723 Child Support Requirements
|
Child Care - No requirement SNAP - No requirement |
A. Understand child support services are available without application or fee for all POWER eligible families with a non-custodial parent or a child for whom paternity has not been established.
B. Require, as a condition of eligibility, each nonexempt individual to cooperate with the child support requirements.
C. Cooperation requirements:
1. Inform the applicant or recipient, including a minor parent, about the child support rights and requirements to be met to receive a POWER performance payment as required by law.
2. Require assignment to the state of any rights to support, including arrearages, in his/her own behalf or in behalf of any other assistance unit member for whom the applicant or recipient is requesting a monthly POWER performance payment;
3. Require signing of an IRCU at application and when the child support status changes for any assistance unit member;
4. Require the mandatory assistance unit member(s) to meet with CSA at application, and when requested, and cooperate in:
a. Signing the DFS 543 form against all non-custodial parents, including the minor non-custodial parent’s parents, and any potentially eligible unborn child when part of an ongoing case;
b. Establishing the paternity of a child born out of wedlock and for all putative paternal relatives at the time of application;
c. Obtaining child and medical support for the child(ren) and minor parent and spousal support for herself/ himself; and
d. Obtaining any other payments or property due to self or the child(ren);
5. Realize CSA will forward a copy of the DFS 543 to the local DFS-FO within five working days after completion;
6. Allow the assistance unit to retain any support payments received from the non-custodial parent, minor parent’s parents or the minor non-custodial parent’s parents in the month of application if the POWER payment is delayed due to performance requirements but use the support in calculating the POWER payment.
7. Require the assistance unit to pay immediately to the DFS-FO any support payments received from the non-custodial parent, minor parent’s parents or the minor non-custodial parent’s parents beginning with the month of authorization of the first POWER performance payment.
D. Failure to Comply
1. Understand failure to comply occurs when the applicant/recipient fails to:
a. Contact the CSA within the time frame established by the Benefit Specialist on the appointment form;
b. Keep the initial and all other scheduled appointments;
c. Follow through with any requests made by the CSA;
d. Cooperate by contacting the CSA upon request.
2. Accept the applicant’s/recipient’s excuse for failing to comply if the applicant/recipient gives the excuse prior to the time compliance is expected;
3. Verify and document the facts when failure to comply has occurred;
4. Understand good cause for failure to comply can only be granted when the applicant/recipient encounters an emergency (involving herself/himself or an immediate family member) that reasonably precludes full cooperation unless the criteria in 2. is met
E. Rights of the Applicant/Recipient
Inform the applicant/recipient of the following rights:
1. To claim good cause to allow exclusion from cooperation;
a. Inform the applicant or recipient no POWER performance payment will be authorized until the good cause claim is approved; or
b. No POWER performance payment will be authorized if the good cause claim is denied;
2. To request information as to the child support collection status;
3. To receive continued non-public assistance services with no application or fee following termination from POWER;
4. To apply for non-public assistance services for a fee when POWER is denied or for POWER-SASFA cases.
F. Good Cause Claim (DFS 546) and Good
Cause Claim Process
Require the applicant or recipient to read the Good Cause
Claim form, assuring the applicant or recipient understands the
rights and responsibilities, and check the appropriate statement(s) on each copy
of the form when good cause is claimed.
1. Allow the applicant or recipient the right to claim good cause requiring one of the following circumstances exists and to provide the evidence indicated:
a. Cooperation in establishing paternity or securing child support is reasonably anticipated to result in physical harm or emotional harm to the child or caretaker as demonstrated by previous court, medical, criminal, law enforcement, psychological, child protection or social services or domestic violence agency records;
b. The applicant/recipient is fleeing because of being battered or subjected to extreme cruelty because of domestic violence as demonstrated by the evidence listed in a. (use the “YF” code in the Target field on WORW);
c. The child, for whom support is sought, was conceived as a result of incest or rape as evidenced by birth, medical or law enforcement records;
d. Legal proceedings for the adoption of the child(ren) are pending before a court of competent jurisdiction as verified by legal documents; or
e. A public or private social agency is helping the applicant or recipient resolve the issue of whether to keep or relinquish the child(ren) for adoption as verified by a statement from the public or private social agency.
2. Allow the caretaker relative to provide two notarized statements from persons who have personal knowledge of the circumstances being claimed in the good cause only when the other documents listed above and on the back of the DFS 546 form cannot be obtained.
3. Require the applicant or recipient claiming good cause to provide the required types of evidence within 20 days from the date of the signed request.
4. Forward the DFS 543/545/546 to the DFS-SO, POWER Unit, with the evidence and recommendation of approval or denial. The DFS 543/545/546 does not go to the CSA during the good cause determination.
5. Realize the good cause claim process must be completed within 30 days from the date good cause is requested, which includes the approval or denial by DFS-SO.
6. Authorize the POWER performance payment when the good cause claim is approved and enter "GC" in the COOP column on CSEA on EPICS next to the appropriate child(ren).
7. Acknowledge establishment of paternity or collection of child support will not be attempted when the good cause claim is approved.
G. Denial of the Good Cause Claim
1. Process the POWER performance payment as specified in Section 1208 when the evidence is not received within 20 days of signing the DFS 543 or the good cause claim is denied by DFS-SO and the application is not withdrawn.
2. If the family wishes to cooperate with child support after the denial of the Good Cause Claim, they must meet with the Benefit Specialist within 3 days to complete a new IRCU and cooperate with the child support requirements including completing a new DFS 543.
H. Reevaluation of Approved Good Cause
Claim
1. Require a re-evaluation of approved good cause claims:
a. Set an alert on PAAL as a reminder to review the POWER good cause every six months during the periodic review; OR
b. Set an alert on PAAL as a reminder to review the POWER good cause at the time specified by DFS-SO; and
c. Realize DFS-SO will notify the Benefit Specialist at least 30 days in advance of any re-evaluation which is due;
d. Send an EPICS notice to the client to ascertain if anything has occurred to indicate the claim should be continued or is no longer needed, giving the client ten days to respond; and
e. Require the client to provide current evidence when requested by DFS-SO;
f. Await a decision from DFS-SO and follow the procedures in D. when the claim is denied.
2. Acknowledge the applicant or recipient can request the case no longer be in the good cause status.
a. Refer the caretaker relative, or a minor parent when part of a caretaker relative's assistance unit, to CSA to complete a DFS 543 indicating s/he now wishes to cooperate;
b. Change the "GC" code to "CO" on CSEA in EPICS;
c. Notify DFS-SO of the change; and
d. Issue a notice of action to the caretaker of the change.
I. Retained Child Support Process
Use the following process when the client has retained assigned child support
payments.
1. Send the Notice of Retained Child Support (DFS 544) to the CSA and PRICE; or
2. Accept the DFS 544 when generated by CSA to report retained child support; and
3. Proceed with recovery when support is retained after the POWER performance payment was paid resulting in an overpayment.
4. Generate a notice of action to advise the recipient retaining child support is considered noncompliance and take the appropriate action for the corresponding POWER performance period and enter the "XC" code on the UNIN screen.
5. Allow the assistance unit to reapply but do not authorize a POWER performance payment until the assistance unit has complied with the POWER Pay-After-Performance requirements for a full performance period and the child support has been turned in or collected by child support services.