Family Assistance Complaints and Fair Hearings
Switch to: Social Service Complaints and Social Service Grievance Hearings
Complaints
Any customer of the Office of Family Assistance has the right to express concerns and complaints about the manner in which the eligibility staff carried out its assignments and responsibilities.
These complaints should be addressed at the local office level when possible, with the customer first discussing the complaint with the Worker's Supervisor. If no agreement can be reached, the complaint may be taken to the Community Services Manager and then to the Regional Director.
Even though it is preferred that the customer follow the procedures just described, we also recognize that there are sometimes situations that make the complaint process awkward for the customer at the local level. So, we have established a Client Services Unit at the State level. The Client Services Unit may be reached toll-free at 1-800-642-8589 or, in the Charleston local calling area, at 558-2400. Complaints may be reported to the Client Services Unit even when the local office situation is not uncomfortable for the customer. The Unit will respond to the customer about the investigation of the complaint.
In addition, complaints received directly by any State-level Office of Family Assistance staff, Community Services Manager, or Regional Director will be acted on and the customer will receive a written response about the investigation of the complaint.
Some kinds of complaints, such as Civil Rights Violations, may also be taken to a Fair Hearing. Please see below for more details about Fair Hearings.
Fair Hearings
Any applicant/recipient of the Office of Family Assistance financial benefits has the right to express concerns and complaints and to request a Fair Hearing about the denial of benefits and the amount of benefits for which he is eligible.
Each applicant/recipient is notified in writing of all benefit denials or changes in the benefit amount. Included with each written notice is an explanation of the Fair Hearing process and a form to use to request one. A Fair Hearing may also be requested in person or by telephone. The local office is available to help you complete the form.
At the Fair Hearing, an independent Hearing Officer determines whether or not the local office took the correct action based on federal regulations and state policy. For more information about the Fair Hearing process and the Board of Review, see: www.wvdhhr.org/oig/bor/.
The WV DHHR is committed to providing you with the benefits for which you qualify, in the correct amount. Money may be withheld from the State by the federal government for too many mistakes in determining eligibility for financial benefits. This could lower benefits to those who are eligible, so it is to everybody's benefit that we make correct decisions. If we do make a mistake, it must be corrected as soon as possible. Sometimes applicants and recipients find the mistakes first and we become aware of them through the complaint or Fair Hearing process. This allows us to make corrections much sooner.
