Withdrawal Requests

The claimant and/or Authorized Representative may withdraw his or her request for appeal/hearing any time before a decision of the Administrative Law Judge or Hearing Officer is signed.  

NOTE: No staff member may request an applicant/recipient to withdraw. Withdrawals are always voluntary. 

Types of Withdrawals

There are two types of Withdrawals Requests:

• Conditional Withdrawal
• Unconditional Withdrawal (Straight Withdrawal).

Conditional Withdrawal

A conditional withdrawal represents the claimant's decision to withdraw the appeal/hearing request based on certain promises of future action(s) taken by the county.

If the Appeals Officer (AO) concludes the county’s action as inappropriate; that the evidence does not support the county’s action, or that the claimant has additional information which would change the outcome, a conditional withdrawal agreement may be offered to the claimant and/or AR prior to or during a hearing.

The Conditional Withdrawal proposed terms and conditions, as well as the signatures of the AO and claimant and/or AR must be documented and captured in the appropriate State or County Conditional Withdrawal form. The corrective actions must be completed without delay, no longer than 30 days from the date of the signed agreement. 

 

Conditional withdrawals MUST ONLY be negotiated by an Appeals Officer (AO).

Example 

Action:
Notice of Action (NOA) for a discontinuance was not timely. A new notice must be sent and a new hearing may be requested.

 

Conditional of the Withdrawal:
The request for a hearing is withdrawn on the  condition that the NOA is rescinded and aid is restored.
 

Unconditional Withdrawal 

An unconditional withdrawal is generally referred to as a “straight withdrawal” or simply as a withdrawal, and is a decision by the claimant to withdraw from the appeals process without an action on the part of the county (a withdrawal with no conditions attached to it). When the withdrawal is unconditional, the hearing request shall be immediately dismissed.

An unconditional withdrawal may result when:

• The request for hearing does not present the basis for appeal
• The matter has already been resolved
• The claimant has accepted the county’s explanation
• The client has admitted the correctness of the county’s position.

 

Example

Action:
A claimant requests a hearing based on the fact that her GA grant is not enough money to rent her own apartment. Aid Paid Pending is not an issue because there has been no reduction or discontinuance. The Appeals Officer discusses the regulations and the grant amount with the claimant.

 

Non-conditional withdrawal:
The claimant realizes that regulations do not permit her to receive a larger grant. The AO offers a non-conditional withdrawal. No action is required by the EW

Methods of Withdrawal Requests

A withdrawal request must be submitted in writing. However, oral requests are acceptable. 

 

Written Requests

The Appeals Officer must ensure that the correct form is used to document the request for withdrawal:

• For State Appeals – "Withdrawal or Conditional Withdrawal Request for Hearing” (DPA 315).
•  County Hearings –  "Request of Withdrawal of General Assistance hearings"  (GA 21). 

The Withdrawal form must state the following in detail:

• The specific program(s) and issue(s) are to be reevaluated.
• The claimant’s agreement to provide any information needed to complete the reevaluation or cancellation of the county action(s).
• The effective or eligibility date based on reevaluation, reassessment, or cancellation of the county’s action(s).
•  The claim numbers, benefits, and time frames to be reevaluated or canceled for overpayment and/or overissuance case(s).

 

Oral Requests

Claimants may also verbally withdraw the hearing request prior to the hearing date as follows:

 

• For county hearings, the county must send the claimant a letter confirming the withdrawal of the request. The letter will serve as the written withdrawal. The request for a hearing shall be considered withdrawn unless, within 15 days of the mailing of such a letter, the county receives notice, either submitted in writing or orally, that the claimant has not withdrawn the request for a hearing.
• For state Appeals, the verbal request must be documented using the DPA 315 which must be signed by the claimant and/or AR.

Important: Line staff are not authorized to sign DPA 315.

Reminder: Verbal requests for withdrawals must be documented in CalSAWS Journal.