Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Division 28 - Division of County Operations
Rule 016.28.22-005 - SNAP and Medicaid- Office of Child Support Enforcement Related Changes
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
Medical Services Policy Manual, Section F
F-100 Non-Financial Eligibility Requirements
F-130 Child Support Enforcement Services MS Manual 03/27/2023
The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is mandated to provide services to all Health Care recipients who have assigned their rights to medical support to the State. Each applicant or recipient who is responsible for the care of a dependent child must cooperate with OCSE in establishing legal paternity and obtaining medical support for each child who has a parent absent from the home. (See exception below.)
OCSE must provide all appropriate services to Health Care applicants and recipients without the OCSE application or fee. The OCSE agency is required to petition for medical support when health insurance is available to the absent parent at a reasonable cost. OCSE will also collect child support payments from the absent parent unless OCSE is notified by the recipient in writing that this service is not needed. Child support payments collected on behalf of Health Care recipients are received and distributed to the custodial parent through the OCSE Clearinghouse. However, no recovery cost will be collected.
1. Referrals
When a child's parent, guardian, or caretaker relative voluntarily requests a referral to be made, or is receiving Health Care, an OCSE referral will be made at initial approval. Refer to Exception and Note below.
Act 1091 of 1995, amended by Act 1296 of 1997, requires that both parents sign an affidavit acknowledging paternity, or obtain a court order, before the father's name will be added to the birth certificate.
NOTE:If the father's name is included on the birth certificate of a child born April 10, 1995, or later, paternity has already been established. As paternity establishment is the only service the Office of Child Support Enforcement can offer to a family when both parents are in the home, there is no need to make a referral in these instances.
NOTE:For child-only cases, cooperation with OCSE is voluntary. The only time that a referral to OCSE is necessary is when a parent, guardian, or caretaker relative is eligible in another Health Care eligibility group in which cooperation with OCSE is mandatory. Cooperation with OCSE will be strictly voluntary when a:
* Parent, guardian, or caretaker relative is not receiving Health Care, but the children are receiving Health Care;
* Parent, guardian, or caretaker relative is the only one receiving Health Care and the children are not receiving Health Care; or
* Parent, guardian, or caretaker relative is receiving Health Care in an exempt category.
A parent is considered to be absent for Health Care purposes when the absence is due to divorce, separation, incarceration, institutionalization, participation in a Rehabilitation Service Program away from home, or military service. These considerations are regardless of support, maintenance, physical care, guidance, or frequency of contact.
2. Good Cause
An applicant or recipient may have good cause not to cooperate in the state's efforts to collect child or Medical support. The applicant or recipient may be excused from cooperating if they believe that cooperation would not be in the best interest of the child, and if the applicant or recipient can provide evidence to support this claim.
The following are circumstances under which DCO may determine that the applicant or recipient has good cause for refusing to cooperate:
* Cooperation is anticipated to result in serious physical or emotional harm to the child.
* Cooperation is anticipated to result in physical or emotional harm to the individual that is so serious it reduces the ability to care for the child adequately.
* The child was born as a result of forcible rape or incest.
* Court proceedings are in progress for the adoption of the child.
* The individual is working with an agency helping to decide whether or not to place the child for adoption.
3. Refusal to Cooperate-Sanction
A child's Health Care benefits cannot be denied or terminated due to the refusal of a parent or another legally responsible person to assign rights or cooperate with OCSE in establishing paternity or obtaining medical support. Health Care for the parent or caretaker relative will end after the appropriate notice has expired.
If a parent or another legally responsible person states that they refuse to cooperate with the OCSE referral process during any case action (such as during the initial application or case change), the sanction can be applied by the DHS Eligibility Worker.
G-111 Eligibility Factors That Require Verification MS Manual 03/27/23
The following must be verified when determining eligibility for Health Care:
* Social Security Number (SSN)
* Citizenship
* Alien Status
* Income
* Age/Date of birth
* Disability (when required)
* Resources (For categories that require a resource test) Refer to MS E-110.
NOTE: When citizenship cannot be verified via the electronic data sources, the applicant will be notified to provide verification of citizenship and identity. Refer to MS G-133.
NOTE: If a client refuses to provide an attestation of their willingness to cooperate with the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), this will cause the parent's case to be sanctioned. The client's case will continue to be sanctioned (ineligible for Health Care coverage) until they cooperate with OCSE or the child(ren) in the home turn(s) eighteen (18) years of age. Refer to MS F-130.
Refer to sections below for specific information regarding verification of the above eligibility factors.
Under state and federal law, cooperation with the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is a condition of eligibility for SNAP benefits. Applicants for SNAP must cooperate with OCSE, unless it is determined that good cause for non-cooperation exists.
Any parent (custodial, teen, or non-custodial) who states a refusal to cooperate with the OCSE requirement, will not be eligible to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Custodial and non-custodial parents will be disqualified according to SNAP 1623.3.4, if there are other eligible household members.
A Certified Eligibility Specialist may disqualify a custodial parent or non-custodial parent, or both, of a child under eighteen (18) years of age, if the individual does not cooperate with the OCSE as described below:
Custodial Parents may be disqualified from receiving SNAP benefits if they fail to cooperate with the OCSE in establishing paternity of the child (if the child is born out of wedlock) and obtaining support for the child. The Agency must determine if the individual has good cause for the individual's refusal to cooperate, by taking into consideration circumstances in which cooperation may be against the best interest of the child.
Non-Custodial Parents may be disqualified from receiving SNAP benefits if the determined putative or identified noncustodial parent refuses to cooperate in establishing paternity of a child (if the child is born out of wedlock) and is not providing support for the child. If OCSE determines that the non-custodial parent is not cooperating in good faith, the Agency will determine whether non-cooperation constitutes a refusal or unwillingness to cooperate as opposed to an inability to cooperate. Noncustodial parents determined to have refused to cooperate are ineligible, and the Agency does not have the ability to establish good cause. If the Agency determines that the non-custodial parent has refused to cooperate, then that individual shall be ineligible to participate.
Cooperation with the OCSE by a parent is required when:
* The parent is applying for or receiving SNAP benefits;
* Paternity has not been established and the alleged father is not in the home;
* One (1) or both parents are absent from the home, or
* Good cause for non-cooperation does not exist as determined by the Agency.
Custodial Parent cooperation includes the following:
* Providing complete information required to obtain child support (if information about the non-custodial parent is known by the individual but is withheld, the individual may face a possible penalty of perjury).
* Completing and signing affidavits attesting to paternity of the child; and
* Making court appearances and providing testimony in paternity hearings and support actions.
If both a legal and putative father exists, or the responsibility for support is not clear, the parent must provide the information on both the legal and putative father.
Pregnant women who are receiving SNAP benefits for themselves and other dependent children are required to cooperate with the OCSE unless they have good cause reasons not to cooperate.
Non-custodial Parent cooperation with the OCSE requires:
* Assisting the OCSE with establishing parentage.
* Providing verification of income for new court orders, modifying existing orders.
* Paying arrearages if there is an obligation that exists.
When the parent, including a teen parent, refuses to provide information regarding the non-custodial parent of a child under eighteen (18) years of age, residing in the home during the application or eligibility review, the eligibility worker must review child support cooperation requirements for the individual. If, at application, the parent declares a refusal to cooperate, the parent is ineligible to participate in SNAP. Refusal to cooperate at application results in application denial or removal from the SNAP case.
When the non-custodial parent refuses to provide information regarding establishing the paternity or providing support, the eligibility worker must review child support cooperation requirements for that individual.
Note: A Pregnant woman with no other deprived children is not subject to child support cooperation until the child's birth.
When the parent, teen parent, or non-custodial parent has not cooperated per OCSE, the eligibility worker can deny SNAP benefits for the individual (adult or teen parent) subject to the child support cooperation if they do not express an intent to claim good cause or the intent to cooperate with the agency and authorize benefits for the other household members, if eligible.
For households with an absent parent, the county office will disqualify a custodial parent from receiving SNAP benefits if they fail to cooperate with the OCSE and are unable to demonstrate good cause for failure to cooperate. For individuals subject to the requirement, cooperation includes opening a case against the absent parent, working with the OCSE to determine parentage (if necessary), and establishing, modifying, or enforcing an order.
When the custodial parent does not cooperate, a 10-day notice of adverse action will be sent informing them of their removal from the SNAP case for non-cooperation. The custodial parent will be removed from the SNAP case once the 10-day notice of adverse action has expired. If other eligible household members are in the SNAP case, only the custodial parent will be removed from the SNAP budget. The income, expenses and resources of the sanctioned individual will still be used for SNAP budgeting purposes.
For a non-custodial parent, the county office will disqualify a non-custodial parent from receiving SNAP benefits if they are determined to be refusing to cooperate with OCSE in establishing paternity (if necessary) or providing support. When the non-custodial parent does not cooperate, a 10-day notice of adverse action will be sent informing them of their removal from the SNAP case for non-cooperation. The non-custodial parent will be removed from the SNAP case once the 10-day notice of adverse action has expired. After a 10-day notice of adverse expires, the SNAP case will close unless the SNAP household contains other eligible household members. Only the non-custodial parent who is not complying will be removed. The income, expenses, and resources of the sanctioned individual will still be used for SNAP budgeting purposes.
To disqualify a member for failure to comply with the child support requirements:
* Subtract allowable exclusions (see SNAP 5400).
* Divide the remaining income evenly among the total household members including the disqualified member.
* Multiply the pro rata share by the number of eligible members.
* Count the resulting figure as income.
