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Child Care Assistance Program Policy Manual Issued 07/2023 Fair hearing process 15.12 Before the hearing Appeal summary Once the Appeals Division informs your agency of an appeal for a fair hearing, draft an appeal summary. The appeal summary summarizes the issues, including timeliness of the appeal and the facts and reasons for your agency’s action(s) leading to the appeal. Include all supporting documentation with your summary. Examples of supporting documentation are: • The notice of action • The appellant’s request for appeal • Relevant legal citations • Applications • Overpayment calculations • Verifications.

Send the appeal summary, using State Agency Appeals Summary DHS-0035-ENG (PDF), to the appellant and the Appeals Division at least 3 working days before the date of the hearing. Your agency may also choose to submit a narrative summary instead of the form. The appellant has the right to review any information related to the hearing prior to the hearing date. Informal conference Before the hearing, the CCAP agency must offer an applicant or a participant a conference with your agency to resolve the appealed issue informally. The CCAP agency is not obligated to, but may, offer a child care provider an informal conference. It is recommended the informal conference include a CCAP supervisor or a lead CCAP worker. The CCAP agency must inform the applicant or the participant that the request for a conference is optional and does not delay or replace the right to an appeal. If the conference resolves the issue, ask the appellant to contact the Appeals Division to withdraw the appeal. Do not delay sending the appeal request to the Appeals Division pending an informal conference. Appeal hearing To allow for proper notification, the Appeals Division normally holds hearings at least 5 days after it issues the hearing notice. Hearings can be held sooner if the appellant and human services judge consent. Many hearings are held by telephone, but in certain circumstances, a hearing may be conducted either in-person or by videoconference.