Section 1240-04-07-.08 - APPEAL PROCESS(1) Upon receiving its annual scoring results, a child care agency may choose to appeal any part of its Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) score.(2) This appeal will include a review of the agency's average score over the course of the four (4) licensing visits.(3) Intradepartmental Review. The appeal process shall begin with the request for an Intradepartmental Review, to be conducted according to the policies and procedures established by the Department.
(a) The request for an Intradepartmental Review shall be in writing and shall include: 1. A statement that identifies the specific information and/or rating that is in dispute;2. A statement that identifies the basis upon which the agency is alleging that an error has occurred;3. Supporting documentation with the written request; and4. If the information required by this subparagraph (a) is not provided by the child care agency, the appeal may be dismissed at the sole discretion of the Department.(b) Issues considered during the Intradepartmental Review shall be limited to: 1. Whether, at the time of the evaluation, the agency was provided proper credit for compliance with the criteria required in each of the component areas; and/or2. Whether the agency's rating was otherwise correctly calculated.(c) The written request for Intradepartmental Review must be received by the Department within twenty (20) business days following the date of mailing of the issuance of the official Quality Rating Improvement System scorecard and license to the child care agency.(d) Intradepartmental Review is an informal process not subject to the contested case provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, T.C.A. §§ 4-5-301 et seq. and shall precede, and must be completed before, any Administrative Hearing.(e) In conducting the Intradepartmental Review, the Department may take any of the following actions as deemed appropriate in its discretion:1. Request additional information from the child care agency and/or third parties;2. Examine additional documentation from the child care agency and/or third parties; and/or3. Conduct an informal hearing, not subject to the provisions of T.C.A. §§ 4-5-301 et seq., that may include statements from the child care agency and/or third parties.(f) The Department shall complete the review and render a written decision to the child care agency within forty-five (45) business days of receipt by the Department of the written request for review.(g) Upon receiving the written decision from the Intradepartmental Review, the agency may request an Administrative Hearing, as provided for in paragraph (4) below.(h) Upon completion of the Intradepartmental Review, the agency shall receive the rating resulting from the review process, as well as the certificate payments that are commensurate with that rating.(4) Administrative Hearing.(a) A request for Administrative Hearing must be submitted to the Department by the agency within ten (10) business days after the mailing date of the Department's written decision from the Intradepartmental Review.(b) The issues addressed in the Administrative Hearing are limited to the issues raised during the Intradepartmental Review.(c) The Administrative Hearing shall be conducted as a contested case proceeding by the Department's Appeals and Hearings Division according to T.C.A. §§ 4-5-301 et seq.(d) The hearing officer shall render a written decision within thirty (30) business days after the hearing and shall send a copy of such decision to the Department and to the child care agency.(e) Bonus Payments.1. If the agency requests an Administrative Hearing, the agency's bonus payments shall be based upon the results of the most recently completed score.2. If the Administrative Hearing results in an increase to the agency's score which warrants an increase in the amount of the bonus payment, the Department will pay to the agency the difference between the two amounts that accrued during the Administrative Hearing process.(5) Issuance of a New Quality Rating Improvement Score (a) If the results of any process established in paragraphs (3) and (4) above should require the issuance of a new Quality Rating Improvement System scorecard, such scorecard shall be issued to the child care agency within thirty (30) business days of issuance of the written decision.(b) Immediately upon receipt of the new Quality Rating Improvement System score, the child care agency shall post the QRIS Score as directed by the Department.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-04-07-.08
New rule filed October 21, 2008; effective January 4, 2009. Amendments filed May 1, 2018; effective July 30, 2018. Amendments filed March 31, 2022; effective 6/29/2022.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-201, et seq.; 4-5-202; and 71-3-502(a)(2) and (j).