(A)The child support
enforcement agency (CSEA) shall schedule and conduct an administrative adjustment
hearing in accordance with this rule when the CSEA determines that eitherany party to the child
support order has submitted a timely request for an administrative adjustment hearing.
(B)EitherAny party may submit
to the CSEA a written request for an administrative adjustment hearing to object
to the recommendations contained in the JFS 07724, "Administrative Adjustment
Recommendation" (rev. 8/2008)(effective or revised effective date as identified in rule 5101:12-45-99
of the Administrative Code).
(1)In accordance with
division (B) of section 3119.63 of the Revised Code, when the order is a court support
order, the request must be received by the CSEA within fourteen days of the date the parties received after the JFS 07724 is issued.
(2)In accordance with
division (A) of section 3119.61 of the Revised Code, when the order is an administrative
child support order, the request must be received by the CSEA within thirtyno later than fourteen
days of the date the parties received after the JFS 07724 is issued.
(C)The CSEA shall
schedule the administrative adjustment hearing for a date no later than fifteen
days after the date that the CSEA receives the request. No later than ten days before
the hearing is conducted, the CSEA shall issue the JFS 07602, "Administrative
Adjustment Hearing Notice" (4/1996)(effective or revised effective date as identified in rule 5101:12-60-99
of the Administrative Code), to each party's last known address by regularordinary mail.
(D)The CSEA may grant
a request from eitherany
party to participate in the hearing via telephone in appropriate circumstances as
determined by the CSEA.
(E)The administrative
adjustment hearing shall be conducted by a licensed attorney or other qualified
person designated by the CSEA director with significant training or experience in
conducting hearings that are subject to court review (hereafter both are referred
to as "designee"). The designee shall not have been involved in the administrative
adjustment recommendations being appealed. The designee shall not have contact with
either partythe parties
about the case outside the hearing process.
(F)The CSEA representative
who was involved in the administrative adjustment recommendation being appealed
or other person designated by the CSEA who is familiar with the recommendation shall
be available for the administrative adjustment hearing to explain the administrative
adjustment recommendation, answer relevant questions, and provide appropriate documentation
to support the administrative adjustment recommendation.
(G)The designee shall
permit one request per party for postponement of the originally scheduled administrative
adjustment hearing date. The request must be based on a valid reason, as determined
by the CSEA, and received by the CSEA no later than seven days before the scheduled
date.
(1)When the CSEA approves
the request, the CSEA shall reschedule the administrative adjustment hearing within
fifteen days of the original hearing date and issue the JFS 07633, "Rescheduling
Administrative Adjustment Hearing Notice" (rev. 4/1996)(effective or revised effective date as identified in rule 5101:12-60-99
of the Administrative Code, to each party, notifying the parties of the rescheduled
date, time, and location of the administrative adjustment hearing.
(2)When the CSEA determines
that no valid reason to postpone the administrative adjustment hearing has been
presented by eitherthe
party, the CSEA shall issue the JFS 01856, "Denial of Request to Reschedule
Administrative Review and Adjustment Hearing" (rev.
7/2005)(effective or revised effective date as identified
in rule 5101:12-60-99 of the Administrative Code), to the requesting party.
(H)The CSEA may deny
the request for an administrative adjustment hearing when:
(1)The request for
an administrative adjustment hearing is not made by one of the parties or one of a party's authorized representative;
(2)The stated reason
for requesting the hearing is unrelated to the administrative adjustment recommendation;
or
(3)The request is
untimely.
(I)When an administrative
adjustment hearing request is denied, the CSEA shall issue a JFS 07728, "Denial of Request for an Administrative Adjustment Hearing
Request Denial Notice" (rev. 11/2001)(effective or revised
effective date as identified in rule 5101:12-60-99 of the Administrative Code),
to each party by regularordinary
mail. The JFS 07728 shall indicate the reason(s) for the denial.
(J)At the administrative
adjustment hearing, each party shall be given the opportunity to present evidence
and testimony to support whether the party's contention that the CSEA did not correctly evaluateevaluated the party's incomeinformation relevant to the
review, when such income
information had been provided, or did not make reasonable assumptions with respect
to the income of any person who failed to provide income information. EitherAny party may bring
a representative to the hearing. The designee may exclude any individual who does
not have a valid interest in the proceedings as determined by the designee. The
CSEA shall maintain a copy of all exhibits provided by the parties at the administrative
adjustment hearing.
(K)In accordance with section 3123.21 of the
Revised Code, an administrative hearing officer may consider evidence of household
expenditures, income variables, extraordinary health care issues, and other reasons
for a deviation from the twenty per cent presumption on the ordered payment on arrears.
(K)(L) Within ten days of the administrative adjustment
hearing, the CSEA shall issue the JFS 07770, "Administrative Adjustment Hearing
Decision" (rev. 11/2001)effective or revised effective date as identified in rule 5101:12-60-99
of the Administrative Code) , to the last known address of both partieseach party by
regularordinary mail.
The designee shall attach to the JFS 07770 findings of fact based upon the evidence
presented at the hearing, relevant citations to the guidelines and other applicable
law, a conclusion regarding the correctness of the administrative adjustment review
recommendation under appeal, and a recommendation regarding the support obligations
and medical support provisions.
(L)(M) The JFS 07770 contains the following notices of
each party's rightthe parties'
rights to file for a court hearing to object to the administrative adjustment
hearing decision:
(1)When the order
is a court support order, the parties may file for a court hearing within fifteen fourteen days of the
issuance date of the JFS 07770.
(2)When the order
is an administrative child support order, the parties may, within fifteenfourteen days of issuance
date of the JFS 07770, initiate an action under section 2151.231 of the Revised
Code in the juvenile court or other court with jurisdiction under sections 2101.022
and 2301.03 of the Revised Code of the county in which the mother, father, child,
guardian, or custodian of the child resides.
(M)(N) Within fifteen days of receiving a request for or
being notified of a court hearing, the CSEA shall submit the request, when applicable,
the JFS 07724, the JFS 07770, and any attachments to the court. The CSEA's only
requirement is to submit the documents to the court. The CSEA does not prepare the
motion or represent either partyany party at the hearing.
(N)(O) The CSEA's legal representative shall primarily
serve an administrative function rather than that of a legal advocate. When a legal
challenge occurs at the court level and the CSEA is requested to appear, the CSEA
shall present to the court the facts from the administrative adjustment review and
hearing to assure that the guidelines were correctly applied and to explain the
JFS 07724.
Effective: 2/11/2019
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 10/3/2018 and 02/11/2024
Certification: CERTIFIED ELECTRONICALLY
Date: 01/29/2019
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3125.25
Rule Amplifies: 3119.60, 3119.61, 3119.63, 3125.03
Prior Effective Dates: 12/31/1990 (Emer.), 02/21/1991, 09/01/1993,
12/01/2001, 09/01/2005, 03/01/2009, 11/01/2015