DSHS Hearings offered by Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings in Olympia
Independent state agency conducts appeals hearings for DSHS in four main categories: Public assistance, Child support, Facility licensing, and Juvenile rehabilitation. If you are an applicant or recipient of public assistance, in any form, through DSHS, and you disagree with a decision that DSHS has made about your benefits, you have a right to an administrative hearing. If you disagree with a notice that DCS has sent you about your child support obligation, you have a right to an administrative hearing. The decision will not be made at the hearing. The judge will consider all of the evidence presented at the hearing, make findings of facts, and then apply the applicable DSHS regulations to those facts. The resulting written decision (called an Initial Order or a Final Order, depending on the type of case) will then be mailed.
Physical Address
2420 Bristol Court Southwest, Olympia, WA 98502
Transportation
From I-5 take the Aberdeen/Ocean Beaches exit (Exit 104) onto US Highway 101. Get into the far right lane as soon as possible and take the first exit (Cooper Point Road/Crosby Boulevard). Turn right from the off ramp onto Cooper Point Road. At the next light, turn right onto Evergreen Park Drive SW. (AM-PM will be to your right.) Stay in the right lane and turn right again onto South Evergreen Park Drive SW. Follow the road as it curves to the left and take the third left onto Bristol Court SW. Take the first right into the parking lot. OAH is in the second brick building (2420).
Hours
M-F, 8am-5pm.
Voice
Website
https://www.oah.wa.gov
Application process
The DSHS notice should give deadline for requesting a hearing, whether the request for hearing must be in writing, where to send the request, and whether the request can be made orally. To appeal the denial or termination of cash, medical or basic food benefits, request a hearing in writing or by speaking to a responsible person (such as a case worker, a supervisor, or the fair hearings coordinator) at the Community Service Office.
Fee
None.
Eligibility
DSHS clients.
Languages
Interpreter services
Service area
Adams, WA
Pend Oreille, WA
Benton, WA
Kittitas, WA
Wahkiakum, WA
Klickitat, WA
Skamania, WA
Whitman, WA
Island, WA
Cowlitz, WA
Spokane, WA
Thurston, WA
Garfield, WA
Lewis, WA
Yakima, WA
Okanogan, WA
Clallam, WA
Kitsap, WA
Snohomish, WA
Grant, WA
Columbia, WA
Ferry, WA
Grays Harbor, WA
Asotin, WA
Stevens, WA
Jefferson, WA
Pierce, WA
Douglas, WA
Lincoln, WA
Whatcom, WA
San Juan, WA
Clark, WA
Skagit, WA
King, WA
Mason, WA
Walla Walla, WA
Chelan, WA
Franklin, WA
Pacific, WA
Agency info
Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings
A state agency that hears and independently resolves disputes between the public and state agencies with an impartial, quick, and easy to access process. Most appeals are filed against actions by the Department of Social & Health Services, the Health Care Authority, and the Employment Security Department.