County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSACalWORKs Program Guide Number Page Employment Services Grievances 10030H 1of 2 Revision Date 090120 Background Employment Services ES participants have the right to dispute any program requirement or assignment they believe to be in violation of or inconsistent with state law and regulations governing the ES program Purpose The purpose of this material is to update policies for ES Grievances by requiring a review by ES Contractors and Eligibility Operations instead of the Appeals section and creating a Processing Guide Policy Complaint Resolution When possible ES complaints regarding regulations andor processes should first be handled at the level of the Employment Case Manager ECM and ECM Supervisor This also applies to other ES programs such as Child Care and CalLearn When the complaint cannot be resolved on an informal basis the ECM and ECM Supervisor will inform participants of their right to file a formal grievance or request a state hearing State hearings are offered as an alternative to the formal grievance process or to appeal the outcome of a formal grievance Policies and Procedures related to state hearings are found in the Eligibility Policy and Procedure Guide ES Grievance Process The formal ES Grievance Process is offered as a method to determine whether a program requirement or assignment is in violation of the ES plan or is otherwise inconsistent with ES program requirements ES participants are required to participate in assigned ES activities during the Grievance process and are entitled to supportive services to enable participation Individuals who fail to participate during the ES Grievance process or any subsequent appeal are subject to sanction pending the outcome of the process if they fail to participate as required The ES Grievance Process cannot be used To appeal the outcome of a state hearing or the results of an ES AssessmentReassessment Individuals disputing the outcome of an ES AssessmentReassessment are referred for a Third Party Assessment CPG 10005G For individuals who have failed to successfully resolve an instance of noncompliance and are deemed sanctioned Sanctioned individuals may request a state hearing to appeal a program requirement or assignment Procedure Processing Guide 10030H1 References MPP 42700 42721 42750 County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency HHSA CalWORKs Program Guide Employment Services Grievances Number 10030H Page 2 of 2 Sunset Date This policy will be reviewed for continuance by 09302023 Approval for Release Rick Wanne Director Eligibility Operations