Effective Date - January 1, 2009
Attachment B
Child Support Authority/Clerk of Court
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POWER - W.S. 20-6-105, -106; ARW, Chapt. 1, Section 6 |
A. Understand the CSA child support worker will be responsible for the following POWER child support requirements:
1. Accepting a copy of the DFS 501, monitoring the forms and contacts and immediately advising the Benefit Specialist if the applicant does not contact CSA within the stated time frame;
2. Requiring completion of a DFS 543, Report of Child Support Enforcement, for each non-custodial parent:
a. On each non-custodial parent of each eligible child or potentially eligible unborn child, when part of an ongoing case;
b. To establish the paternity of a child born out of wedlock and for all putative paternal relatives at the time of application;
c. When a minor parent applies for POWER and the non-custodial parent is a minor, against the non-custodial minor's parents;
d. When an unemancipated minor parent applies for POWER and lives in a separate household from her/his parents;
e. When an emancipated minor applies for POWER the following guidelines will be used:
(1) If there is a court order stating child support will be paid until the child reaches the age of 18 or 19, child support forms must be completed until the emancipated minor reaches the stated age or the court order is amended;
(2) If there is a court order stating child support will be paid until the child is emancipated, child support forms are not required;
(3) If there is no court order, child support forms are not required.
3. Determining when “unknown” will be allowed since cooperation with child support is a federal law and POWER performance requirement as the father(s) must otherwise be named or the case is ineligible for POWER;
4. Setting up an appointment immediately for an applicant two-parent assistance unit to complete an affidavit to establish paternity when no document exists;
5. Assisting the applicant/recipient who wishes to claim good cause for noncooperation with the child support requirements by:
a. Forwarding a copy of the DFS 543 to the DFS-SO, POWER Unit, with the evidence and recommendation of approval or denial within five working days;
b. Assuring there will be no attempt to establish paternity or collect support when the good cause claim is approved;
c. Requiring a new DFS 543 when the applicant or recipient chooses to request the case no longer be in the good cause status.
6. Monitoring the compliance of the mandatory recipient and notifying the Benefit Specialist of any noncompliance not later than the 15th by 5 p.m., or the first working day after the 14th when the 14th is a holiday or on the weekend;
a. An overpayment does not exist if the CSA fails to report noncompliance within the designated time frames; or
b. An overpayment does exist if the CSA reports noncompliance timely but the Benefit Specialist fails to take the appropriate action timely.
7. Assuring compliance with the POWER child support performance requirements stated in the policy, rules and state and federal laws which includes but may not be limited to:
a. Meeting the initial contact time frames;
b. Following through with any request by CSA;
c. Cooperating by contacting the CSA upon request;
d. Keeping a scheduled meeting;
e. Fully and accurately completing the Report to Child Support Enforcement (DFS 543) and provide supporting documents;
f. Reporting a change in circumstances immediately, which requires updating of child support information;
g. Completing the required forms and/or cooperating with the pursuit of child support and/or the establishment of paternity when good cause has not been approved;
h. Turning any child support payments over to the State of Wyoming.
8. Assuring letters/notices sent to clients include the penalty for noncompliance with the request/notice;
9. Advising the Benefit Specialist immediately when the client has not cooperated and the date of non-cooperation;
10. Identifying court ordered obligors, referring the obligor to the work program action center CM along with a copy of the court order, monitoring the child support payments and advising the CM when the obligation is met for at least three months;
11. Realizing a copy of the DFS 543 is to be forwarded to the local DFS-FO within five working days after completion;
12. Understanding the DFS 543 is needed when:
a. Opening a new case, including a deceased parent, a pregnant woman with another eligible child(ren), a parent whose rights were terminated, or an adoptive parent;
b. Reapplying for POWER;
c. Adding a child to an open case;
d. The intact family separates;
e. Paternity is excluded;
f. The caretaker relative or non-custodial parent has a name change;
g. Opening an IV-E foster care case with the DFS-FO manager making the assignment;
h. The father is unknown, by completing a DFS 543 on all possible fathers. (Since cooperation with child support is a POWER performance requirement, the father(s) must be named or the case is ineligible for POWER unless "unknown" is approved by CSA);
i. The applicant or recipient is married but claiming the husband is not the non-custodial parent, by completing a DFS 543 on the husband and all other possible fathers.
B. 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 exist and to provide the evidence indicated:
a. Cooperation in establishing paternity or securing child/ medical support is reasonably anticipated to result in physical harm or emotional harm to the child or caretaker as demonstrated by previous court, 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.;
c. The child, for whom support is sought, was conceived as a result of incest or rape as evidenced by birth 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. Notify the Benefit Specialist of noncompliance not later than the 15th by 5 p.m., or the first working day after the 14th when the 14th is a holiday or on the weekend, when the applicant/ recipient fails to complete the good cause claim process within the 20 day time frame;
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. Allow the applicant or recipient to request the case no longer be in good cause status and to complete a new DFS 543 indicating s/he now wishes to cooperate;
7. Acknowledge establishment of paternity or collection of child/medical support will not be attempted when the good cause claim is approved.
C. Retained Child Support Process
Use the following process when assigned child support payments have been
retained by the client.
1. Send the Notice of Retained Child Support (DFS 544) to the Benefit Specialist and PRICE; or
2. Accept the DFS 544 when generated by the Benefit Specialist to report retained child support.
D. Child Support Distribution Process
Use this information about the distribution process to inform the client, when
requested.
1. Distribution Requirement
a. Acknowledge assigned support shall be submitted to the state of Wyoming in all instances after the authorization of the first performance payment.
b. Acknowledge payments made through wage withholding, including military allotments, whether voluntary or involuntary are credited in the month the payments are withheld from the wages of the non-custodial parent.
c. Acknowledge other payments are credited on the date of receipt by the first "legal entity":
(1) In Wyoming, the legal entity is the Clerk of Court;
(2) These dates apply regardless of when payments are turned in by the custodial parent or by the non-custodial parent.
2. Open Child Support Case
a. Realize the voluntary or court ordered child support paid in the benefit month will be retained up to the POWER performance payment amount by the state and shown on the Child Support Collection Review (CSCR) screens on EPICS as "CS".
b. Realize child support services credits the payment first to amounts required for the current support obligation and retains any amounts in excess of the current obligation on assigned arrears.
3. Medical Assistance Only
Recognize the current child support paid in the month of medical only
status will be forwarded to the client within 15 days of receipt by child
support services or the Clerk of Court.
4. Termination
a. Acknowledge when the case is terminated, the assignment on current support only is terminated:
(1) Child support services or the Clerk of Court will forward all payments on current child support to the custodial parent within 15 days of initial receipt.
(2) These payments are recorded on the CSCR screens on EPICS as NPA CE.
b. Advise the individual assignment of all unpaid support through the termination date still exists and child support services will continue to collect assigned arrears;
c. Understand the CSA will continue to provide full services including collection of support, unless requested to discontinue, and current support will be forwarded to the client;
d. Generate the EPICS supplemental notice of continued child support services, Child Support Enforcement Continues (A820).
5. Excess Support Paid
a. Acknowledge when support payments are current and the non-custodial parent pays over and above the court ordered amount and no arrears exist or it is determined there is no outstanding debt to the state, the excess received in the benefit month may be sent to the client by the APPL MNTH on the CSCR screen;
b. Use excess child support (CE) as income in the month received by the assistance unit.
6. Distribution of Arrears
a. Acknowledge when a large amount of arrears is collected by the state, the arrears will be sent to the client as excess in the APPL MNTH on the CSCR screen if assigned arrears are paid in full;
b. Acknowledge when arrears are collected and no arrears are due the client, the state will retain when state arrears exist;
c. Acknowledge child support collected through the federal and/or state tax intercept process must be distributed as arrears payments and will be retained by the state when state arrears exist.
7. Voluntary Payments
a. Acknowledge DFS-SO will retain the full amount of voluntary payments when there is no court order; and
b. Acknowledge the excess voluntary payment over the current performance payment amount will be forwarded to the client.
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