(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 either party to the child support order has submitted a timely request for an administrative adjustment hearing.

(B)Either 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).

(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 the JFS 07724.

(2)In accordance with division (A) of section 3119.623119.61 of the Revised Code, when the order is an administrative child support order, the request must be received by the CSEA within thirty days of the date the parties received the JFS 07724.

(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), to each party's last known address by regular mail.

(D)The CSEA may grant a request from either 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 party 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), 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 either party, the CSEA shall issue the JFS 01856, "Denial of Request to Reschedule Administrative Review and Adjustment Hearing" (rev. 7/2005), 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, "Administrative Adjustment Hearing Request Denial Notice" (rev. 11/2001), to each party by regular 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 the party's contention that the CSEA did not correctly evaluate the party's income, 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. Either 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)Within ten days of the administrative adjustment hearing, the CSEA shall issue the JFS 07770, "Administrative Adjustment Hearing Decision" (rev. 11/2001), to the last known address of both parties by regular 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)The JFS 07770 contains the following notices of each party's right 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 days of the issuance date of the JFS 07770.

(2)When the order is an administrative child support order, the parties may, within fifteen 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)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 party at the hearing.

(N)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.