Woodley v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Dist. 3, Lake County AFDC
| Decision Date | 21 April 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. BN-234,BN-234 |
| Citation | 12 Fla. L. Weekly 1075,505 So.2d 676 |
| Parties | 12 Fla. L. Weekly 1075 Birdie WOODLEY, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DISTRICT 3, LAKE COUNTY AFDC, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Sonia Nieves Burton, Tavares, for appellant.
Linda K. Harris, Dist. III Legal Counsel, Gainesville, for appellee.
Woodley appeals from a final order of the Office of Public Assistance Appeal Hearings, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (Department), upholding the denial of her application for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits. We reverse.
Woodley applied for AFDC benefits on 5 December 1985. She had an initial interview with a Department eligibility specialist on 19 December 1985, at which time she was asked to provide by 30 December 1985, among other things, verification that she had applied for workers' compensation benefits. Woodley made repeated, but unsuccessful attempts to obtain this verification from her former employer. By letter to the employer dated 23 December 1985, the eligibility specialist also requested workers' compensation status verification. The employer did not respond.
On 31 December 1985, the Department issued a Notice of Abandonment, giving Woodley until 15 January 1986 to provide the requested information. On the same day, Woodley contacted the Department and informed the eligibility specialist that she had been unable to obtain verification. The eligibility specialist advised Woodley to try again. Also on 31 December 1985, the eligibility specialist telephoned the employer in an unsuccessful effort to obtain the information.
Woodley contacted the eligibility specialist on 2 January 1986 and 6 January 1986, stating that she was still trying to get verification. Both times, the eligibility specialist advised her to go back and try again. She also advised Woodley to contact the Department by the 15 January deadline and request an extension of time if she could not obtain the verification.
Woodley did not furnish the requested information or request an extension of time by 15 January. As a result, the Department denied her application on 22 January 1986, and Woodley requested an administrative hearing.
Woodley contended at the hearing that the eligibility specialist should have and, in fact, was required to submit a policy exception request to the Department's District Economic Services Program Office, seeking an exception from the Department's time standard for acting on AFDC applications. The hearing officer implicitly rejected this contention, concluding that the Department properly...
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