Rodriguez

Facts

From 1979 to August 31, 1982, Rodriguez received aid for families with dependent children (AFDC) and food stamps from the County of Orange. On August 12, 1982, the County of Orange filed a Notice of Action stating its intention to discontinue aid, effective August 31, 1982, because the county believed the children’s father, Richard Rodriguez, was residing with respondent in her home. Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 10950, Rodriguez requested a “fair hearing” before the Department of Social Services (DSS). Before that hearing, the County of Orange filed a “Statement of County Position,” outlining the welfare history of Rodriguez, noting its suspicion of the father’s residency, and concluding her AFDC assistance “should be terminated.”

At the fair hearing on September 27, 1982, a county investigator testified he had talked to neighbors and learned Richard Rodriguez was residing with Respondent and her children. He had not seen the husband at the home, and declined to produce the witnesses who had actually observed husband, citing the anticipation of a criminal welfare fraud case against Rodriguez. Rodriguez testified her husband had not lived with her at…