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VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT

OF SOCIAL SERVICES ENERGY ASSISTANCE

06/07 VOLUME IX, CHAPTER F, PAGE 1

1. RIGHT OF APPEAL

At the time of application, every applicant shall be informed in writing, of the right to a fair hearing, of the method by which a hearing may be obtained and of the right to be represented by others or by themselves. The informational handout, Energy Assistance Fact Sheet, must be given to each applicant when conducting a face-to-face interview at the time of the initial application.

The LDSS worker has the responsibility of informing the client orally of the right to appeal if the client is dissatisfied with any action taken by the LDSS or the failure to act in relation to his/her eligibility.

A household has the right to appeal and receive a fair hearing if the household does not agree with the action taken on their application or case.

Federal regulations requires that states provide an opportunity for a fair administrative hearing to individuals whose claims for assistance are denied or are not acted upon with reasonable promptness. The following criteria determine if an appeal request is valid.

2. LOCAL AGENCY CONFERENCE

When an applicant is denied assistance, he/she must be offered the opportunity to request an agency conference. Upon receipt of a request for such a conference, the LDSS must schedule the conference within ten working days from the date of the request. The client's failure to request a local agency conference has no affect upon the right to appeal. At the conference, an authorized representative, legal counsel, relative or friend may represent the client. The conference may be attended by the eligibility worker, but must be attended by an eligibility supervisor or the superintendent/director and the client or his/her representative. The conference with the LDSS is designed to allow the client to request and receive an explanation of the action taken. The intent of the conference is to avoid a lack of understanding on the part of the applicant. The applicant should be given the opportunity to verbalize his/her reasons for disagreeing with the LDSS. The LDSS shall respond to each reason given by the client, based on current guidance. The conference should reveal that the action is appropriate or that the action is inappropriate.

TRANSMITTAL #07-1