If you receive a letter from a county social services agency or from the Minnesota Department of Human Services stating that maltreatment has been determined, contact Anderson Defense immediately at (612) 437-6704. You only have 15 days to appeal this determination which can have lifelong consequences!
The Department of Human Services is the governing agency in Minnesota that deals with Maltreatment Determinations and Disqualification Determinations. If a finding of maltreatment or disqualification is made, without being appealed, your future employment may be in jeopardy. Typically, maltreatment determinations and disqualification determinations effect employment that in any way involves children, the elderly, disabled individuals, or vulnerable people in general. For example, those working in the nursing field, in child care, in social services, or in education, to name a few, may end up barred from working in their respective fields if they receive a maltreatment determination or disqualification. This means that your future employment may be at risk if there is a maltreatment finding or disqualification made against you. It is critical that if you receive a letter from a county social services agency informing you of a maltreatment determination, you must appeal right away as there are very strict deadlines to appeal. If you fail to request reconsideration in writing within the 15-day deadline or fail to request a hearing within 30 days after denial of said request, you forever waive your right to appeal the maltreatment determination and/or disqualification.
Types of Maltreatment
There are many types of maltreatment determinations. Simple maltreatment typically involves the least serious situations, such as when no injury or significant neglect occurred as a result of the maltreatment. Simple maltreatment determinations do not disqualify you from employment for your first incident. If there is more than one simple maltreatment on an individual’s record, then a disqualification will accompany the second maltreatment determination, due to it being “recurring maltreatment.” If the determination is for “serious maltreatment,” then a disqualification would accompany the maltreatment determination and, unless appealed successfully, you will be barred from working in fields governed by the Department of Human Services. Serious maltreatment includes but is not limited to: sexual abuse, maltreatment resulting in death, neglect resulting in serious injury (bruises, bites, fractures, head injuries, etc.), and neglect resulting in criminal sexual conduct against a child or vulnerable adult. A disqualification determination can last for a set amount of years or for life depending on the severity of the alleged maltreatment. Disqualifications may be set aside in certain situations. For more information on disqualifications, Set Asides and Variances of disqualifications, call us today at (612) 437-6704 and visit our webpage discussing Disqualifications.
How to Appeal
First, you must request for reconsideration within 15 calendar days of receiving the county’s determination that maltreatment occurred. This must be done in writing. The county will then respond to the request for reconsideration and determine whether they adhere to their original decision or whether they will agree to reverse the finding of maltreatment. The county social service agency must reply to your request of reconsideration within 15 working days of receiving your request. If the county adheres to its original decision, you must request a fair hearing to within 30 days of receiving the county agency’s response which must be sent to the Appeals Office at the Commissioner of Human Services. If the county fails to respond to your request for reconsideration, then you must request a fair hearing from the Appeals Office at the Commissioner of Human Services within 30 days of the date that the county’s response was due. The timelines are very strict and must be adhered by to ensure the appeal is not later dismissed for lack of timeliness or lack of jurisdiction.
If you receive a maltreatment determination and/or a disqualification letter contact the attorneys at Anderson Defense today. Anderson Defense offers free consultations and will explain your options to you and further outline the appeal process. Anderson Defense will appeal the maltreatment case for you from start to finish and file all necessary appeal paperwork required and then later represent you at the fair hearing. Call Anderson Defense today at (612) 437-6704 for a consultation.
