery. The administrator will inform the applicant that he/she must reimburse the municipality for the amount of general assistance he/she has been granted in the event of a subsequent ability to pay. The municipality may also, as appropriate, contact the client's legal representative to inform him or her of the client's obligation to repay the municipality under the GA program. In addition to seeking repayment from a recipient, the municipality also may recover the amount of assistance granted to a recipient during the previous 12 months from any relative legally liable for the applicant's support (spouses, parents of persons under the age of 25, see Article
VIII, Recovery of Expenses) (22 M.R.S.A. §§ 4318 and 4319). Whenever applicable, the administrator will explain the various liens a municipality may place against a recipient's real or personal property, such as the mortgage or capital improvement lien, the workers' compensation lump sum payment lien, or the SSI interim assistance agreement lien, as these liens are described in Article
VIII, Recovery of Expenses.
An application is considered withdrawn if:
A. The applicant requests in writing that his or her application be
withdrawn; or
B. The applicant refuses to complete or sign the application or any
other form needed by the general assistance administrator.
Under special circumstances, the general assistance administrator
may temporarily refuse to accept applications. Such circumstances
may include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. When the applicant's conduct is abusive, disruptive, or harassing,
or when the applicant is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
In these situations, the applicant will be asked to leave, and if
the applicant refuses to leave, the police may be summoned. The applicant
will be informed that an application will only be accepted when his
or her conduct is under control.
B. If the administrator believes that an applicant's behavior presents
a threat to the health or safety of the public or to a municipal employee,
or if such behavior is violent, or if an applicant has engaged in
abusive, disruptive or harassing behavior and has been required to
leave on more than one occasion, then the applicant may be required
to designate a third party to apply for assistance on his or her behalf
and the applicant may be prohibited from entering the municipal building.
C. When a third person applies for assistance on behalf of the applicant,
that person may be required to provide written verification that he/she
has been duly authorized to act as a representative for the applicant
(22 M.R.S.A. § 4308).