Ayala v. Berlin

Filing a compliance complaint was not an appropriate remedy following the agency’s determination; indeed, the agency had complied with the fair hearing decision ordering it to determine petitioner’s eligibility for childcare benefits (see 18 NYCRR 358-6.4 [c]). However, before commencing this proceeding, *608petitioner should have sought a fair hearing of the agency’s determination that she was ineligible for such benefits (see Social Services Law § 22 [5] [a], [d]). Because petitioner’s claims involve factual questions reviewable at the administrative level, her failure to exhaust her…