California Department of Social Services - State Hearings Division
Notes from the Training Bureau - January 8, 2003

7. The county issues a time limit notice of action in the 54th month and the claimant fails to file a hearing request within 90 days of that notice. May the claimant have months 1 through 54 reviewed if the claimant then requests a hearing after the county issues a notice of action discontinuing aid in the 60th month?

Answer: If the county issued an adequate notice of action in the 54th month, the claimant's request for hearing on the 60th month notice of action would be untimely and the claimant would not be entitled to a review of months 1 through 54.

In order to be adequate, the notice of action must meet the requirements of MPP Section 22-001 (a) 1. In addition, the notice of action must include warning language similar to the following:

"If you do not request a hearing, you may never get another chance to change the number of months shown on this notice for your 60-month time limit on aid."

Note that the above language tells the claimant that he or she "may" never get another chance to change the number of months shown on the notice. "May" is appropriate in view of the fact that some of these months may, in the future, be "unticked" because of changed circumstances, such as subsequent collections of overpayments or child support.

Also, per All County Information Notice (ACIN) I-90-02 dated December 11, 2002, the above warning language appears on the NA 530 dated 11/02. The NA 530 is a required notice.

8. May the claimant request a hearing and have a Judge review the number of months that count towards the 60-month time limit, if the claimant received an informing notice, rather than a notice of action, or received no notice of action at all?

Answer: YES, unless the claimant received an earlier adequate notice of action and failed to file a timely hearing request on that notice of action. The claimant's hearing rights would be cut off only as to those months set forth in an adequate notice of action.

Note that MPP Section 40-107.144 establishes that, upon request, a current recipient or former recipient is entitled to a written notice of his/her time on aid within 30 calendar days of the date the county receives such request.