Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Each local child support agency shall:
(1) Use all appropriate locate sources when
the noncustodial parent's location is unknown. Appropriate locate sources
include, but are not limited to:
(A)
California Parent Locator Service (CPLS) as the primary clearing house for
accessing numerous data bases.
(B)
United States Postal Service.
(C)
Local telephone company.
(D)
Federal Parent Locator Service including the National Directory of New Hires
and Federal Case Registry.
(E)
State agencies maintaining records of public assistance, wages and employment,
unemployment insurance, income taxes, driver's licenses and vehicle
registration, vital records, and criminal records such as:
1. Employment Development Department,
including the State New Hire Registry.
2. Secretary of State.
3. Board of Equalization.
4. Department of Consumer Affairs.
5. Department of Motor Vehicles.
6. Franchise Tax Board.
7. Department of Health Services.
(F) Local agencies which
administer public assistance, general assistance, medical assistance, and
social services programs.
(G)
Financial institutions.
(H) Current
and past employers of the noncustodial parent.
(I) Unions.
(J) Fraternal organizations.
(K) Police, parole, and probation
offices.
(L) Other sources such as:
1. Interstate location networks, such as
other state parent locator services, including quick locate requests.
2. Multi-state financial institution data
match.
3. Public
utilities.
4. Providers of
electronic digital pager communication.
5. Providers of cellular telephone
services.
6. Credit reporting
agencies.
7. Internet.
8. Voter registration.
9. Friends and relatives of the noncustodial
parent.
10. Private locate sources
when appropriate.
(2) Use appropriate locate sources when a
custodial party's address is unknown and the local child support agency has a
child support collection to distribute as specified in subsection (h), or the
local child support agency needs to contact the custodial party regarding
his/her child support case.
(b) Within no more than 75 calendar days of
determining that a noncustodial parent needs to be located, a local child
support agency shall:
(1) Access all
appropriate locate sources, unless information sufficient to take the next
locate, establishment, or enforcement action in a case is otherwise obtained
within the 75-calendar-day time frame.
(2) Ensure that location information received
is sufficient to take the next locate, establishment, or enforcement action, or
initiate service of process.
(c) For cases in which location attempts
required by subsection (b) were unsuccessful, the local child support agency
shall:
(1) When new information which may aid
with location is received, immediately initiate location by accessing all
appropriate locate sources as specified in subsection (a)(1).
(2) When new information has not been
received, repeat location attempts quarterly. Quarterly locate attempts may be
limited to accessing automated locate sources when the noncustodial parent's
name, date of birth, or social security number are known. Referral to an
automated locate source shall include accessing both of the following locate
sources:
(A) Employment Development
Department.
(B) The California
Parent Locator Service.
(3) Not submit locate cases to the Federal
Parent Locator Service for quarterly locate activity if the cases were
previously submitted to the Federal Case Registry.
(d) The local child support agency shall not
be required to take independent action to access locate sources already
accessed by CPLS.
(e) If an
automated locate source updates its database less frequently than on a
quarterly basis, the local child support agency shall refer cases to that
source in accordance with how often that source updates its database, rather
than every quarter.
(f) If a local
child support agency determines that a specific source of locate information is
needed in a case, such as when only the noncustodial parent's earnings or
assets need to be located, the local child support agency may refer those cases
only to locate sources which provide that type of information.
(g) A local child support agency shall use
the quick locate method for locating or confirming the location of a
noncustodial parent in another state by completing the federal form "Child
Support Enforcement Transmittal #3 -- Request for Assistance/Discovery, OMB No.
0970-0085," or the "Application for Non-Title IV-D Locate Services", DCSS 0073
(08/20/2023), which is incorporated by reference, and submitting it manually or
electronically to the California Parent Locator Service for referral to the
parent locator service in the state(s) in which the noncustodial parent is
believed to be located.
(1) The quick locate
method is appropriate for use in the following situations:
(A) When a local child support agency
determines that a noncustodial parent might be in one of several
states.
(B) When a local child
support agency intends to use one-state remedies to establish parentage or a
support order, or to enforce an order and wants to use the quick locate method
to confirm the noncustodial parent's location.
(2) When the quick locate method is used, the
time frames specified in subsection (b) shall apply.
(h) Within 5 business days of determining
that contact with a custodial party has been lost and that custodial party must
be located because the local child support agency has a child support
collection to distribute to that custodial party, the local child support
agency shall attempt to locate that custodial party for 6 months using the
locate resources specified in subsection (a)(1).
(1) Contact with a custodial party shall be
determined lost when all attempts by a local child support agency to telephone
and correspond with a custodial party utilizing all known telephone numbers and
addresses, including e-mail have failed. In addition to the locate resources
specified in subsection (a)(1), the local child support agency shall attempt to
locate the custodial party by contacting employers, relatives, and friends of
the custodial party, if known.
(2)
When a custodial party cannot be contacted after 6 months of locate attempts, a
local child support agency shall return the undeliverable payment(s) to the
noncustodial parent with written notification advising the noncustodial parent
that the return of the support does not relieve the noncustodial parent of the
support order, and the noncustodial parent should consider placing the funds
aside for purposes of child support in case the custodial party appears and
seeks collection of the undistributed payments.
(i) Each local child support agency shall
ensure the requirements of Article 5, Chapter 1, are met with respect to the
safeguarding and disclosure of confidential information obtained through locate
efforts.
Note: Authority cited: Sections
17306,
17310 and
17312, Family
Code. Reference: Sections
17212,
17502,
17505,
17506,
17508,
17512 and
17514, Family
Code; Section
11478.1,
Welfare and Institutions Code; and 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections
302.35, 303.3, 303.7, 303.15, 303.69 and 303.70.
Note: Authority cited: Sections
17306,
17310 and
17312, Family
Code. Reference: Sections
17212,
17502,
17505,
17506,
17508,
17512 and
17514, Family
Code; Section
11478.1,
Welfare and Institutions Code; and 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections
302.35, 303.3, 303.7, 303.15, 303.69 and
303.70.
