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FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES CERTIFICATION HEARINGS FNS 705 ADMINISTRATIVE DISQUALIFICATION HEARING

3 Section 705 Change #03-2022 July 01, 2022 705.03 TIMELY ACTION ON ADMINISTRATIVE DISQUALIFICATION HEARINGS The hearing officer will conduct the hearing, arrive at a decision, and initiate administrative action to make the decision effective. This must be completed within 90 days of the date the FNS unit member is notified in writing of the local agency hearing, or within 60 days of the date the FNS unit appeals the case to the State level. The FNS unit member or representative is entitled to a postponement of the scheduled hearing if the request for postponement is made at least ten (10) days before the date of the scheduled local agency hearing. However, the hearing postponement cannot exceed a total of 30 days and the number of postponements may be limited to one. If the local agency hearing is postponed, the 90-day time limit is extended for as many days as the local agency hearing is postponed. Similarly, for State level hearings, the hearing postponement cannot exceed a total of 30 days, the number of postponements may be limited to one, and the 60-day time limit is extended for as many days as the State level hearing is postponed. 705.04 HEARING OFFICER FOR ADH The Hearing Officer for local agency level ADH hearings is the Local Agency Director. The Director may delegate this function to a specifically designated impartial employee of the local agency. An impartial employee is one that is not a fraud Investigator, is not directly connected with the case, does not supervise an employee directly connected with the case, and has not discussed the facts of the case with any DSS staff outside of the hearing. 705.05 ADVANCE NOTICE OF LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE DISQUALIFICATION HEARING Mail the DSS-8556 , Advance Notice of Your Disqualification Hearing to provide the FNS unit member written notice of the pending hearing. Include the DSS- 8558, Waiver of Administrative Disqualification Hearing in the same envelope. The client has up until the moment the Disqualification Hearing starts to return the signed DSS-8588; therefore, the date to return the DSS-8558 must match the hearing date provided on the DSS-8556. See Section 705.06. Mail a copy of both the DSS-8556 and DSS-8558 to any known legal representative, legal guardian, or local agency authorized representative of the accused individual if applicable. A. Provide the notice at least 30 days in advance of the local agency level hearing. Mail the notice via first class mail or certified mail -- return receipt requested. It is recommended that "addressee only" be used. A copy of the advance notice must be retained in the case record even if the client chooses to waive the hearing by signing the DSS-8558, Waiver of Disqualification Hearing. Attach a copy of the DSS-8556 to the Investigation Case on the Contact Tab in the Attachment folder.