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Hearing Terms A - D
An Alpabetical Listing of Common Terms Related to Hearings
A - D | E - H | I - L | M - P | Q - T | U - Z
- Adjudicate
Adjudicate is the exercise of judicial authority to resolve a matter.
For CDSS judges, adjudicating includes reviewing all allegations and evidence raised by the hearing parties, researching the applicable law, weighing the submitted evidence, resolving factual disputes with evidentiary findings, applying the law to the facts of the case, making legal rulings which resolve all disputed issues between the hearing parties, fashioning an enforceable order, and preparing a written decision which resolves issues raised in a hearing request.
- Administrative Disqualification Hearing (ADH)
An ADH is a hearing requested by a county and conducted by a CDSS judge to determine if a recipient committed an AFDC or FS Intentional Program Violation (IPV).
NOTE: CDSS judges conduct ADHs, not IPVs. An IPV is not a hearing.
- Adopt
Adopt is the act of making a decision legally effective. Only judges, not support staff, adopt decisions.
A judge adopts a final decision by signing and dating the decision cover page, dating and initialing the DPA 424, or authorizing support staff to affix a date stamp (to document the adopt date) and a signature stamp to the decision cover page.
A Presiding Judge adopts a proposed decision by dating and initialing the DPA 424. Support staff affix an adopt stamp to the decision cover page to document that a Presiding Judge adopted the proposed decision and the adopt date.
- Adopt Date
An adopt date is the date a decision (final or proposed) is adopted by a judge or Presiding Judge.
The adopt date may or may not be on the same date as the adopt due date, the date the decision was due to be adopted.
Support staff document the date a final decision was adopted by a judge by affixing a date stamp to the decision cover page, if not dated by the judge.
Support staff document the date a proposed decision was adopted by a Presiding Judge by affixing an adopt stamp to the decision cover page.
Support staff document the date a proposed decision was adopted by Action of Law by affixing an Adopted by Action of Law stamp to the decision cover page.
- Adopt Due Date
An adopt due date is the legally mandated date by which a decision is due to be adopted and released.
On or before the adopt due date, a decision must be adopted and released, a Director’s alternate decision released, or a further hearing ordered. Court ordered penalties may be imposed if none of the above actions occur on or before the adopt due date.
The adopt due date for heard cases involving only FS issues is 60 calendar days after the earliest filing date or the final AFD.
The adopt due date for heard cases involving other issues (AFDC, Medi-Cal, etc.), or FS issues combined with other issues, is 90 days after the earliest filing date or the final adjusted filing date.
If time restrictions are waived by the claimant, the 60 or 90 days is extended by the number of days waived. If the 60th or 90th day, plus waived days, is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the adopt due date is the next business day.
An adopt due date is not an adopt date. An adopt due date and the adopt date may be the same date or different date(s).
- Adopted by Action of Law
Adopted by Action of Law refers to a proposed decision which is deemed adopted because required action was not taken by a certain date.
A proposed decision is adopted by Action of Law on the first business day after the certification expiration date if a Presiding Judge did not adopt the proposed decision, issue a Director’s alternate decision, or order a further hearing on or before the certification expiration date.
Support staff document the date a proposed decision was adopted by Action of Law by affixing an Adopted by Action of Law stamp to the cover page.
Only proposed decisions (not final decisions) are subject to being adopted by Action of Law.
- Agency
An agency is a government unit or managed care health plan involved in a hearing as a hearing party. Such agencies include all 58 California counties, the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, the California Department of Aging, the CDSS Office of Services to the Blind, all 27 Medi-Cal Field Offices, and several CDHS units, including: Beneficiary Utilization Review Unit, Benefits Branch-Vision, In-Home Operations, Managed Care Operations Branch, Recovery Section, and Office of Medi-Cal Dental Services.
- Aid Pending
Aid pending is a suspension of an agency’s proposed action until a hearing and/or a decision.
At a hearing for a claimant(s) receiving aid pending, the assigned judge decides whether to stop or continue the aid pending from the hearing date to the date the decision is released.
A judge’s aid pending decision is issued on a DPA 284. A DPA 284 may be issued after a hearing.
Generally, aid pending is authorized when:
- a hearing request is filed before the effective date of the proposed action
- a hearing request is filed within ten days of an adequate but untimely notice when timely notice was not required
- a hearing request is filed before the next date on which the proposed action could become effective if timely notice had been provided
- the agency provided an inadequate or no notice of the proposed action (when adequate notice was required)
- Aid Pending Decision
An aid pending decision is a ruling made by a judge, generally at a hearing, to stop the aid pending received by the claimant(s) or continue it until a decision is released. An aid pending decision may be reserved until a later date.
A judge documents his/her aid pending decision on a DPA 284 and provides copies to the hearing parties at or after a hearing.
- Appeal
An appeal is a request to a higher tribunal to review a decision or a ruling of a lower tribunal. For example, a Superior Court decision is appealed to the appropriate California Court of Appeal.
Hearing requests and rehearing requests filed with the CDSS are not appeals.
A hearing request is not an appeal because a CDSS judge conducts a de novo hearing; a CDSS judge does not act as higher tribunal reviewing a lower tribunal’s decision or ruling. Because a county is not a tribunal, a county action is not a tribunal’s decision or ruling.
A rehearing request is not an appeal because a CDSS judge conducts a de novo hearing on a granted rehearing request; a CDSS judge does not act as higher tribunal reviewing a lower tribunal’s decision or ruling. The CDSS judge who conducted the initial hearing is not a lower tribunal and the CDSS judge who conducted the granted rehearing is not a higher tribunal.
- Authorized Representative
An authorized representative is an individual or organization selected by a claimant to represent his/her interests in all aspects of the hearing process.
On behalf of a claimant, an authorized representative may file hearing and rehearing requests, request postponements and reopenings, inspect the claimant’s case file, request and ensure service of subpoenas, gather evidence, prepare position statements, appear at a hearing with or without the claimant, present evidence, object to evidence, examine and cross examine witnesses, waive time, enter into stipulations, sign withdrawal forms, and any other hearing-related actions.
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- Bifurcate
Bifurcate means to separate into two (2). Hearing requests or issues may be bifurcated.
A hearing request may be bifurcated into two (2) hearing requests. If bifurcated, one (1) request retains the assigned hearing number and a new hearing number is assigned to the "second" request.
Issues raised by a hearing request may be bifurcated if one (1) issue is jurisdiction and the hearing parties agree to the resolution of the jurisdictional issue first, followed by resolution of the other issue(s) if jurisdiction is determined to exist.
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- Case File
A case file is a file established and maintained by an agency (i.e., a county or CDHS) documenting a family’s or individual’s application for and/or receipt of public assistance or public social services.
A case file may include documents and computer records.
SHD staff use a hearing file for each hearing, not a case file.
- Case Name
A case name is the name used by an agency (a county or the CDHS) for its internal file.
The case name used by an agency may differ from the claimant’s name due to the system used by the agency to assign case names. For example, a county may use the aided child(ren)’s mother’s name as the case name even if the mother is deceased or not living in the home.
When a claimant’s name differs from the case name used by an agency, SHD staff document the case name on the SHS, the hearing file, and the decision cover page as a courtesy to the agency.
- Cert
Cert is a nickname for certify.
- Certify
Certify is the act of submitting a proposed decision to a Presiding Judge for adoption as the decision of the appropriate Director.
By submitting a proposed decision to a Presiding Judge, a judge certifies the decision is complete, legally correct, and ready to be adopted.
Presiding Judges have been delegated the authority to review and act on proposed decisions on behalf of each Director.
- Certification Date
A certification date is the date support staff (on behalf of CDSS) receive a certified proposed decision from a judge for submission to a Presiding Judge. A certification date must be a business day.
Support staff document the certification date by affixing a date stamp to the cover page of each certified proposed decision, if not dated by the judge.
- Certification Expiration Date
A certification expiration date is the legally mandated date by which a certified proposed decision is due to be acted upon. The certification expiration date is the 30th calendar day after the certification date or, if the 30th day is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the certification expiration date is the next business day.
A proposed decision is adopted by Action of Law on the first business day after the certification expiration date if a Presiding Judge did not adopt the proposed decision, issue a Director’s alternate decision, or order a further hearing, on or before the certification expiration date.
- Claim
A claim is a hearing request.
- Claimant
A claimant is generally an applicant or recipient of public social services who requested a hearing, or on whose behalf a hearing was requested.
- Claimant Advocate
A claimant advocate is an individual or organization frequently involved as an authorized representative with SHD’s hearing process.
- Combined Filing
A combined filing is two (2) or more hearing requests assigned one (1) hearing number and scheduled and heard as one (1) claim.
Filings are generally combined when a claimant(s) files multiple hearing requests against the same agency disputing the same or related action(s), e.g., hearing requests filed by telephone and by mail disputing the same county action.
Hearing requests involving different agencies are not combined, e.g., a hearing request disputing a county’s Medi-Cal share of cost computation and a request disputing CDHS’s denial of Medi-Cal coverage for dental services (scope of benefits).
- Companion Filing
A companion filing is a hearing request from a claimant which is scheduled for and/or heard at the same date and time as a hearing request from another claimant.
Each hearing request is considered a companion filing to the other. A separate hearing number is assigned to each companion filing.
Two (2) hearing requests may be considered companion filings after appropriate SHD staff determine the claimants and issues are closely related, such as a hearing request for one spouse disputing an IHSS needs assessment and a hearing request for his/her spouse disputing an IHSS needs assessment (if the spouses reside together).
- Compliance
Compliance refers to the efforts of an agency identified as a hearing party to comply with a released decision which granted the claim.
OSB monitors county compliance with released decisions, as appropriate.
- Continued Hearing
A continued hearing is an additional hearing scheduled and/or conducted after an initial hearing by the same judge.
- County Welfare Department
A County Welfare Department is the part of each county’s government responsible for administrating various public assistance programs under the direction of the CDSS.
It is not required that a county’s welfare department is named "County Welfare Department." In some counties, the County Welfare Department is named the Department or Agency of "Health and Human Services," "Human Assistance," "Human Services", "Public Social Services," "Public Welfare," "Social Services," or "Social Welfare."
- Court Ordered Hearing
A court ordered hearing is a hearing scheduled and conducted in compliance with a court order, generally after a released decision is appealed to court. A court may order an oral hearing or a hearing on the record.
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- Decision
A decision is a legal document which affects the legal rights of the hearing parties.
A decision must include essential facts, evidentiary findings resolving the disputed facts, applicable law, legal rulings resolving the disputed issues, and an Order granting, denying, and/or dismissing the hearing request(s). A decision may also instruct an involved agency to take specified action(s).
- Decision Cover Page
A decision cover page identifies pertinent information about the matter, bears the judge’s signature and/or appropriate stamp(s), and sets forth appropriate rehearing and appeal rights.
A prepared decision cover page identifies the following: appropriate department, type of decision (final, proposed, or Director’s alternate), type of decision (a hearing, rehearing, or ADH), claimant's name and address, judge's name, hearing number, agency name, agency representative's name, authorized representative's name, hearing date, case name, companion filing hearing number, aid pending status, issue codes, and Social Security Number. For a decision involving Los Angeles County, the cover page also identifies the case number assigned by the county and the county’s district office number.
A decision cover page may be signed and/or dated by a judge and/or support staff may affix an adopt stamp , date stamps(s) , signature stamp, and/or Adopted by Action of Law stamp as appropriate.
- Decision of the Director
Decisions of the Director include all final decisions adopted by CDSS judges, all proposed decisions adopted by Presiding Judges, and all Director’s alternate decisions issued by Presiding Judges.
Final decisions are decisions of the Director because CDSS judges have delegated authority to adopt final decisions on behalf of the appropriate Director.
Proposed decisions are decisions of the Director because Presiding Judges have delegated authority to adopt proposed decisions on behalf of the appropriate Director.
Director’s alternate decisions are decisions of the Director because Presiding Judges have been delegated authority to issue Director’s alternate decisions on behalf of the appropriate Director.
Previously, the term "Decision of the Director" was applied only to Director’s alternate decisions.
- Delegation Document
A delegation document is a legal document which delegates specified authority or power(s) to a named individual as identified in the delegation document.
Four (4) delegation documents impact SHD’s hearing process as follows:
- (1) A delegation signed by the CDHS Director which appoints the CDSS Director as the hearing authority to hear and decide cases for the CDHS and to adopt decisions in all cases except as specified.
- (2) A delegation signed by the CDSS Director which appoints the Chief Administrative Law Judge as the hearing authority to hear and decide cases for CDSS and CDHS and delegates the authority to delegate the power to adopt final decisions to CDSS judges.
- (3) A delegation signed by the Chief Administrative Law Judge which delegates to the judge named in the document the power to adopt final decisions for CDSS and CDHS in all cases except as specified.
- (4) A delegation signed by the Chief Administrative Law Judge which delegates to the Presiding Judge or ALJ Specialist named in the document the power to act on proposed decisions for CDSS or CDHS, including the power to adopt proposed decisions in all cases except as specified, prepare and issue Director’s alternate decisions, and order further hearings.
- De novo Hearing
A de novo hearing is a hearing conducted for the first time or a second hearing conducted anew as if the previous hearing was not heard and the previous decision not released.
- Director's Alternate Decision
A Director’s alternate decision is a decision issued by a Presiding Judge on behalf of the appropriate Director(s).
Presiding Judges have been delegated the authority to prepare and issue Director’s alternate decisions.
A Presiding Judge issues a Director’s alternate decision when he/she decides not to adopt a judge’s certified proposed decision, allow the decision to be adopted by Action of Law, or order a further hearing.
A Director’s alternate decision is not adopted (a Director does not adopt his/her own decision).
A Director’s alternate decision must be released on or before the certification expiration date or the certified proposed decision will be adopted by Action of Law.
- Disability and Adult Programs Division (DAPD)
The DAPD is a CDSS division which evaluates disability claims under the Medi-Cal, SSI, and Social Security Programs.
The DAPD is a separate division and not part of SHD.
SHD's Quality Improvement/Disability Hearings Bureau, and not DAPD, adjudicates hearing requests claiming disability under the Medi-Cal Program.