Administrative Justice in Public Welfare Bureaucracies

这个项目研究了一种重要的和未被充分研究的民事司法形式，即行政“公平”听证会，它被每一个主要的公共福利计划用来解决有关提供援助的争议。当政府官僚机构犯了错误，行动太慢，或未能履行其职责时，听证会往往是愤愤不平的公民的唯一选择。它们有助于确保政府官员始终如一地、公正和公平地适用法律，并符合政策制定者的意图。该项目的重点是位于美国一个大城市的一个公平听证单位的日常活动，该单位负责审理关于拒绝向贫困家庭提供临时援助、医疗补助和其他健康保险和公共援助方案的上诉。通过实地观察，与行政法法官和受助人的深入访谈，以及对官方书面政策和程序的分析，本项目旨在了解这些民事司法网站如何在更大的福利官僚机构的背景下运作，并作为旨在解决政府与公民个人之间纠纷的准司法程序。该项目研究了影响诉讼当事人参与的动态，包括行政法法官的关键作用，以及如何在听证室实施程序正义的概念。它还探讨了官僚行为和行政公正之间的联系。听证会是政府的一个固定特征，其对公民的效力和用处是治理的一个重要方面。一个运行良好、使用得当的听证会制度，会让人们对政府的所作所为和做法产生信任和信心。听证会还为那些认为自己受到了冤枉的公民提供了一个论坛，让他们表达自己的争议，即使他们没有犯错。研究结果将有助于决策者和行政人员更好地设计和实施行政听证会，特别是边缘化和弱势群体利用的听证会。

This project examines a significant and understudied form of civil justice, administrative "fair" hearings, which are used by every major public welfare program to resolve disputes over the provision of aid. When government bureaucracies make mistakes, move too slowly, or otherwise fail to fulfill their mandate, hearings are often the only option for aggrieved citizens. They help insure that government officials are applying the law consistently, fairly and equitably, and as intended by policy makers. This project focuses on the routine activities of a fair hearing unit located in a large city in the United States, and which hears appeals on the denial of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid and other health insurance and public assistance programs. Using field observations, in-depth interviews with administrative law judges and recipients, and an analysis of official written policies and procedures, this project seeks to understand how these sites for civil justice operate both within the context of the larger welfare bureaucracy, and as quasi judicial proceedings designed to resolve disputes between government and individual citizens. The project examines the dynamics that shape the litigants' participation, including the crucial role of the administrative law judge, and how notions of procedural justice are implemented in the hearing room. It also explores the link between bureaucratic behavior and administrative justice. Hearings are a fixed feature of government and their efficacy and usefulness to citizens is an important aspect of governance. A well-run and well-used hearing system instills trust and confidence in both what government does and how it does it. Hearings also provide a forum for citizens who think they were wronged to air their dispute, even where no mistake was made. The study's findings will help policymakers and administrators better design and implement administrative hearings, especially those utilized by marginalized and vulnerable populations.