After The Hearing Decision

Reconsideration
The Appellant may ask the Hearing Officer to reconsider the final decision.  The request for reconsideration must be filed within 15 days after the date the decision is mailed to the Appellant.  There are three grounds that may result in the Hearing Officer agreeing to reconsider the decision: (1) there is an error of fact or law that needs to be corrected; (2) new evidence was discovered that could not have been presented at the hearing; or (3) other good cause for reconsideration is shown. 

Within 25 days of the date the request for reconsideration is filed, the Hearing Officer will decide whether to reconsider the decision.  If the Hearing Officer does not issue a written decision within 25 days, the request for reconsideration is considered to be denied. 

If the Hearing Officer agrees to reconsider the final decision, the Hearing Officer will inform the Appellant by mail and explain next steps. If the request for reconsideration is granted, the Hearing Officer will issue another final decision not later than 90 days following the date the Hearing Officer decided to reconsider.  If no decision is issued within that period, the original final decision stands.

Appeal of Hearing Officer Decision to Superior Court
The Appellant is not required to request reconsideration of a final decision prior to appealing the Hearing Officer’s decision to Superior Court. 

If the Appellant does not request reconsideration and wants to directly appeal the decision to Superior Court, the appeal must be filed with the Superior Court within 45 days after the final decision is mailed to the Appellant.

If the Appellant requests s reconsideration but DSS denies the request, the Appellant must file an appeal to Superior Court within 45 days after the denial.  If the Appellant requests reconsideration but does not receive a written decision from DSS, the Appellant has 45 days from the end of the 25-day reconsideration period (see above) to file an appeal to Superior Court. If the Appellant’s request for reconsideration is granted, the Appellant has 45 days after the mailing of the final decision after reconsideration to appeal to Superior Court.  If reconsideration is granted, but a decision after reconsideration is not issued within 90 days of the grant, the Appellant has 45 days after the end of the 90-day period to appeal the final decision to Superior Court. 

An appellant must file an appeal with the Clerk of the Superior Court for the Judicial District of New Britain or for the district where the Appellant lives. Please review section 4-183 of the Connecticut General Statutes for details about how to file the appeal.

See Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 17b-61(c); 4-181a; 4-183