Trant v. Commonwealth

Dissenting Opinion by

Judge Doyle :

The information provided to Petitioner by her caseworker was merely a reiteration of the Department of Public Welfare’s (DPW) substantive policy at the time of Petitioner’s inquiry based on the DPW’s interpretation of pertinent federal regulations. The DPW’s policy was not amended until January 23, 1980 when a federal directive was received indicating that the DPW’s treatment of the special SSI grant was not what the controlling regulations intended. Thus, the caseworker’s comments were simply reflective of what was -an error of law on the part of the DPW…