LSC REFERENCE GUIDE: CITING CASES

REFERENCE GUIDE

GUIDELINES FOR CITING CASES

Overview

During onsite assessments, the Office of Compliance and Enforcement (OCE) conducts a review of grantee’s cases. This document outlines the procedures to be performed by the OCE Program Counsels in citing their review of case files.

Please note that citations need to follow the text they support. They should also not be stand-alone paragraphs.

Individual and Final Report Citations Format and Examples

Individual Reports:

See [INSERT OFFICE NAME] [Staff/PAI] Closed 2012 Case No. XXXXXXXX(TJ-87).

Examples: See Yorktown Staff Closed 2012 Case No. XXXXXXXX(TJ-87).

See Yorktown PAI Closed 2012 Case No. XXXXXXXX(TJ-87).

Final Reports:

See [Staff/PAI] Closed 2012 Case No. XXXXXXXX.

Examples: See Staff Open Case No. XXXXXXXX.

See Staff Closed 2012 Case Nos. XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX.

See PAI Closed 2012 Case No. XXXXXXXX (Include a summary of the compliance issue found here if you have not already done so in the text.).

Office Names:

The office location should be the office designation indicated by the program’s ACMS, not where it is being reviewed.

Your Control No. should reference the files cited in your report and the case file number assigned by the recipient. The citation to the case number assigned by the recipient should also reference the list in which the case appears. Additionally, the case discussion should reference the office location/name (note – the inclusion of the office location/name is helpful for the granteeand the Team Leader to identify any problematic offices).

Parentheticals:

If an explanation of why the case is cited is not contained in the text of a report, it must be in a citation parenthetical. In Individual Reports, explanations of case findings in citation parentheticals should be in full sentences (note – this structure facilitates the Team Lead in drafting the Team Report in that the Team Lead has a sufficient explanation of any exceptions and focus can be on the substance of the report versus wordsmithing to convert phrases to sentences).

For example: See Office [Staff/PAI] Closed 2012 Case No. XXX (LM-8) (This case was still open as of the time of the review, but the file indicated that no legal work had been done for this client since November of 2013, and there were no notations indicating why the case has remained open.).

In Team Reports, explanations of case findings provided in citation parentheticals should alsoall be in full sentences and punctuated accordingly.

Number of Citations:

All cases found to contain a compliance deficiency during a review should be cited in Individual and Team Reports. An exception can be made in Team Reports if there are over 15-20 deficiencies of the same nature, depending on sample size (e.g., undated attestations, failure to screen for prospective income, incorrect application of over-income exceptions, etc.). In that case, the Team Report can only include between 10-15 representative examples of the finding so that the grantee understands the key error trends. The total number of case files - or a fairly accurate range (e.g., at least 50 cases) - containing the compliance deficiency, however, must be noted in the Team Report.

Citation Examples and Additional Guidance:

Citing Dormant Cases:

SeeOffice [Staff/PAI] Open Case No. XXX (LM-8) (This casewas opened during 2006 and thelast legal work documented in the filewas in 2006, with no notations in the fileof anyfurtherlegal assistanceneeded orprovided since2006, and therefore was dormant.).

Citing Untimely Cases:

See Office [Staff/PAI] Closed 2012 Case No. XXX (LM-8). (This case was opened in 2009 and the last legal work documented in the file was in 2009, with no notations in the fileof anyfurtherlegal assistanceneeded orprovided since2009, and therefore was untimely closed.).

Citing Case Closure Category Errors:

  • Example: See Office [Staff/PAI] Closed 2012 Case No. XXX (LM-8)(This case was closed with a K closure category when themoreappropriateaction would havebeen to close the file as LL because the case handler filed to withdraw from the case.).
  • Example: See Office [Staff/PAI] Closed 2012 Case No. XXX (LM-8)(This was a mortgage foreclosure action, which was closedas anA, and should havebeen closed asan Lbecause the program provided continuous legal assistance to the client since 2010.).

Example: SeeOffice [Staff/PAI] Closed 2012 Case No. XXX (LM-8)(This case was closed as B, but should have been closed as L because the attorney conducted extensive research and attended hearings on behalf of the client who later withdrew from the court case.).

Citing Statement of Fact and Client Identity Errors:

For cases cited for statement of fact errors, please describe why the statement of facts was required in the case.

Citing Citizenship Attestation Deficiencies:

If not explained in the text of the report, all citations to deficiencies relating to citizenship attestations should explain the exact deficiency (e.g., documentation deficiency versus screen deficiency) and state whether the case was otherwise screened for 45 CFR Part 1626 eligibility (e.g., by phone, during walk-in intake, etc.).

String Citations

String citations should be linked by semicolons and there is no need to repeat the applicable signal.

  • Example: See e.g., Office [Staff/PAI] Closed 2012 Case No. XXX (LM-8); Office [Staff/PAI] Closed 2013 Case No. XXX (LM-20); and Office [Staff/PAI] Closed 2014 Case No. XXX (LM-103).

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