358-3.7 Examination of case record before the fair hearing.
(a) (1) At any reasonable time before the date of
your fair hearing and also at the fair hearing, you or your authorized representative have
the right to examine the contents of your case record and all documents and records to be
used by the social services agency at your fair hearing.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this
subdivision, the only exceptions to access to your case record are:
(i) those materials to
which access is governed by separate statutes, such as records regarding child welfare,
foster care, adoption or child abuse or neglect or any records maintained for the purposes
of the Child Care Review Service; and
(ii) those materials
being maintained separately from public assistance files for the purposes of criminal
prosecution and referral to the district attorney's office. This exception applies only to
records which are part of an active and ongoing investigatory action; and
(iii) the county
attorney or county welfare attorney's files.
(3) Case records secured by the Commission for
the Visually Handicapped or by a local rehabilitation agency acting on behalf of such
Commission will not ordinarily be made available for examination since they contain
information secured from outside sources; however, particular extracts will be furnished
to you or your authorized representative when provision of such information will be
beneficial to you. The case record, or any part thereof, admitted as evidence in a fair
hearing shall be available for review by you or your authorized representative.
(b) (1) Upon request, you have a right to be provided
at a reasonable time before the date of the hearing, at no charge, with copies of all
documents which the social services agency will present at the fair hearing in support of
its determination. If the request for copies of documents which the social services agency
will present at the hearing is made less than five business days before the hearing, the
social services agency must provide you with such copies no later than at the time of the
hearing. If you or your representative request that such documents be mailed, such
documents must be mailed within a reasonable time from the date of the request; provided
however, if there is insufficient time for such documents to be mailed and received before
the scheduled date of the hearing such documents may be presented at the hearing instead
of being mailed;
(2) Upon request, you have the right to be
provided at a reasonable time before the date of the hearing, at no charge, with copies of
any additional documents which you identify and request for purposes of preparing for your
fair hearing. If the request for copies of documents is made less than five business days
before the hearing, the social services agency must provide you with such copies no later
than at the time of the hearing. If you or your representative request that such documents
be mailed, such documents must be mailed within a reasonable time from the date of the
request; provided however, if there is insufficient time for such documents to be mailed
and received before the scheduled date of the hearing such documents may be presented at
the hearing instead of being mailed;
(3) Your request for copies of documents
pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subdivision may at your option be made in
writing, or orally, including by telephone.
(4) If the social services agency fails to
comply with the requirements of this subdivision the hearing officer may adjourn the case,
allow a brief recess for the appellant to review the documents, preclude the introduction
of the documents where a delay would be prejudicial to the appellant, or take other
appropriate action to ensure that the appellant is not harmed by the agency's failure to
comply with these requirements.