MPP §11-501.3 states that when there are laws or CDSS regulations which authorize counties to adopt specific standards which affect an applicant's or recipient's eligibility, grant amount or Welfare to Work activities, including supportive services, such standards shall be in writing and made available to the public on request. Examples of mandated written standards include, but are not limited to, definitions of what constitutes regular school attendance and good cause for not attending school, criteria for extending the 18-month time limit for CalWORKs, diversion program requirements and child care and other required activities for children in the assistance unit under MPP §47-201.12.

If a county seeks to take an adverse action based on its own standards, it must have written criteria before taking such action. The ALJ would be bound by the written standards unless those standards were arbitrary and capricious. The ALJ is not free to create his or her own standards but must generally apply the written county standards to the facts of the case.

For example, if the county proposes to delete a recipient from her assistance unit because her 10-year-old child has not attended school regularly, it must have written standards defining regular attendance. If the recipient requests a hearing to dispute the county action, and the county appeals specialist submits no written criteria defining regular attendance, the ALJ will order the county to rescind its action regardless of the amount of days the 10 year old child missed school.

The county may incorporate a school's standards as its own if the school has such standards. In a hearing, the county would be required to submit those written standards into evidence. In the above example, the county could have written criteria that say: "Regular school attendance is defined by each individual school in the county". The county would then have to introduce into evidence a document from the child's school defining regular attendance. If the school's written standard defined regular school attendance as missing no more than eight days in a report card period, and evidence indicated that the 10 year old had missed 10 days in the report card period, the county could properly take action to delete the claimant from the assistance unit based on the written criteria after considering whether the child had good cause for the 10 absences.

The county would be required to have written standards defining good cause for missing school. If the county did not have written standards and if the claimant contended that the 10 year old had good cause for missing some or all of the 10 days in the report card period, the ALJ would grant the claim regardless of the reason the 10 year old was absent.