The Administrative Review Procedure is available to an
Agency's Executive Director or President of the Board of Directors whenever a
decisions has been made by personnel within the funding Bureau(s) during
monitoring and the agency is aggrieved by a decisions).
A. Procedure
1. In order to initiate this process an
agency must request an administrative review in writing, stating the decision
it is aggrieved by and its objections thereto.
This request shall be made to the Director, Bureau of
Rehabilitation, and/or the Director, Bureau of Mental Retardation, and/or the
Director, Bureau of Mental Health. Copies of the request shall be sent to the
Bureau(s) regional representatives.
2. Within 20 days of the receipt of the
request for administrative review, the Bureau Director(s) or designees shall
assign an administrative review panel to meet with the agency.
The administrative review panel shall reflect representation
from the funding Bureau(s), and a representative from a community agency. Panel
members shall not be from the some region in which the requesting agency's
facility is located, nor shell the panel members hove participated in any way
in the decisions being challenged. The requesting agency shall designate the
community agency representative accordingly.
3. The administrative review panel will make
a record of the hearing with the requesting agency by recording the hearing in
a form susceptible to transcription. The panel will also include in the record
all material, including records and documents in the possession of the funding
Bureau) upon which the challenged decisions was based, and all relevant
documents offered by the requesting agency at the hearing.
The review will be conducted in an impartial manner. Every
party will have the right to present evidence and arguments on all issues, and
at the hearing to call and examine witnesses and to make oral cross-examination
of any person testifying.
4. The administrative review panel shall
submit a written report to the Bureau Director(s) within five (5) working days
of the date of their hearing, including recommended findings of fact and a
recommended decision based on such findings. A copy of the report will be sent
to the requesting agency, which may submit a response or exceptions to the
report to the Bureau Director(s) within five (5) working days of receipt of the
panel's report.
5. The Bureau
Director(s) shall render a final decision within ten (10) working days of
receipt of the administrative review panel's recommendations. The Bureau
Director(s) decision shall be sent to the requesting agency, Bureau personnel
as indicated by the Director(s), and the administrative review panel.
6. Further review of the Bureau Directors'
decision may be sought from the Commissioner(s) by requesting in writing such a
review within 10 days of the receipt of the Bureau Directors'
decision.
7. The Commissioner(s)
shell issue a written decision within 20 working days from receipt of a written
request. Such decision shall constitute final agency action. Further judicial
review may be sought through procedures as set forth in the Maine
Administrative Procedures Act.
