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______________________________________________________________________ DIVISION OF WELFARE AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES Child Care Policy Manual A hearing is an orderly, readily available proceeding before a DWSS Hearing Officer which provides an impartial process to determine: 1. The correctness of an agency action being appealed, and 2. The eligibility of the applicant/customer as it relates to the issue of the hearing. Note: Hearing Officers may neither hold hearings nor render decisions on the issue of discrimination. A hearing may be requested by an adult household member or an A/R on any action to deny, reduce or terminate benefits. An adult household member can also request a hearing of an overpayment or an overpayment amount. All hearings, including a copy of the agency action being disputed, must be submitted to the DWSS Administrative Adjudications Unit (AAU) as soon as possible but no later than 10 calendar days after receipt. The request can be sent by mail, email or fax. The request must contain the claimant's name, address, case number, date received in the Child Care office or DWSS Carson City Administration Office (CCAO) and the name and address of the A/R, if applicable. 791 Time Period for Submitting a Hearing Negative Actions: To request a hearing on a negative decision made by Child Care staff, the customer and/or A/R must either complete the Notice of Appeal section on form 2158-WC or submit a written request to the appropriate Child Care office, DWSS District Office or CCAO within 90 calendar days from the date of the Notice of Action. The day after the notice date is the first day of the 90-day period. If a hearing request is received after the 90-day period, a copy of the hearing request must be sent to the DWSS AAU who will notify the household in writing the hearing request has been denied. Copies of the hearing request and any correspondence with the household regarding the hearing must be kept in the eligibility case file. Overpayments: To request a hearing on an overpayment, the household must submit the request in writing within 90 days from the date on the Notification of Debt, form 2521-EG. The day after the notice date is the first day of the 90-day period. 791.1 Continued Benefits Households are entitled to continued benefits if the request for a hearing is received no later than 14 calendar days after the effective date of the proposed action. Assistance continues unchanged until the hearing decision is made unless one of the criteria listed in MS 791.2 is met. Benefits are not continued if: ● The customer’s request is received after the 14-day period; ● A change affecting the customer’s subsidy occurs after the hearing request, but before a decision is given and the customer does not request a hearing after receiving notice of the change; ● Federal law or regulations require reduction or termination of benefits, or 700- Program Violations, Overpayments, Hearings [15] MTL 01/24 July 1, 2024