(a) The primary purpose of the fair hearing is to safeguard the rights of clients and provide recourse to address infractions of individual rights and interests.  A fair hearing may be granted to the:

• (1) foster parent when Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS):
  • (A) denies the foster parent's claim for foster care reimbursement;
  • (B) pays foster care reimbursement to the foster parent in a sum lower than the amount claimed;
  • (C) does not pay foster care reimbursement to the foster parent in a timely manner;
  • (D) closes the foster parent's home as indicated on Form DCFS-17 (new form number 04FC008E), Notice of Closure to OKDHS Foster Parents; or
  • (E) does not return a child in OKDHS custody removed from the foster parent's home due to a child abuse or neglect investigation as indicated on Form DCFS-17-A (04MP031E), Notice of Decision Not to Return Child After Investigation; or
• (2) adoptive parent when OKDHS:
  • (A) denies the adoptive parent's application for an adoption assistance payment as indicated on Form DCFS-50 (new form number 04AN011E), Request for Review of Denial;
  • (B) approves the adoptive parent's application for an adoption assistance payment in an amount less than requested; or
  • (C) delays or denies an authorized adoptive placement out-of-state with the adoptive parent, per OAC 340:75-15-47.

(b) Fair hearing requests regarding:

• (1) adverse decisions on adoption assistance payments, are filed within 30 days of the date of the written notice of the adverse action, per OAC 340:75-15-128; or
• (2) closures of approved OKDHS foster homes, are processed per OAC 340:75-7-94 and OAC 340:2-5-94.

(c) Every effort is made at the local level to resolve matters that may evolve into requests for fair hearings.  The Child Welfare (CW) worker and immediate supervisor meet informally with the foster or adoptive parents to clarify the basis for the decision that prompted them to inquire about a fair hearing.

(d) Information gathered for the fair hearing is provided to the OKDHS Legal Division Appeals Unit in accordance with Form H-1-A (new form number 13MP002E), Hearing Summary.   • 1  The appellant is given access, prior to the date of the hearing, to any information to be used in the hearing.  Any information acquired after the notice of the adverse decision and after the request for the fair hearing may be used in the hearing process provided the appellant is notified of this information and of the intent to use it.  Such information is made available to the appellant ten days prior to the hearing date.   • 2

(e) Rulings and issues resulting from findings made by the court are not appealable in the fair hearing process.

(f) Findings made pursuant to a Child Protective Services (CPS) appeal process are not subject to review in the fair hearing process.