Arizona Administrative Code › Title 6 - ECONOMIC SECURITY › Chapter 4 - DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC SECURITY - REHABILITATION SERVICES › Article 4 - OTHER RULES AND PROVISIONS THAT RELATE TO PROVIDING SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS › Section R6-4-404 - Administrative Review and Fair Hearings

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 28, July 12, 2024
A. General considerations.
1. Pursuant to federal regulations (CFR
				1361.46) the VR Agency shall provide for applicants or clients of Vocational
				Rehabilitation who are dissatisfied with any action with regard to the
				furnishing or denial of services, a chance to file a request for an
				administrative review and redetermination of that action. When the individual
				is dissatisfied with the finding of this administrative review, he shall be
				granted an opportunity for a hearing. All clients must be informed of this
				provision at the time they apply for services.
2. A dissatisfied client has a number of
				recourses which shall be explored before an administrative review or a hearing
				is necessary or recommended:
a. Clients shall
				first be encouraged to discuss problems with their counselor. It is a normal
				part of counseling that the client and counselor must from time-to-time
				confront issues not pleasant or agreeable to either. The counselor/client
				relationship must be preserved if at all possible, not to protect the agency
				but to preserve the necessary continuity and autonomy of that counseling
				relationship.
b. When it is clear
				to either counselor, client or supervisor that the client/counselor
				relationship has broken down or that disagreements are not solvable within the
				context of that relationship, several alternatives may be considered.
i. Assignment to different counselor if the
				problem is judged to be a conflict in personality or style of
				relating;
ii. Meeting of client
				with the counselor's immediate supervisor with or without counselor present to
				help clarify policy or programmatic issues. This may result in either the
				transferring of case to another counselor or renewed attempt to reestablish the
				original client/counselor relationship;
iii. For this type of informal review, it is
				often helpful for supervisor to request or bring in outside consultation to
				help clarify the issues or problems.
c. If, after all alternatives have been
				explored, and the client remains dissatisfied, he shall be reminded of the
				recourse he has for an administrative review and must be assisted in receiving
				the benefit of such a review. Courtesy, fairness and promptness must guide the
				counselor's or supervisor's actions. After it has been established that a
				review will be set up, the counselor or supervisor may not change a program of
				services or take any new action on the case regarding the issue(s) raised until
				such issues have been resolved, nor may an attempt be made to influence the
				direction of the review.
3. Administrative review.
a. An administrative review is instituted at
				the request (written or verbal) of a client or applicant who is dissatisfied
				with any action regarding the furnishing or denial of services. Other informal
				avenues are to be explored before an administrative review is instituted.
				Requests for review, if in writing, shall be filed in client's case and copy
				forwarded to District VR Program Manager.
b. An administrative review shall be set up
				and held at the district level by District VR Program Manager or SBS/VR
				Manager. The individual with whom the complaint is filed is responsible for
				making necessary arrangements or to see that such arrangements are made. The
				hearing shall be conducted at a reasonable time, date and place and adequate
				preliminary written notice shall be given.
c. Persons to be involved are:
i. Client who is requesting the
				review;
ii. District VR Program
				Manager or SBSVR Manager as representatives of the Bureau Chief;
iii. VR Counselor involved;
iv. If client is deaf or mute, an interpreter
				will be present;
v. If the client
				does not have an adequate "grasp" of the English language, then an interpreter
				must be provided.
d.
				Persons who may also be involved:
i. Client
				may request to have a representative present;
ii. Other specialists at the discretion of
				District VR Program Manager.
e. Review procedures:
i. Minutes of the meeting shall be taken
				which summarize the issues raised, facts presented and discussion (a verbatim
				transcript is not required). If decisions were made during the review, they are
				also to be recorded. A copy of such minutes must be kept in permanent record
				files.
ii. The counselor is asked
				first to summarize the problem and to present his position;
iii. The client is asked if he has any
				questions and then to present his views on the problem and his position. In
				turn, the counselor may ask him questions.
iv. Discussion may follow with each
				individual given a chance to make closing comments. The client should be
				allowed to speak last.
f. Client shall be advised that the
				Administrative Review is not a legal hearing but an attempt to resolve
				conflicts by clarifying the issues, reviewing decisions and deciding whether to
				uphold those decisions based on state and federal laws, rules, regulations and
				policies as they apply to the particular circumstances of the case. The Agency
				must give timely and adequate notice to the client of decisions reached.
				Decision will be made within ten working days following the review.
g. Any decisions must be made with due regard
				to client's rights. The district VR Program Manager must be able and willing to
				state to the client the reasons for decisions reached.
h. The District VR Program Manager must
				advise RSB of a pending review. Technical assistance will be provided on
				request.
i. The results of the
				meeting shall be recorded as well as the rationale for any decisions made. A
				copy of this is to be forwarded to Rehabilitation Services Bureau and original
				filed with the District VR Program Manager; client's lawyer or representative
				shall also be furnished a copy on request. Records shall include the issues
				raised and discussed by both sides, evidence used and proposed findings,
				decisions or opinions. Client's case file will contain the facts and findings
				of the review.
j. All those
				participating in the review shall be advised that confidential information is
				involved and confidentiality must be observed. If non-VR individuals are
				present, the client should be asked to sign an authorization for release of
				personal information before proceeding. Client consent should never be
				presumed. Medical or psychological data obtained from third party may not be
				released without express authorization from that party. All other rules of
				confidentiality contained in federal regulations must be observed.
k. If the client remains dissatisfied with
				the results of an administrative review, the client may request a
				hearing.
l. The RSB Chief, as
				administrator of the single state agency, (per CFR 1361.46) acknowledges the
				Appeals Bureau under the Department's Deputy Director as his designee to
				represent him in hearings, reserving the right, however, under
				R6-4-304(C),
				reconsideration, to request a reconsideration of the hearing officer's decision
				by the Director.