Sec.17a-101k-10. The administrative hearing decision

(a) The administrative hearing decision shall be a final decision, pursuant to section 4-179 of the Connecticut General Statutes, unless designated in writing as a proposed decision by the commissioner or designee.

(b) The hearing officer shall be responsible for preparing the memorandum of final decision that shall be mailed not later than thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the hearing to the: (1) parties or their attorneys; (2) the department Bureau Chief for Child Welfare; (3) administrative, legal and casework staff involved in the investigation, internal review and hearing; and (4) the hearings unit file.

(c) The memorandum of final decision shall contain: (1) the names of the persons present, except that the name of an individual responsible, a victim and any nonprofessional witnesses, shall be represented by first name and last initial or other pseudonym; (2) the provisions of law, regulation and policy applicable to the case; (3) findings of fact; and (4) conclusions of law on which the decision is based. Other information that tends to identify persons whose names are represented by pseudonym shall, wherever possible, be edited in such a manner as to protect the confidentiality of those persons.

(d) If the hearing officer reverses the substantiation decision or the registry finding, the hearing officer shall direct that the department's records be amended with reasonable immediacy.

(Adopted effective November 7, 2008)