Section 119B.16 Fair Hearing Process

MINNESOTA STATUTES AND CODES

Section 119B.16 Fair Hearing Process

119B.16 FAIR HEARING PROCESS.

Subdivision 1.Fair hearing allowed.

An applicant or recipient adversely affected by a county agency action may request a fair hearing in accordance with section 256.045.

Subd. 1a.Fair hearing allowed for providers.

(a) This subdivision applies to providers caring for children receiving child care assistance.

(b) A provider to whom a county agency has assigned responsibility for an overpayment may request a fair hearing in accordance with section 256.045 for the limited purpose of challenging the assignment of responsibility for the overpayment and the amount of the overpayment. The scope of the fair hearing does not include the issues of whether the provider wrongfully obtained public assistance in violation of section 256.98 or was properly disqualified under section 256.98, subdivision 8, paragraph (c), unless the fair hearing has been combined with an administrative disqualification hearing brought against the provider under section 256.046.

Subd. 1b.Joint fair hearings.

When a provider requests a fair hearing under subdivision 1a, the family in whose case the overpayment was created must be made a party to the fair hearing. All other issues raised by the family must be resolved in the same proceeding. When a family requests a fair hearing and claims that the county should have assigned responsibility for an overpayment to a provider, the provider must be made a party to the fair hearing. The referee assigned to a fair hearing may join a family or a provider as a party to the fair hearing whenever joinder of that party is necessary to fully and fairly resolve overpayment issues raised in the appeal.

Subd. 2.Informal conference.

The county agency shall offer an informal conference to applicants and recipients adversely affected by an agency action to attempt to resolve the dispute. The county agency shall offer an informal conference to providers to whom the county agency has assigned responsibility for an overpayment in an attempt to resolve the dispute. The county agency or the provider may ask the family in whose case the overpayment arose to participate in the informal conference, but the family may refuse to do so. The county agency shall advise adversely affected applicants, recipients, and providers that a request for a conference with the agency is optional and does not delay or replace the right to a fair hearing.