Fair Hearing Agency Representative

Job Description

APPLICANTS MUST BE PERMANENT IN THE ASSOCIATE BENEFITS OPPORTUNITY SPECIALIST CIVIL SERVICE TITLE. The Department of Social Services (DSS) is comprised of the administrative units of the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). HRA is dedicated to fighting poverty and income inequality by providing New Yorkers in need with essential benefits such as Food Assistance and Emergency Rental Assistance.

DHS is committed to preventing and addressing homelessness in New York City by employing a variety of innovative strategies to help families and individuals successfully exit shelter and return to self‑sufficiency as quickly as possible. Fair Hearing Administration oversees DSS’s fair hearing process, which is an administrative law procedure designed to resolve disputes concerning benefits, services, and actions in a variety of programs administered by DSS.

• Represent the Agency at New York State Administrative Hearings by presenting and defending Fair Hearing cases or resolving when appropriate, presenting evidence manually or electronically, cross‑examining Appellants, and providing the State Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) with a complete and relevant evidence packet and supporting documents to justify the challenged case action.
• Represent the Agency at New York State Administrative Resolution/Settlement Hearings resulting from Same Day Resolution Conferences (SDRC) process, ensuring that requests for resolutions are forwarded to FIA Operations, the Fair Hearing Tracking Monitoring and Review Unit (FHTMRU) or the Office of Central Processing (OCP) as required.
• Review Fair Hearing decisions and recommend actions to challenge decisions when appropriate.
• Update Fair Hearing checklists as determined by feedback from the Fair Hearing Officer via dispositions and outcomes.
• Engage in post‑Fair Hearing activities, including preparation of reports and requests for case actions based on evidence presented or agreements made in hearing rooms and transmitting information back to the sites for follow‑up actions to be initiated.
• Provide additional information or clarification to ensure that packets are adequate to present at Fair Hearings, providing feedback whenever additional documents are required for case presentation, and inform the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) Clerk and the SDRC staff of the resolution/settlement hearing outcome.
• Ensure that all case actions are reflected and checked through relevant systems such as Welfare Management System (WMS), Paperless Operation System (POS), New York City Work Accountability and You (NYCWAY), Fair Hearing Informational System (FHIS), HRA One Viewer, Self‑Sufficiency Employment Assessment Management System (SEAMS), Fair Hearing Evidence Management System (FHEMS) and Electronic Evidence Packet System (EEPS).
• Review Fair Hearing Evidence Packet prepared by Same Day Conference AJOS I’s to assess the appropriateness of resolution actions and to ensure all pertinent documents/evidence are included, providing guidance to SDRC AJOS I’s when needed and approving SDRC evidence packets.
• Conduct conferences for cases that are on the SDRC list and ensure that resolutions are processed expeditiously.
• Ensure that Fair Hearing staff members are trained in the performance of work activities by holding individual and unit meetings to improve staff areas of competence, providing Performance Evaluations, and developing strategies and defenses to assist in increasing the Agency’s Fair Hearing win rate and support fair hearing avoidance.
• Meet regularly with Center Directors, Center staff, and other Model Center/Job Center, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), IREA Operations staff, and participate in Job Center cabinet meetings to review CA and SNAP Fair Hearing trends and causal factors, providing information and communicating trends and issues in an effort to enhance performance and maintain quality of decisions.
• Provide information on what needs to be addressed or emphasized at Fair Hearing Representation meetings and Fair Hearing Profile meetings.

ASSOCIATE BENEFITS…