10:87-11.6 Waived hearings

(a) Accused individuals shall have the option to waive their rights to an administrative disqualification hearing. The procedures shall conform with the requirements outlined below: 1. The CSSA shall provide written notification to the household member suspected of an IPV that the member can waive his or her right to an administrative disqualification hearing. Prior to providing this written notification to the household member, the CSSA shall ensure that the evidence against the household member is reviewed by someone other than the eligibility worker assigned to the accused individual's household and a decision is obtained that such evidence warrants scheduling a disqualification hearing. i. The written notification provided to the household member which informs him or her of the possibility of waiving the administrative disqualification hearing shall include, at a minimum the following: (1) The date that the signed waiver must be received by the CSSA to avoid the holding of a hearing and a signature block for the accused individual, along with the statement that the head of household must also sign the waiver if the accused individual is not the head of household, with an appropriately designated signature block; (2) A statement of the accused individual's right to remain silent concerning the charge(s), and that anything said or signed by the individual concerning the charge(s) can be used against him or her in a court of law; (3) The fact that a waiver of the disqualification hearing shall result in disqualification and a reduction in benefits for the period of disqualification, even if the accused individual does not admit to the facts as presented by the CSSA; (4) An opportunity for the accused individual to specify whether or not he or she admits to the facts as presented by the CSSA; (5) The telephone number and, if possible, the name of the person to contact for additional information; and (6) The fact that the remaining household members, including an alien sponsor, if appropriate, and an authorized representative, if any, will be held responsible for repayment of the resulting claim. ii. If the household member is notified of the possibility of waiving his or her right to an administrative disqualification hearing before the CSSA has scheduled a hearing, the CSSA is not required to notify the household member of the date, time and place of the hearing at that point. 2. If the household member suspected of an IPV signs the waiver of right to an administrative disqualification hearing and the signed waiver is received within the time frame specified at (a)1i(1) above, the household member shall be disqualified in accordance with the disqualification periods specified at N.J.A.C. 10:87-11.2(a). i. The period of disqualification shall begin with the first month which follows the date the household member receives written notification of the disqualification. However, if the act of IPV which led to the disqualification occurred prior to the written notification of the disqualification periods specified at N.J.A.C. 10:87- 11.2(a), the household member shall be disqualified in accordance with the disqualification periods in effect at the time of the offense. The same act of IPV repeated over a period of time shall not be separated so that separate penalties can be imposed. ii. No further administrative appeal procedure exists after an individual waives his or her right to an administrative disqualification hearing and a disqualification penalty has been imposed. The disqualification penalty cannot be changed by a subsequent fair hearing decision. The household member, however, is entitled to seek relief in a court having appropriate jurisdiction or other injunctive remedy. iii. Once a disqualification penalty has begun against a currently participating household member, the period of disqualification shall continue uninterrupted until completed, regardless of the eligibility of the disqualified member's household. However, the disqualified member's household shall continue to be responsible for repayment of the overissuance which resulted from the disqualified member's IPV, regardless of its eligibility for program benefits. 3. The CSSA shall provide written notice to the household member prior to disqualification. The CSSA shall also provide written notice to any remaining household members of the allotment they will receive during the period of disqualification or that they must reapply because the certification period has expired. The notice(s) shall conform to the requirements for notification of a hearing decision specified at N.J.A.C. 10:87-11.5(a)8. A written demand letter for restitution, as described at N.J.A.C. 10:87-11.20(i), shall also be provided. History HISTORY: As amended, R.1983 d.224, eff. May 31, 1983. See: 15 N.J.R. 633(a), 15 N.J.R. 1034(a). Originally adopted as an Emergency Rule, R.1983 d.117, eff. March 31, 1983, operative April 1, 1983. The amendments are pursuant to the Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1982 (P.L. 97- 253) and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35). Entire text concerning fraud deleted and replaced. Amended by R.1989 d.121, effective February 21, 1989. See: 20 N.J.R. 2689(a), 21 N.J.R. 511(b). Section recodified from 11.3. Cross reference changed from 11.2 to 11.5. The original section was reserved. The annotations to that section follow: Repealed, R.1983 d.224, eff. May 31, 1983. See: 15 N.J.R. 633(a), 15 N.J.R. 1034(a). Originally adopted as an Emergency Rule, R.1983 d.117, eff. March 31, 1983, operative April 1, 1983. The amendments are pursuant to the Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1982 (P.L. 97- 253) and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35). Originally contained rules concerning criteria for determining fraud. Repeal and New Rule, R.2004 d.181, effective May 17, 2004. See: 36 N.J.R. 28(a), 36 N.J.R. 2425(a). Section was "Administrative disqualification".