New York State's Fair Hearing regulations [18 NYCRR Part 358] include the following provisions:

This administrative equivalent of a judicial class action has been in place for more than 40 years but has been used most sparingly. See 18 NYCRR former § 84.17, adopted January 16, 1968, effective March 1, 1968 [available at: http://onlineresources.wnylc.net/FairHearingResources/showquestion.asp?faq=15&fldAuto=139]; 18 NYCRR former § 358.21, adopted April 21, 1972, effective April 22, 1972 [available at: http://onlineresources.wnylc.net/FairHearingResources/showquestion.asp?faq=15&fldAuto=138]; 18 NYCRR § 358-6.3, filed  December 23, 1988, effective January 15, 1989.

Arguably, this mechanism enables the Commissioners of the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and of the New York State Department of Health (DOH) to fulfill their supervisory duties as the heads of the single state agencies responsible for the statewide administration of New York's various social services programs.

More often than not, appellants' requests for directives in similar cases are denied because the evidence in the record of the Fair Hearing does not adequately demonstrate that the local agency has misapplied law, regulations or State-approved policy beyond the individual appellant's case circumstances.

The following table lists some of the Decisions After Fair Hearing and Decisions Without Hearings [see 18 NYCRR § 358-6.2] that have, in fact, contained directives in similar cases. In the majority of these decisions, the directives are only prospective in nature despite the authority in 18 NYCRR § 358-6.3 to direct the local social services agency "to review other cases with similar facts for conformity with the principles and findings in the decision."

All of these decisions are or will soon be available from the Online Resource Center's Fair Hearing Bank.

Access to the Fair Hearing Bank requires registration [http://onlineresources.wnylc.net/register.asp?index=Register] and log in at: http://onlineresources.wnylc.net/welcome.asp.

Note: Some of the regulations upon which these directives were based have been subsequently amended.

Directives in Similar Cases to Correct Misapplication of Law, Regulation or State-Approved Policy	Local Social Services Agency	FH #
Public Assistance (PA):
• Applicants for PA Benefits:
Register All PA Applications Upon Receipt and Provide Adequate Written Notice to All PA Applicants, Including Those Who Fail to Attend "Orientation/Employment" Sessions"	Erie	4082971J
Schedule Interviews Within Five Working Days After PA Applications Have Been Filed:	Suffolk	1455431R
• Discontinuance of PA Benefits:
Cease Use of the Agency's Own Notice Form (M-3H-A) and Use a New Notice Form That Conforms to 18 NYCRR former § 358.8:	New York City (NYC)	1025385Q
• Interim Assistance (IA) Repayment:
Cease Requiring Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Recipients to Execute an IA Repayment Agreement as an Eligibility Condition for Home Relief (HR):	Nassau	0417722P
Cease Use of the Agency's Own Outdated Notice of Recovery of IA Form (W-128HH, Revised 9/23/86) and Use the Current Version of the State-Prescribed Repayment of Interim Assistance Notice (DSS-2425):	NYC	2167737H
• Recoupment of PA Overpayments:
Provide PA Recipients with an Opportunity Prior to the Initiation of Recoupment to Claim that the Proposed Rate of Recoupment Will Cause Undue Hardship:	NYC	0077330H
• Utility Company Referrals:
Take All Necessary Action to Comply with the Requirements of 18 NYCRR Part 394, Including Reporting to the Utility Provider the Results of the Agency's Investigation Within 15 Working Days of Receipt of the Referral:	NYC	1563402M
Emergency Assistance to Families (EAF):
• School Transportation for Homeless Children:
Provide School Transportation to the Children of Homeless Families Who Are Residing in Temporary Housing Outside of the Children's Original School District:	Suffolk	3803657H
Medical Assistance (MA):
• Denial of Prior Approval Requests for Durable Medical Equiment (DME):
Provide MA Recipients with Adequate Notice When Prior Approval Requests Are Denied on the Basis that a Medical Facility Is Responsible for the Provision of the Requested DME:	DOH Office of Health Systems Management	1324012P
• Duty to Inform MA Applicants:
Advise MA Applicants of the Availability of PA and Food Stamp (FS) Benefits and Suggest that They Immediately Apply for Such Benefits:	Chemung	3725813K
• Pre-Hearing Provision of Agency Documents
Make Good Faith Effort to Comply with 18 NYCRR former § 358.9(d) by Sending Copies of All Documents to Be Submitted Into Evidence at the Fair Hearing in Support of the Proposed Discontinuance, Suspension or Reduction of Assistance Within 72 Hours of Notification of the Fair Hearing Request:	NYC	0506023Z
• Recertification-Related MA Discontinuance Notices
Cease the Use of the Agency's Own Notice Form, Which Failed to Specify the Reason or Legal Authority Upon Which Its MA Discontinuance Determination Was Based, and Use a New Notice Form That Conforms to 84 ADM-41:	NYC	0929264N
Cease the Issuance of Any Recertification-Related Discontinuance Notices Until a New Notice Form Has Received State Approval:	NYC	0998610P
• Timely Determinations of MA Eligibility:
Schedule Certification Interviews Within Sufficient Time to Determine MA Eligibility Within the Time Parameters of 18 NYCRR § 360-2.4:	Suffolk	3893628J 4757245Q
Social Services:
• Adult Protective Services (APS) Applicants
Provide All APS Applicants with Adequate Written Notice of the Agency's Determination to Accept or Deny Their APS Applications:	NYC	1685188R