§233.27. Supplemental payments under retrospective budgeting. — Inbound Citations

(5) An opportunity for a hearing shall be granted to any applicant who requests a hearing because his or her claim for financial assistance (including a request for supplemental payments under §§ 233.23 and 233.27) is denied, or is not acted upon with reasonable promptness, and to any recipient who is aggrieved by any agency action resulting in suspension, reduction, discontinuance, or termination of assistance, or determination that a protective, vendor, or two-party payment should be made or continued. A hearing need not be granted when either State or Federal law requires automatic grant adjustments for classes of recipients unless the reason for an individual appeal is incorrect grant computation.

(i) A request for a hearing is defined as a clear expression by the claimant (or his authorized representative acting for him), to the effect that he wants the opportunity to present his case to higher authority. The State may require that such request be in written form in order to be effective;

(ii) The freedom to make such a request shall not be limited or interfered with in any way. The agency may assist the claimant to submit and process his request;

(iii) The claimant shall be provided reasonable time, not to exceed 90 days, in which to appeal an agency action;

(iv) Agencies may respond to a series of individual requests for hearing by conducting a single group hearing. Agencies may consolidate only cases in which the sole issue involved is one of State or Federal law or policy or changes in State or Federal law. In all group hearings, the policies governing hearings must be followed. Thus, each individual claimant shall be permitted to present his own case or be represented by his authorized representative;

(v) The agency may deny or dismiss a request for a hearing where it has been withdrawn by the claimant in writing, where the sole issue is one of State or Federal law requiring automatic grant adjustments for classes of recipients, where a decision has been rendered after a WIN hearing before the manpower agency that a participant has, without good cause, refused to accept employment or participate in the WIN program, or has failed to request such a hearing after notice of intended action for such refusal, or where it is abandoned. Abandonment may be deemed to have occurred if the claimant, without good cause therefor, fails to appear by himself or by authorized representative at the hearing scheduled for such claimant.

(vi) Every recipient in a State which provides a supplemental payment under § 233.27 of this chapter shall have an opportunity to request that payment without delay.

(a) A State plan for OAA, AB, APTD, and AABD shall specify if assistance payments shall be computed using a prospective budgeting system or a retrospective budgeting system. A State electing retrospective budgeting shall specify which options it selects and the State plan shall state that it shall meet the requirements in §§ 233.21 through 233.29. Budgeting methods for AFDC are described in §§ 233.31 through 233.37.

(1) Where a State makes payments between 25 and 45 days from the close of the budget month, the State plan shall provide that the State will make supplemental payments as provided in § 233.27.