Issues for Review at Fair Hearing

by Gene Doyle, LMSW

As part of the Stipulation and Order of Settlement in Meachem v Wing, 99 Civ. 4630 (S.D.N.Y. April 20, 2005), Deputy General Counsel for Administrative Hearings Russell J. Hanks issued an April 13, 2005 memorandum on "Fair Hearing Training; Meachem v Wing." Under the heading, "Defining the issue for review" (at p. 1), Mr. Hanks instructed that "At the beginning of a hearing, the hearing officer should confirm and clarify the hearing issue requested by the appellant."

In a May 1, 1991 memorandum to ALJs, Mr. Hanks set forth the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) policy with respect to social services districts' failures to comply with 18 NYCRR Part 358. Under the heading, "Inadequate Notice" (at p. 1), Mr. Hanks stated that "In every hearing involving a notice of intent, the sufficiency of the notice is a threshold issue. Raising the issue is not an affirmative responsibility of the appellant." See "Inadequate Notice: Threshold Issue at Fair Hearing."

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