§ 455. Fair hearings. 1. Any person aggrieved by the decision of a
social services official or an official of the office of children and
family services not to make a payment or payments pursuant to this title
or to make such payment or payments in an inadequate or inappropriate
amount or the failure of a social services official or an official of
the office of children and family services to determine an application
under this title within thirty days after filing, may appeal to the
office of children and family services which shall review the case, give
such person an opportunity for a fair hearing thereon, and render its
decision within thirty days. The office of children and family services
may also, on its own motion, review any such decision made by a social
services official or any case in which a decision has not been made
within the time specified. All decisions of the office of children and
family services shall be binding upon the social services district
involved and shall be complied with by the social services official
thereof.

2. The only issues which may be raised in a fair hearing under this
section are (a) whether the social services official or an official of
the office of children and family services has improperly denied an
application for payments under this title, or (b) whether the social
services official or an official of the office of children and family
services has improperly discontinued payments under this title, or (c)
whether the social services official or an official of the office of
children and family services has determined the amount of the payments
made or to be made in violation of the provisions of this title or the
regulations of the office of children and family services promulgated
hereunder, or (d) whether the social services official improperly
refused to certify the individual preferred by a child for certification
as the representative payee or improperly denied a request by a child to
revoke the certification of a representative payee pursuant to section
four hundred fifty-three of this title.

3. When an issue is raised as to whether a social services official or
an official of the department has improperly denied an application for
payments under this title, the department shall affirm such denial if:
(a) the child is not a hard to place child or a handicapped child or (b)
there is another approved adoptive parent or parents who is or are
willing to accept the placement of the child in his or their home
without payment under this title within sixty days of such denial and
placement of the child with such other parent or parents would not be
contrary to the best interests of the child.

4. The provisions of subdivisions two and four of section twenty-two
of this chapter shall apply to fair hearings held and appeals taken
pursuant to this section.