FAIR HEARING PROCESS SPECIALIST

New York City, NY • Brooklyn, NY

321d

About The Position

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. DSS/HRA Fair Hearing Administration is responsible for providing representation of the Agency at NYS Administrative Hearings in the following program areas: Cash Assistance (CA), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), IREA, HASA and MISCA - Medical Assistance (MA). FHTMRU is comprised of the Centralized Fair Hearing Aid to Continue (ATC), Fair Hearing Default and Withdrawal Processing, Fair Hearing Resolution Processing, and the Advocate Inquiry Mailbox Units. The processes within FHTMRU are time sensitive and all Aid to Continue directives must be processed within 5 days as specified by the Morel Lawsuit. All ATC re-direct are to be process/addressed upon receipt. Fair Hearing Defaults and Fair Hearing Withdrawals are also to be processed within 5 days of notification date. Resolutions and/or responses to Advocate Mailbox Inquiries are expected to be completed within seven days or prior to fair hearing date, whichever comes first. Though Resolutions are to be completed within 5 days, they must be processed as quickly as possible to avert fair hearing scheduling. The Fair Hearing Process Specialist provides economic support and employment related services to persons in need, in accordance with agency policies, procedures and Federal/State regulations and to promote individual and family self-sufficiency. Also prepares Public Assistance/SNAP/ Medicaid eligibility forms by incorporating all received data and checking for accuracy of and reviewing authorizations, in order to initiate processing of appropriate service required in Aid to Continue Restoration. Conducts an Intensive review of Welfare Management System screens (including, All Change Actions Screen, Benefits Issuance Screen, Case Composition Screen, Budget History Screen, Recoupment Screen, Pending Actions Screen, Social Security Screen (SDX). Ensures the accurate and timely processing of case actions to comply with various lawsuits (Morel, Piron, etc).

Requirements

• A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent, and three years of full-time satisfactory experience working directly in social/human services or a related setting, providing either client services or employment planning/counseling services which involves job development, skills assessment, and employment placement or other economic opportunity programming.
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college; plus eighteen months of full-time satisfactory experience working as a Benefits Opportunity Specialist.
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college; plus eighteen months of full-time satisfactory experience as described in one (1) above.
• College credit from an accredited college may be substituted for this experience on the basis of 60 semester credits for 9 months of the work experience described above. However, all candidates must have at least 18 months of full-time satisfactory experience working as a Benefits Opportunity Specialist or performing social/human services work as described in one (1) above.

Nice To Haves

• Proficient in POS, WMS, NYCWAY.
• Knowledge of Eligibility policies and procedures.
• Strong customer service skills.

Responsibilities

• Process Aid-to-Continue directives, Fair Hearing Defaults, and Resolutions on Public Assistance/ SNAP issues related to Fair Hearing Lawsuit driven inquiries utilizing the Fair Hearing Information System (FHIS) and Fair Hearing Electronic Evidence Management System (FHEMS); Reads and data enters case actions related to the Aid-To-Continue Challenge Process; Provides Budget Calculations and Summaries; Utilizes Agency systems (including the Personal Computer (PC), New York City Work Accountability & You (NYCWAY) system, Paperless Operation System (POS), Human Resources Administration (HRA) Viewer, WEBCOINS, etc.) for reviewing and reporting processing data.
• Process required case actions relating to Fair Hearing Aid-to-Continue Directives, Fair Hearing Defaults, and Fair Hearing Resolutions by following established procedures and instructions, taking case actions relating to fair hearing issues. Prepare eligibility forms for Public assistance/ Medicaid/ SNAP case actions, by incorporating all received data from FHIS, checking data for accuracy and reviewing authorizations, in order to initiate processing of appropriate services.
• Conduct an Intensive review of Welfare Management System screens (including, All Change Actions Screen, Benefits Issuance Screen, Case Composition Screen, Budget History Screen, Recoupment Screen, Pending Actions Screen, Budget History Screen, Social Security Screen (SDX).
• Ensure the accurate and timely processing of case actions to comply with various lawsuits (Morel, Piron, etc). Maintain control of work submitted to the Control unit to monitor pending actions, errors etc. to ensure that work is re-submitted as needed in a timely manner.
• Decontrol the accurate and timely Fair Hearing case actions resulting from various Fair Hearing processes. Initiates actions on active case and makes referrals to appropriate parties; documents all pertinent data.
• Make data entry in FHIS, NYCWAY, FHEMS, Aid-To-Continue Monitoring System for compliance, tracking, monitoring, data collection, and reporting purposes.

Benefits

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility.
• 55a Program eligibility for qualified persons with a disability.

What This Job Offers

• Industry: Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities
• Education Level: High school or GED
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees