About administrative hearings

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The purpose of a hearing is to provide the claimant with an impartial review of the county's action when they are dissatisfied with an action.

A state hearing is a form of administrative hearing mandated by federal and state law. Before the request is adjudicated, county hearings staff reviews the request. This review process is the last stop before a case is adjudicated at the state level.

The responsibility of providing a full and impartial hearing to the claimant
rests jointly with the county and the state department.

Hearings staff is managed through the Program Support and Development workgroup under the Eligibility and Employment Services Division of the Health and Human Services Agency's Social Services department. This ensures that there is no conflict of interest when reviewing cases under the various programs, such as CalWORKs, Food Stamps, Medi-Cal, In-Home Support Services, Adoptions, and Foster Care as there are separate managers for each workgroup.