U.S. and Wisconsin laws guarantee recipient rights, which include:

• The right to be treated with respect by state and county employees.
• The right to confidentiality of all information given to local economic support agencies to determine eligibility. (This does not prohibit the use of such records for auditing or accounting purposes.)
• The right of access to agency records and files relating to your case, except information obtained by the agency under a promise of confidentiality.
• The right to remain eligible for benefits even if temporarily absent from the state, provided you remain a Wisconsin resident.
• The right to speedy determination of eligibility status and prior notice of proposed changes in such status.
• The right to request reasonable accommodation to participate in the program for a disability-related reason, or the right to request interpreters or translators to participate in the program.

Contact Wendy Metcalf, the Economic Support Division Administrator, at 608-742-9220 or Email if you do not feel you were treated properly.

The Columbia County Division of Economic Support provides translators and uses AT&T LanguageLine services and www.freetranslation.com to provide immediate language assistance.

La División del Condado de Columbia de Apoyo Económico proporciona a traductores y usos EN&los servicios de LanguageLine T y www.freetranslation.com para proporcionar ayuda inmediata de idioma.

If not satisfied, you may appeal to the state Division of Hearings and Appeals or if your:

• Application for Wisconsin Medicaid was unfairly denied.
• Application was not acted upon promptly.
• Benefits were unfairly discontinued, terminated, suspended, or reduced.

This appeal may result in a fair hearing. An appeal must be made no later than 45 days after the date of the action being appealed. The hearing will be held in the county where you live. To learn more, contact: Department of Administration, Division of Hearing & Appeals, P.O. Box 7875 Madison, WI 53707-7875, 608-266-3096 (voice), 608-264-9853 (TTY).

All people applying for or receiving benefits are protected against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, or association with a person with a disability.

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, political beliefs or disability.

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD).  USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.