3.609.1 Notice A.

Each client of Colorado Works shall receive prior written notice of any agency action affecting his or her eligibility for or receipt of grant payments. 1. The client shall be notified in writing of county department approval of: a. An application for Colorado Works. b. Any change in the amount of grant payment. c. The right to a county conference and/or state level fair hearing if the client is dissatisfied with the effective date of eligibility, or the amount or type of assistance authorized. 2. A client shall be given notice of any action by the county department, or any person or agency acting on its behalf, which adversely affects the client’s eligibility for, or right to grant payments authorized under the Colorado Works program. Failure to give notice of an adverse action shall be grounds for setting aside the action on appeal. The notice must meet the following standards: a. The notice must be in writing; and, b. It must describe clearly and in plain language the action to be taken and the reason(s) for the action; and, c. It must refer by number to the section(s) of the state department's rules that require or permit the action being taken, or cite the specific changes in federal or state law requiring the action; and, d. It must state the effective date of the proposed action; and, e. It must explain the client’s right to request a county conference and/or state level fair hearing, the time period for requesting a conference or hearing, and the steps which must be taken to obtain a conference or hearing; and, f. It must explain the client's right to continued grant payments and the obligation to repay if it is determined that the client was not eligible to receive them; and, g. It must inform the client of his or her right to be represented or assisted by legal counsel, a relative, a friend, or a spokesperson of his or her choosing; and, h. To the extent practicable, notice shall be in his or her primary language. If he or she is illiterate, the action shall also be explained verbally. B. The county department shall notify a client of any change from his or her prior grant payment amount, the reason for the action, and the date the action becomes effective in writing. C. Clients shall receive written timely notice, giving at least eleven (11) calendar days advance notice before any adverse action taken during the certification period, becomes effective, except as specified in section 3.609.7.C. The notice shall explain the reason for the proposed action and the date the action becomes effective. 1. When acting on a change, if the eleven (11) calendar day timely notice period can be given within the month the written timely notice is sent, the change will become effective the first day of the following month. 2. If the 11 calendar day timely notice period concludes in the following month, the change shall become effective the first day of the month after which the timely notice period concluded. 3. If the timely notice period ends on a weekend or holiday and a request for a state level fair hearing and continuation of grant payments is received the first business day after the timely notice period, the request shall be considered timely received. 4. Colorado Works grant payments must be discontinued or reduced after thirty-one (31) calendar days in the following situations: a. The client’s income exceeds the grant standard, after application of disregards. b. All eligible dependent children in the assistance unit no longer meet the definition of living in the home. c. A dependent child(ren) in the assistance unit no longer meet the definition of living in the home and Colorado Works is requested for the child(ren) by another caretaker. d. An adult member of the assistance unit leaves the home and requests assistance in a new assistance unit. e. All members of the assistance unit leave the state of Colorado to reside in another state or country. f. An eighteen-year-old who is the only dependent child graduates from high school or stops attending school. The thirty-one (31) day count begins on the first day of the month following the month in which the change occurred. Colorado Works benefits will be discontinued on the first day of the month following the month in which the thirty-first (31st) day falls. An individual may be removed from the assistance unit according to D below, and prior to thirty-one (31) calendar days, when the change described in this section occurs simultaneously with a change in which adequate notice, not timely notice, is required. D. Adequate notice, not timely notice, is required in the following situations: 1. When facts indicate an overpayment because of probable fraud or an intentional program violation and such facts have been verified to the extent possible, prior notice shall be mailed at least five (5) calendar days before the proposed effective date. 2. The client has died. 3. An adult member of the assistance unit formally requests for benefits to stop for themselves in their original assistance unit, or a caretaker who remains a part of the original assistance unit requests that they stop receiving benefits for another member who has left the home. 4. When an adult member of the assistance unit who is not the head of household requests for benefits to stop for themselves and their child(ren) when that adult makes a declaration that they have left the home due to domestic violence. 5. The client begins receiving Title-IV of the Social Security Act funds from another source such as foster care/ Title-IV kinship/adoption subsidies. 6. The client begins receiving benefits under another public assistance program which may not be received concurrently with a Colorado Works grant, such as Supplemental Security Income or Adult Financial programs. 7. At application or redetermination, when a certification period has not yet been set. 8. An adult member of the assistance unit has already received sixty months of assistance and a hardship extension has not been granted. E. If the client’s change in circumstances requires a reduction or termination of grant payments, the following action will be required: 1. Send a written timely or adequate notice, according to subsections C. and D., above. 2. If a client requests a county conference, conduct the county conference as specified in section 3.609.6. If a client is dissatisfied with the results of the county conference and requests a state level fair hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, such a request shall be in accordance with section 3.609.7. If a client does not request a county conference and only requests a state level fair hearing any time prior to the effective date of the timely notice, and the certification period has not expired, the client's grant payments shall be continued on the basis authorized immediately prior to the timely notice. Continued grant payments shall not be issued for a period beyond the end of the current certification period. Grant payments shall be continued until a final decision has been made by the Office Of Appeals or until the certification period ends, whichever occurs first. The county department shall explain to the client that repayment will be required for the amount of any grant payments determined by the hearing officer to have been overpaid or the continued grant payments to which the client was not eligible to receive. 3. If the certification period expires before the hearing process is completed, the client may reapply for benefits. 4. If the client does not appeal the timely notice to decrease or terminate grant payments within the timely notice period, the changes shall be made in accordance with timeframes outlined in section 3.609.1.