STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

MICHELE ANNE MATLOCK, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 84-0735L

)

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND )

REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

This is a Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program case which arose when Petitioner's application for low income energy assistance was denied by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services because the Department did not receive a reply to its letter requesting additional information from the Petitioner. The Petitioner requested a formal hearing upon the denial, asserting that she had not received the Department's letter requesting the additional information.

This case was heard in the City Council Chambers of the New Port Richey City Hall, New Port Richey, Florida, on April 19, 1984. The Petitioner represented herself, and the Department was represented by Carol M. Wind, Esquire, 2255 East Bay Drive, Clearwater, Florida 33546.

The Department denied the Petitioner's application pursuant to Rule 10C- 29.11(6), Florida Administrative Code, which provides that when sufficient verification is not presented with the application form a request for information will be mailed to the applicant with a ten-working-day deadline for the applicant's response. Further, the applicant will be ineligible for assistance and the application denied if the applicant does not provide the information or contact the Department by the date of the deadline.

Based upon the foregoing rule, there are two issues presented in this case, as follows:

1. Did the Petitioner receive the Department's letter requesting additional information?

   
   

2. May the Department deny the application of the Petitioner even if the Petitioner did not receive the letter requesting the additional information?

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Petitioner, Michele Ann Matlock, applied for low income home energy assistance payments by an application filed with the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services at its New Port Richey service center on November 15, 1983.

2. After reviewing the application and determining that additional verification was needed, the Department requested additional verification of the Petitioner's income on November 16, 1983. According to the testimony of a Department employee, this verification was delivered by hand at the time the application was received; however, this testimony was not based on personal recollection but upon the fact that the copy of the letter bore no address.

   
   

3. The Petitioner did not receive the Department's letter requesting additional verification of income.

   
   

4. The time stamp reveals the application was received on November 15, 1983. The date of the letter of request was November 16, 1983. Clearly, the Department's letter was not contemporaneous with the receipt of the application.

   
   

5. On December 8, 1983, the Department denied the Petitioner's application and found her ineligible for participation in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program because it had not received a reply to its letter of November 16, 1983.

   
   

6. The Petitioner testified at hearing that her husband earned $640 per month (four weeks) during the period of eligibility determination. Petitioner, her husband, and her two children receive food stamps, live in Zone 4, heat with electricity, and constitute a family of four.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

7. The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services has jurisdiction over this proceeding pursuant to Sections 409.026 and 409.508, Florida Statutes. This Recommended Order is entered pursuant to the provisions of Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes.

   
   

8. Rule 10C-29.11(5), Florida Administrative Code, provides in pertinent part that when sufficient verification is not presented with the application, a request for additional information will be mailed to an applicant with a ten- working-day deadline for the applicant's response. Further, the applicant will be ineligible for assistance and the application denied if the requested information is not received by the Department or the Department is not contacted by the applicant by the date of deadline. However, the rule also provides that the Department will attempt to assist the applicant in securing the information if the applicant contacts the Department by the date of the deadline and indicates that he/she has been unable to secure the information.

   
   

9. Although the foregoing rule permits the Department to deny the application of an applicant who does not provide in a timely fashion the additional information requested by the Department, the rule presumes actual notice receipt of the Department's letter. In this case, the Department did not actually send the letter. It was impossible for the Petitioner to respond.

RECOMMENDATION

Because the Petitioner did not actually receive the Department's letter requesting additional information, it is recommended that the Petitioner's application for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program benefits be redetermined based upon the income figures and family size provided in paragraph six of the Findings of Fact, supra.

DONE and RECOMMENDED this 6th day of June, 1984, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

STEPHEN F. DEAN, Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building

2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 6th day of June, 1984.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Ms. Michele Ann Matlock

2990 Fourth Avenue, Apt. #56

Hudson, Florida 3567

Carol M. Wind, Esquire Department of Health and

Rehabilitative Services 2255 East Bay Drive Clearwater, Florida 33546

David M. Pingree, Secretary Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services 1323 Winewood Boulevard

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Docket for Case No: 84-000735

Orders for Case No: 84-000735