LOS ANGELES COUNTY - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES
APPEALS AND STATE HEARINGS (ASH) SECTION
3833 S. Vermont Avenue - 4th Floor, Los Angeles 90037
ASH WEBSITE - http://www.ladpss.org/dpss/ash/default.cfm

ASH MISSION

To carry out the Federal and State mandates which guarantee applicants and participants of public assistance the right to a fair hearing.

 

RIGHT TO A STATE HEARING

A State Hearing is available to a claimant who is dissatisfied with a County action or inaction. The request for a State Hearing shall be filed within 90 days after the date of the action or inaction with which the claimant is dissatisfied. The State Hearing Division is responsible for scheduling the State Hearings which are generally calendared within 30 days from the filing date.

An applicant or participant may request a hearing in writing or orally. In Los Angeles County, written requests are to be sent to P.O. Box 18890, Los Angeles, CA 90018. Oral requests shall be made with CDSS in Sacramento by calling the toll free number: 1-800-952-5253. ASH and district staff shall not accept oral or fax requests for State hearings.

 

COUNTY AND STATE - HEARING RESPONSIBILITIES

ASH is responsible for reviewing the appropriateness of the County action or inaction.

ASH staff must be knowledgeable of all aid programs and well-trained in oral and written communications to effectively represent the County as well as protect the rights of the claimants. If the County did not follow required procedures, ASH resolves the issue with the claimant without the need to hold a hearing, advises district/regional office staff of the administrative error or reevaluation needed and instructs district/regional office staff to take immediate corrective action. If the County acted properly and met all procedural requirements, ASH prepares and presents the County’s position to an Administrative Law Judge in a State Hearing. In Los Angeles County, State Hearings are held at the State building located at 811 Wilshire Blvd., 11th Floor, Los Angeles.

CDSS’ State Hearings Division under the Chief Administrative Law Judge is responsible for administering the hearing process, conducting each hearing and rendering a fair, impartial and independent State Hearing decision. The decision must be adopted within 90 days from the filing date.

COMPLIANCE WITH STATE HEARING DECISIONS

When the State issues a decision in favor of the claimant, the County must take action to comply with the terms of the granted hearing decision within 30 days from receipt of the decision. One very important function of the ASH Section is to monitor granted State Hearing decisions and work with district office staff to ensure that the County complies timely with the State Hearing decision.

 

OPERATIONAL STRUCTURE

The ASH Section is composed of three major operational functions: 1) Appeals Hearing Specialists and Supervisors responsible for handling all incoming appeals requests; 2) A Central Compliance Unit which monitors/controls district and regional offices’ compliance with State Hearing decisions; and, 3) A Central Clerical Unit which registers all new appeals filings/rehearings and works with the State in scheduling the hearings and maintaining the ASH database.

 

WORKLOAD STATISTICS

For Calendar Year 2006, ASH processed/resolved 28,218 hearing requests which averages to 2,351 appeals per month. This means that generally either a hearing was held or the issue was resolved to the claimant’s satisfaction within 30 days. ASH staff work closely with district and regional offices to resolve issues raised by claimants without the need for a State Hearing. Over 90% of all appeals are resolved without the need for a hearing.

For those instances when a hearing took place, a total of 6,302 state hearing decisions were received for Calendar Year 2006. There were 1,705 state hearing decisions in favor of the claimant and 483 where the Administrative Law Judge granted certain issues in favor of the claimant and others in favor of the County (claim granted in part and denied in part). A total of 4,114 decisions supported the County’s actions in full and denied the claim.

Last Updated: March 2008