CS
371P Case Preparation for Administrative Hearing
10/82
Revised 05/15/23 Training Completed 05/29/23 Last Reviewed 06/04/25
CIC: Refer to procedures found in CS 1371P CIC
Children in Care Case Preparation for Administrative Hearing.
Procedures
When it is appropriate to refer a case to the
Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), use the “Administrative Hearing Check
List” as a guideline in preparing the case for the hearing.
The Presiding Officer is responsible for
completing the steps listed on the top
half of the form and submitting the form with the hearing request and
associated documents to the OAH.
The agent is responsible for completing the
steps listed on the bottom half of
the form as described below.
1.
The agent
ensures that the documents required as evidence in the hearing are complete and
up-to-date. They will be submitted as
evidence at the hearing. Documents
required at a hearing are listed below.
a.
Copies of
any and all existing orders including any subsequent modifications relating to
the child support obligation.
b.
A copy of
the “Assignment of Collection of Support Payments” executed by the custodial
parent (CP), or the “Application for Non-IV-A Child Support Enforcement
Services.”
c.
“Assigned
Arrears Worksheet.”
d.
A certified
copy of child support payments made to the County Clerk, if applicable.
e.
A copy of
the completed “Arrearage Assessment Computation,” if applicable.
f.
Evidence of
the respondents’ ability to provide support (employment verification,
verification of earnings, state tax records, etc.).
2.
Either the
agent or the senior agent (whoever is presenting the State’s evidence at the
hearing) is responsible for notifying the witnesses by phone or sending a
letter informing them of the time and place of the hearing and to confirm their
attendance. Witnesses who are not a
party to the action shall be reimbursed the same amount as if they were
appearing in District Court. Contact the clerk of the District Court for
current rates for witness fees.
3.
If a
respondent is represented by an attorney and an Attorney General (AG) will be
presenting the State’s evidence (refer to CS 370P Administrative Hearing
Request and Preliminary Conference), the agent or senior agent who will be
attending the hearing is responsible for confirming the hearing date and time
with the AG and for scheduling a prehearing meeting to review the case.
4.
Request that
the OAH send notice of the hearing to both respondents.
5.
The agent/senior
agent who will be attending the hearing is responsible for providing a copy of
the evidence to the OAH and the respondents.
If the hearing is going to be held telephonically, mail the “Telephonic
Hearing Cover Letter” to the OAH and/or the “Telephonic Hearing Obligor Cover
Letter” to the respondent(s) with copies of all documents that you plan to
submit as evidence. Mail all documents
to each party that will be participating telephonically at least 14 days prior
to the date of the hearing so that all parties have the copies at the time of
the hearing. Even documents that were
submitted to OAH as part of the hearing request must be provided to all parties
in order to be considered as evidence presented during the hearing.
Documents presented to OAH outside of the hearing may not be considered
during the hearing and documents may not be presented as evidence after the
hearing.
If the hearing is going to be held telephonically, OAH will send a
telephonic hearing notice to all involved parties. The telephonic hearing notice will provide a
unique call-in number and code for each case.
To join the scheduled hearing, call the number provided and enter the
code as instructed. If the call-in
number and code are lost, call OAH for assistance.
NOTE: OAH may be able to conduct telephone hearings
with prison inmates, depending on the willingness of the prison to facilitate
the hearing. Send OAH the hearing request with information about the respondent
and his/her inmate number, and OAH will contact the prison to try to have the
hearing approved. Jails normally do not
allow hearings unless they are holding a long-term inmate under contract for
the prison. If a hearing for an inmate
is not possible, dismiss the Notice of Agency Action (NAA) and refer the case
to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to proceed judicially on the case.
6.
If either
respondent has requested their information be safeguarded, clearly mark all
documents being submitted to OAH. Refer
to CS 075P Safeguarding Case Information.
Dismissing a
Hearing Request
If the case circumstances change before the
scheduled hearing and an administrative hearing is no longer appropriate, you
must send the “Motion to Dismiss Request” to OAH, wait for OAH to approve or
deny the Motion to Dismiss, then proceed with the next appropriate action on
the case. Examples of reasons to send
the “Motion to Dismiss Request” may include:
1.
An adoption
took place while waiting for the hearing;
2.
A respondent
provided genetic test results showing he was not the father while waiting for
the hearing; or,
3.
The parents
file a judicial action while waiting for the hearing.
NOTE:
All administrative hearing request packets, including all required
documentation, must be sent to OAH. By
forwarding a Request for Hearing to the OAH, CSS transfers responsibility to
the OAH to appoint an Administrative Hearing Officer (AHO) or an Administrative
Law Judge (ALJ) to act as Presiding Officer at an administrative hearing and
CSS employees return to an advocate role.
Once a hearing request has been forwarded to OAH, it is no longer
appropriate for the agent or senior agent/former Presiding Officer to finalize
a stipulation with the respondents. If
the respondents wish to stipulate after the OAH request, the Presiding Officer
appointed by OAH must approve any stipulations.
For more information on Administrative Hearings, refer to CS 372P
Administrative Hearings.