Within five working days of receiving a written notice of denial,
reduction or termination of assistance, or within 10 working days
after any other act or failure to act, the applicant or his or her
authorized representative has the right to request a fair hearing
(22 M.R.S.A. § 4322). The right to review a decision of
the general assistance administrator is a basic right of the applicant
to a full evidentiary hearing and is not limited solely to a review
of the decision.
Upon receiving notification of the decision of the general assistance
administrator, all claimants will be informed of the method of obtaining
a fair hearing. All complaints that are not clear requests for a fair
hearing will be answered by a personal interview or in writing by
the general assistance administrator. If the client is satisfied with
the adjustment or explanation, the administrator will make an entry
in the case record and file any correspondence involved.
A.
Written request.
(1)
To obtain a fair hearing, the claimant, or his or her authorized
representative, must make a written request within five working days
of receiving the administrator's decision to grant, deny, reduce or
terminate assistance, or within 10 working days after any other act
or failure to act. The administrator will make available a printed
form for requesting a fair hearing and will assist the claimant in
completing it if necessary. On the printed form, the claimant will
give the following information:
(2)
The administrator cannot deny or dismiss a request for a hearing
unless it has been withdrawn (in writing) by the claimant.
B.
Scheduling the fair hearing.
(1)
Upon receipt of the completed written request, the fair hearing authority
must meet and hold the hearing within five working days. The administrator
will notify the claimant in writing when and where the hearing will
be held (22 M.R.S.A. § 4322). In addition to the date, time
and place of the hearing, the notice of fair hearing sent to the claimant
shall include, at a minimum, the claimant's rights to:
(a)
Be his or her own spokesperson at the fair hearing, or be represented
by legal counsel or other spokesperson at the hearing, at the claimant's
own expense;
(b)
Confront and cross-examine any witnesses presented at the hearing
against the claimant; and
(c)
Present witnesses on his or her own behalf.
(2)
Arrangements for the date, time, and place of the hearing will take
into consideration the convenience of the claimant and hearing authority.
The claimant will be given timely notice to allow for preparation
and will also be given adequate preliminary information about the
hearing procedure to allow for effective preparation of his or her
case.
A.
The municipal officers will appoint a fair hearing authority (FHA)
that will determine, based on all the evidence presented at the fair
hearing, whether the claimant(s) were eligible to receive assistance
at the time they applied for GA. The FHA is charged with the responsibility
of ensuring that general assistance is administered in accordance
with the state law and local ordinance.
B.
The fair hearing authority may consist of the municipal officers,
one or more persons appointed by the municipal officers to act as
the FHA, or, if designated, the board of appeals created under 30-A
M.R.S.A. § 2691 (22 M.R.S.A. § 4322). In determining
the organization of the fair hearing authority, the municipal officers
will use the following criteria. The person(s) serving as FHA must:
(1)
Not have participated in the decision which is the subject of the
appeal;
(2)
Be impartial;
(3)
Be sufficiently skilled in interviewing techniques to be able to
obtain evidence and the facts necessary to make a fair determination;
and
(4)
Be capable of evaluating all evidence fairly and realistically, explaining
to the claimant the laws and regulations under which the administrator
operated, and interpreting to the administrator any evidence of unsound,
unclear, or inadequate policies, practices or actions.
A.
When a claimant requesting a fair hearing is notified of the date,
time, and place of the hearing in writing, he/she will also be given
adequate preliminary information about the hearing procedure to allow
for effective preparation of his or her case. The claimant shall be
permitted to review his or her file prior to the hearing. At a minimum,
the claimant will be told the following information, which will govern
all fair hearings. All fair hearings will:
(1)
Be conducted privately, and will be open only to the claimant, witnesses,
legal counsel, or others whom the claimant wants present, and the
general assistance administrator, his or her agents, counsel and witnesses;
(2)
Be opened with a presentation of the issue by the fair hearing authority;
(3)
Be conducted informally, without technical rules of evidence, but
subject to the requirements of due process;
(4)
Allow the claimant and the administrator the option to present their
positions for themselves or with the aid of others, including legal
counsel;
(5)
Give all participants an opportunity to present oral or written testimony
or documentary evidence; offer rebuttal; question witnesses presented
at the hearing; and examine all evidence presented at the hearing;
(6)
Result in a decision, based exclusively on evidence or testimony
presented at the hearing; and
(7)
Be tape-recorded, and result in a written decision that is given
to the claimant and filed with evidence introduced at the hearing.
The fair hearing authority will allow the claimant to establish all
pertinent facts and circumstances, and to advance any arguments without
undue interference. Information that the claimant does not have an
opportunity to hear or see will not be used in the fair hearing decision
or made part of the hearing record. Any material reviewed by the fair
hearing authority must be made available to the claimant or his or
her representative. The claimant will be responsible for preparing
a written transcript if he/she wishes to pursue court action.
B.
The fair hearing authority shall admit all evidence if it is the
kind of evidence upon which reasonable persons are accustomed to rely
in the conduct of serious affairs (22 M.R.S.A. § 4322).
C.
Claimant's Failure to Appear.
(1)
In the event that the claimant fails to appear, the FHA will send
a written notice to the claimant that the GA administrator's decision
was not altered due to the claimant's failure to appear. Furthermore,
the notice shall indicate that the claimant has five working days
from receipt of the notice to submit to the GA administrator information
demonstrating just cause for failing to appear. For the purposes of
a claimant's failure to appear at a fair hearing, examples of just
cause include:
(a)
A death or serious illness in the family;
(b)
A personal illness which reasonably prevents the party from
attending the hearing;
(c)
An emergency or unforeseen event which reasonably prevents the
party from attending the hearing;
(d)
An obligation or responsibility which a reasonable person in
the conduct of his or her affairs could reasonably conclude takes
precedence over the attendance at the hearing; or
(e)
Lack of receipt of adequate or timely notice; excusable neglect,
excusable inadvertence, or excusable mistake.
(2)
If the claimant (or their attorney) establishes just cause, the request
for the hearing will be reinstated and a hearing rescheduled.
(3)
In the event that a claimant who is represented by legal counsel
fails to appear at a fair hearing, legal counsel shall not testify
in place of the claimant on matters of fact but may cross examine
witnesses and make legal arguments on behalf of the claimant.
A.
The decision of the fair hearing authority will be binding on the
general assistance administrator, and will be communicated in writing
to the claimant within five working days after completion of the hearing.
Written notice of the decision will contain the following:
B.
A copy of the notice of the decision will be given to the claimant.
The hearing record and the case record will be maintained by the general
assistance administrator.
C.
The written notice of the decision will state that if the claimant
is dissatisfied with the fair hearing decision, he/she has a further
legal right to appeal the decision pursuant to the Maine Rules of
Civil Procedure, Rule 80B. To take advantage of this right, the claimant
must file a petition for review with the Superior Court within 30
days of receipt of the fair hearing decision.
D.
When the decision by the fair hearing authority or court authorizes
assistance to the claimant, the assistance will be provided within
24 hours.