Can a food stamp office worker just tell me I won't get benefits? Don't I have a right to get something in writing?
Yes, you do have the right to a written notice. In most cases (but not all), the food stamp office must send you 10 day notice in advance when it plans to cut off or reduce your food stamps. Advance notice is not required sometimes, such as when your application is denied or when the food stamp office is making the same change for many people (not just you) at the same time (for example, it is changing income rules).
The notice must:
Yes. You have the right to ask for a "fair hearing" (to appeal) any decision. The "fair hearing" is a tape-recorded hearing, under oath, with an administrative law judge working for the Department of Social Services.
You should ask for a fair hearing as soon as something happens that you do not agree with, even if you are trying to work it out with your worker or a supervisor. If you wait too late to ask for a fair hearing, you will most likely lose right to complain about the food stamp office decision. Talk with a lawyer also. Most free legal services programs want to help, if they can, with food stamp problems.
You can fill out that part of the notice, saying that you do not agree with the decision. You do not have to use technical legal language. All you have to say is that you think the decision is wrong and you want a hearing.
Then, take your appeal to your local food stamp office or send it to the Department of Social Services' Appeals Bureau, at P.O. Box 2944, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-9118 (telephone number: 225-342-4120). Keep a copy of your appeal, have a witness to your mailing the appeal if you can, and make a note of when and how you make your appeal. The food stamp offices sometimes lose appeal paperwork so it is good to have proof.
The hearing is tape-recorded. The food stamp office will send a worker or two to testify against you. You have the right to:
You can represent yourself. But in most cases, having a lawyer or other representative can help you win your case. You may lose your rights because you do not know the law, or what to do at the hearing. The judge is usually not going to help you.
Also, if you lose the hearing, your next appeal is to state district court. At that point, you cannot usually give any more evidence and you are stuck with what was said at the hearing. Because of this, lawyers are usually less able to help you at the court level if you represented yourself at the hearing.
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