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IMA POLICY MANUAL
PART VIII: CASE MAINTENANCE
Chapter 7: Grievances and Fair Hearings
| ALL |
A record of the hearing and recommendation(s) for final decision will be provided to the Director of the Department by the hearing officer. Recommendations of the hearing officer will comply with federal law and regulations and will be based on the record. The hearing officer's written findings, conclusions, and recommendations will be transmitted to the applicant/recipient or the representative with an explanation that the decision or determination has been submitted simultaneously to the Director of the Department. The package sent to the applicant/recipient will explain that the decision of the fair hearing officer is a recommendation and does not constitute the final decision of DHS.
If the hearing officer recommends that the action of the department be sustained, the applicant/recipient will be notified that he has 10 days to present newly discovered evidence for review by the hearing officer.
The OFH will monitor implementation of all final decisions. The Administrator for the IMA will implement all final hearing decisions. |
Processing Customer Complaints 7.5
| MA |
Individuals having complaints about DHS procedures or staff can contact the Customer Service line, a supervisor, center manager, or the Director or Deputy Director of IMA. Any of these entities or individuals should gather all of the information about the complaint from the applicant/recipient and contact the appropriate IMA staff to resolve the issue. Resolving the issue could include ensuring that all appropriate actions were taken with respect to the applicant/recipient’s benefits and discussing the complaint with the applicant/recipient and/or the IMA personnel involved. If an IMA staff member acted improperly, the Department may take disciplinary action against the employee.
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| TANF |
See MA.
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| GC |
See MA.
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| FS |
OARA is responsible for handling FS program complaints filed by applicants, recipients or other concerned individuals or groups. Complaints involving such areas as processing standards and service to applicants/recipients will be reviewed and resolved within the complaint process. Complaints involving legal or policy issues will be referred to the OFH. The FS complaint system augments but does not supplant the fair hearings system. Any complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of race, age, sex, religion, disability, color, national origin or political beliefs will be forwarded to the OIC.
The purpose of the complaint system is to improve service by reviewing all complaints, recommending corrective action where warranted, recording and analyzing the nature and types of complaints, and achieving an informal solution to case processing and service complaints. |
Federal Reporting Requirements for Complaints 7.6
| MA |
N/A
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| TANF |
N/A
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| GC |
N/A
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| FS |
Federal FS regulations mandate that the department maintain records of complaints received and their disposition and review records at least annually to determine whether any pattern of problems exists in local offices. The results of this review will be provided to the General Counsel and the Administrator of the IMA for appropriate action and for inclusion in the State Corrective Action Plan.
The information provided to the General Counsel and Administrator will include the identification of any potential or actual patterns of deficiencies and the causes of these problems.
In light of the federal reporting requirements, OARA:
- maintains a computerized ledger of all complaints with the date, the service center where the complaint arose, and the SSR or staff member interacting with the applicant/recipient at the time in question
- codes all complaints so that a determination may be made as to the most frequently occurring issues
- prepares a monthly report of the findings pertaining to program complaints including, at a minimum, the nature or categories of complaints, origination of complaints, and the SSRs and center managers involved
- analyzes the monthly report to determine if patterns exist and transmits the analysis to the General Counsel and the Administrator
- develops an annual statistical report which includes an analysis of the monthly reports and any overall impressions derived from discussions with staff, program participants, and other interested parties or advocates. This report will be transmitted to the General Counsel and the Administrator.
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