2. Response: This comment will not be incorporated. According to paragraph (b)(1), a case is "unworkable'' if there is no current support order and the arrears are either under $500, or unenforceable under State law. Response: As we stated in OCSE-PIQ-91-02, a IV-D case is defined, for the purposes of the OCSE Child Support Enforcement Program Quarterly Data Report (OCSE-156) and the Child Support Enforcement Program Annual Data Summary Report (OCSE-158), as a noncustodial parent (mother, father, or putative father) who is now or eventually may be obligated under law for the support of a child or children. * * * * *, (d) The IV-D agency must retain all records for cases closed pursuant to this section for a minimum of three years, in accordance with 45 CFR part 74. In non-IV-A cases the IV-D program is required to distribute child support collections to the recipient of services. Under this provision, the IV-D agency cannot open a IV-D case on behalf of a non-AFDC individual who applies for services under 302.33(a)(1)(i) unless that individual has paid the application fee in cases where the State does not pay the fee. For more information on Process Of Initiating Child Support, an initial consultation is your next best step. Comment: One commenter recommended that the reference to 45 CFR 232.40 be removed from paragraph (b)(9) because this Federal regulation was obsolete. This rule revises Federal requirements for establishing and enforcing intergovernmental support obligations in Child Support Enforcement (IV-D) program cases receiving services under title IV-D of the Social Security Act (the Act). By waiting an additional 60 calendar days, a State will be able to save itself the time and trouble of closing and then reopening a great number of cases. f. Newly redesignated paragraph (b)(9) is revised to read as follows: The calculator is based on child support guidelines set by law in California. Therefore, we are unaware of any circumstances in which payments in a IV-D case flow directly from the obligor to obligee. Federal law requires that all states have a child support program and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) governs interstate and international child support cases. CONTENT: This Action Transmittal consolidates and addresses case closure questions to which we have been most often asked to respond. Exactly when a case closes depends on the specific child support order, the laws that control it, and the case circumstances. If the next appropriate action in the case was the establishment of a final order, then the case could not be closed. During that time period, a State IV-D agency must meet location requirements within specified timeframes as set forth in section 303.3. Under the previous case closure regulations, a responding State was not free to close a case without the permission of the initiating State. Response: The 60 calendar day time periods that appear in paragraph (b)(10) and paragraph (c) are independent time frames. For these reasons, OCSE has decided not to adopt this recommendation. * * * * *, (b) * * * 3507(d)). Section 388-14A-2090 - Who receives notice when DCS closes a case? Response: No. Administration for Children and Families OCSE Central Office coordinates the EVS program with the Social Security Administration. A PRS may be able to reopen the case. Response: OCSE is not aware of any authority for the statement that the Postal Service provides poor mail service to low income communities. allow the agency to conduct automated locate efforts. Response: There is no residency requirement for IV-D services, so the IV-D agency must continue to provide services. However, in interstate location requests, responding States are not required to conduct the quarterly repeat location attempts as specified in 303.3(b)(5). Therefore, the IV-D interview of the recipient of services need not be a face-to-face interview, but may be conducted via the telephone, when appropriate. REFERENCES:OCSE-PIQ-90-05,OCSE-PIQ-90-08, OCSE-PIQ-90-09, OCSE-PIQ-91-02, OCSE-PIQ-91-14, OCSE-PIQ-92-04, OCSE-PIQ-92-09, and OCSE-PIQ-92-13. Garnishing earnings is a simple approach to carry out child support orders while one parent is out of the country. This final rule is not a "major'' rule as defined in Chapter 8 of 5 U.S.C. It is a compilation of questions and responses, some of which have previously appeared in written policy interpretations issued by OCSE. Guideline Calculator: The California Guideline Child Support Calculator Online tool that can be used to estimate the amount of child support that may be ordered in your case. Comment: One commenter raised the concern that the NPRM's proposed revisions to the case closure regulation would result in the closure of many cases that should not be closed. QUICK (Query Interstate Cases for Kids) is an interface between the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) and the child support computer systems of participating states including Oklahoma. Response: Yes, this recommendation was adopted by including paragraph (b)(12) closures in the sections referenced by paragraph (c), which incorporates a 60 calendar day case closure time frame. Default Judgment: In general, if the PPS did not file an Answer to the S&C within 30 days, and a stipulation has not been reached, the judicial officer may enter a Judgment by default. 303.11(b)(4)(ii). In these instances the case is no longer "workable'' under the requirements of IV-D, and, therefore, it is appropriate for the IV-D agency to close the case. The Act allows States to place the responsibility for making the good cause determination in either the State IV-D agency or the State agency funded under part A, part E or Title XIX. As stated above, in response to comment #5 (General Comments), the Enumeration Verification System will assist States in the identification of missing or incomplete social security numbers. Comment: Two commenters requested that the final rule clarify that, should a former recipient of services contact the IV-D agency to request child support enforcement services subsequent to the closure of his/her case, then this former recipient of services would be required to complete a new application and pay any applicable application fee. Response: Yes. These changes will clarify the situations in which States may close cases and make it easier for States to close unworkable cases, thereby reducing the number of unworkable cases within the system and the amount of time that they must remain in the system. Question 18: How should the IV-D agency treat a non-AFDC Medicaid case where the custodial parent refuses to cooperate with the IV-D agency in the establishment of paternity and securing of medical support? The fact that a case is closed has noimpact on the underlying orders for support. Note: Do not close the case if the remaining arrears are being collected through an enforcement action (e.g. Comment: One commenter asked if a State could retain a requirement that one attempt to contact the service recipient be by certified mail? SUBJECT: Clarification of Case Closure Criteria. 12.1 Preparing for Termination of Services. As we stated in OCSE-PIQ-92-13, a IV-D agency may not adopt a policy of requiring IV-D obligees to request case closure of their IV-D cases while they have contracts with private collection agencies. Comment: One commenter objected to the criterion of (b)(10) on the basis that this would allow the States to close many "workable'' cases. 1. establishment of child and spousal support orders, 2. enforcement of support and income withholding orders from other states without registration, 3. registration of support orders for enforcement, 4. modification of support orders issued by a Connecticut tribunal, 5. registration of a child support order from another state for modification . When a case does not fall within one of the case closure criteria set forth at 303.11(b), it must remain open and be worked by the IV-D agency. 5. k. In addition to the amendments set forth above, remove the words "absent parent('s)'', and add, in their place, the words "noncustodial parent('s)'' in the following places: (3) Newly redesignated paragraph (b)(5); and. 303.7 are to be used by the responding State in making this determination. Decisions to close cases are linked with notice to recipients of the intent to close the case and an opportunity to respond with information or a request that the case be kept open. Both commenters recommended that a reference to "other exceptions'' be included in paragraph (b)(9) when the final rule was issued. Second, the State must have made diligent efforts in accordance with the Federal locate requirements in section 303.3, using multiple sources, to locate the noncustodial parent. A noncustodial parent is counted once for each family which has a dependent child he or she may be obligated to support. Close a Case - Child Support Services. The recipient of IV-D services leaving State A does not mean the IV-D case should be closed. Paragraph (b)(5) is redesignated as paragraph (b)(4). Technical corrections to the standards for program operations deleting this requirement were published in the Federal Register June 25, 1990 (55 FR 25839) and disseminated in OCSE-AT-90-5, dated July 6, 1990. Response: OCSE concurs with this recommendation and the final rule revises paragraph (b)(9) to expand good cause to include "other exceptions.''. Skills in terminating the helping relationship are just as important as skills that are used in initiating and establishing the relationship. Comment: One commenter requested that the final rule clarify that paragraph (b)(12) applied in both assistance and nonassistance cases. As we stated in OCSE-PIQ-90-08, the IV-D agency still would be required, as specified under 303.11(c), to notify the custodial parent in writing 60 calendar days prior to closure of the State's intent to close the case. Olivia A. Until the family receiving continued IV-D services requests the State to close the case, the case must remain open, without any application or application fee. Federal law allows the child support agency to close a child support case under certain conditions. Click here for step-by-step instructions **. Comment: One commenter objected to paragraph (b)(4) on the basis that it assumes a level of State automation which does not currently exist. The authority citation for Part 303 continues to read as follows: Authority: 42 U.S.C. Comment: Two commenters questioned the wisdom of the one-year waiting period before a case can be closed under the authority of subparagraph (b)(4)(ii) when the noncustodial parent's location is unknown and the IV-D agency does not have sufficient information to initiate an automated locate effort. Redirection of payments is accomplished by the second State using the Interstate Child Support Enforcement Transmittal form to request redirection by the first State of any payments received from the third State. Question 14: Which case closure criterion is applicable in a. situation where the IV-A agency refers an intact family (e.g., in an AFDC-Unemployed parent case) to the IV-D agency for paternity establishment services, but AFDC eligibility ends for the entire family before the IV-D agency completes paternity establishment services? Both PRWORA and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) frequently allow notices to be sent by regular mail. If your case was not filed by CSE, a judge will instruct you on how to pay. Child support, Grant programs/social programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. , GA 30303. Response: As we stated in the preamble to the final rule, published on February 26, 1991 (56 FR 7988), for the implementation of P.L. [ 81 FR 93564, Dec. 20, 2016, as amended at 85 FR 35207, June 9, 2020] 6. If the IV-D agency knows the name of the biological father but cannot proceed because it does not have any additional information to locate this individual, then the case would be eligible for closure under the authority of subparagraph (b)(4)(ii). IV-D services are available to both custodial and noncustodial parents. Response: Under the appropriate circumstances, a temporary order could apply to this requirement in paragraph (b)(1). Answer: A legal document that responds to a Complaint and must be filed with the court by the Person Paying Support. The case must be kept open if the recipient of services or the initiating State supplies information in response to the notice which could lead to the establishment of paternity or a support order or enforcement of an order, or, in the instance of paragraph (b)(10) of this section, if contact is reestablished with the recipient of services. Another commenter offered a related suggestion. Question 21: How is a "case" defined for reporting purposes, using the forms OCSE-156 and OCSE-158, and for case closure purposes, under 303.11(b)? (If closure letter does not appear in document log list - check Alerts for a Case for corrections) Foster Care case, add child's name and EPICS number to the letter. Question 26: If the custodial parent and child(ren) do not receive public assistance and are unwilling to cooperate in the establishment of paternity and a support obligation based on the request of the non-custodial individual, must the IV-D agency continue to assist with the establishment process? Response: This suggestion is inconsistent with OCSE's long-standing interstate policy that the responding State not have direct contact with the custodial parent residing in, and receiving IV-D services from, the initiating State. Response: No. Executive Order 12866 requires that regulations be reviewed to ensure that they are consistent with the priorities and principles set forth in the Executive Order. When a non-AFDC individual subject to fees or cost recovery fails to pay any fee prescribed in Federal regulations or reimburse the State for costs associated with providing IV-D services, and charged to that individual, the IV-D agency may close the case under this criterion when the payment of such fees or costs is required under the IV-D State plan. In fact, this standard has been in existence since 1989, when the Federal case closure regulation was originally promulgated and remains the basis for case closure under former paragraph (b)(12)/new paragraph (b)(11). PPS: Person Paying Support - Parent who the child does not live with most of the time. The responding State may close its case file only after the initiating State, or the State where the noncustodial parent is located, acknowledges that it has received the transferred case file from the responding State. The Attorney General needs to be notified whenever you attempt to modify the amount of child support being paid. The CSEA may also terminate a support order when the mother and father of the child marry or re-marry. Closing a case in which the enrolleerequests case closure , or the custodial party (CP) is deceased, is a manual closure process, which means the statewide child support system does not automatically recognize the case closure criteria, but the Title IV-D Prosecutor's Office knows certain facts that make the case eligible for case closure. In addition, the references to "custodial parent'' are revised to read "recipient of services,'' for the reasons explained above. You are supposed to. Get the latest versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Downloads and Plug-ins page. Also, since States must meet Federal location requirements set forth in 45 CFR 303.3, diligent efforts to obtain the data elements critical for an automated search must occur and be unsuccessful before a State may consider closing the case using criteria in paragraph (b)(4). Termination of services should be a planned and natural component of the casework process. In the case of the food stamp program, the Act. The closure of your child support case may affect your Medicaid coverage . Sending the notification regarding intended IV-D case closure to the custodial parent, as required under 303.11(c), does not fulfill the regulatory requirement under 302.33(a)(4). As we stated in OCSE-PIQ-90-09, redirection of payments by the State receiving IV-D collections is an appropriate way to handle interstate cases when the custodial parent moves from one State to another and the noncustodial parent resides in a third State. Response: Federal requirements at 303.7(c)(6) require that, within 10 working days of locating the noncustodial parent in another State, the responding State must either return the form and documentation, including the new location of the noncustodial parent, to the initiating State, or, if the initiating State so directs, forward the form and documentation to the central registry in the State where the noncustodial parent has been located. What Happens if Child Support Isn't Paid. It is meant to be illustrative and is not intended to be exhaustive. This commenter requested that paragraph (c) be revised to indicate that the "recipient of services'' is, in fact, the "former'' recipient of services when this term is referencing an individual whose case has been closed. 4. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Betsy Matheson, Director, Division for Policy and Planning, Office of Child Support Enforcement, 202-401-9386. There are several ways to enroll. This paragraph also allows the IV-D agencies to close cases after three years where the noncustodial parent's location is unknown and the State has been unsuccessful, after regular attempts of multiple sources, to locate the parent when there is sufficient information to. Should the recipient of services provide additional information that allows the State IV-D agency to locate the noncustodial parent, the case will remain open. * * * * *, j. Paragraph (d) is revised to read as follows: This section provides guidance on interstate case closure situations. . Question 30: If a State has complied with the case closure criterion at 303.11(b)(5), may it close a IV-D case regardless of the existence of a support order or the amount of past due support? In New York City, the Human Resources Administration's Office of Child Support Services manages the child support program, and the New York City Law Department handles interstate child support cases on its behalf. [Rules and Regulations] CASE CLOSURE OF NON-AFDC APPLICANT CASES. If the alleged father cannot be located after the IV-D agency has made regular attempts using multiple sources over a three-year period, all of which have been unsuccessful, the case may be closed under 303.11(b)(5). (2) DCS mails a notice of intent to close by regular mail to the last known address of the custodial parent (CP) and the . to issue a notice to an address they know to be obsolete. BILLING CODE 4184-01-P, An Office of the Administration for Children & Families, Final Rule: Case Closure Criteria, 45 CFR Part 303, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Native Americans (ANA), Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF), Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response (OHSEPR), Office of Legislative Affairs and Budget (OLAB), Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE), Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS), Sign Up for, Pay, or Change Your Child Support. 6. Paragraphs (b)(6) through (b)(12) are renumbered as (b)(5) through (b)(11). Regulations at 42 CFR 433.147 and 433.148 require the Medicaid agency to determine whether the non-AFDC Medicaid recipient had good cause for failure to cooperate and whether the IV-D agency may continue to attempt to establish paternity and secure support without the cooperation of the non-AFDC Medicaid recipient, under 302.31(b) and (c). RIN 0970-AB82, Child Support Enforcement Program; Standards for Program Operations. However, requiring that recipients of IV-D services notify the IV-D agency of the involvement of private counsel is appropriate, in order to prevent duplication of effort and to maximize the effectiveness of actions taken through coordinated efforts. Response: The reasoning behind the paragraph (c) requirement that the recipient of services receive notice of the case closure is based upon the duty of the IV-D agency to keep the recipient of services informed of the actions undertaken on his/her child support case. If you have a checking account and would prefer to receive your child support payment via direct deposit you may download the form . The Federal regulations set forth the minimum program standards with which the States must comply. In the latter case, if the request is received in a responding State's central registry and the initiating State requests location services, the responding State must treat the case as a formal interstate case and comply with the requirements at 303.7(c). Customer Online Services Portal. State Disbursement Unit (SDU): State Disbursement Unit A central payment processing site that is responsible for collecting and distributing child support payments. This final rule amends redesignated paragraph (b)(4) by adding new subparagraphs (i) and (ii). Please note that the preamble language contains an error that occurred during printing. The commenter was questioning whether this term meant more than a name. 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