Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) The applicant or
recipient who claims good cause must provide corroborative evidence within 20
days from the day the claim was made. In exceptional cases where the Department
determines the applicant or recipient requires additional time because of the
difficulty of obtaining the corroborative evidence, the Department shall allow
a reasonable additional period of time. Such additional periods of time allowed
shall not exceed 20 days and shall be granted only under the conditions
described in Section
160.40(a).
b) A good cause claim may be corroborated
with the following types of evidence:
1)
Birth certificates or medical or law enforcement records which indicate that
the child was conceived as the result of incest or forcible rape;
2) Court documents or other records which
indicate that legal proceedings for adoption are pending before a court of
competent jurisdiction;
3) Court,
medical, criminal, child protective services, social services, psychological,
or law enforcement records which indicate that the putative father or absent
parent might inflict physical or emotional harm on the child or caretaker
relative;
4) Medical records which
indicate emotional health history and present emotional health status of the
caretaker relative or the child for whom support would be sought; or, written
statements from a mental health professional indicating a diagnosis or
prognosis that cooperation would be harmful to the emotional health of the
caretaker relative or the child for whom support would be sought;
5) A written statement from a public or
licensed private social agency (e.g., Department of Children and Family
Services or Catholic Charities) that the applicant or recipient is being
assisted by the agency to resolve the issue or whether to keep the child or
relinquish him or her for adoption; or
6) Sworn notarized statements from
individuals other than the applicant or recipient with knowledge of the
circumstances which provide the basis for the good cause claim.
c) After examining the
corroborative evidence submitted by the applicant or recipient, if the
Department requests additional corroborative evidence which is needed to permit
a good cause determination, the Department will:
1) Promptly notify the applicant or recipient
that additional corroborative evidence is needed; and
2) Specify the type of document which is
needed (i.e. Section
160.40(b)
through
160.40(b)(6)
).
d) Upon request of
the applicant or recipient, the Department will:
1) Advise the applicant or recipient how to
obtain the necessary documents (e.g., instructions on obtaining a police
report); and
2) Make a reasonable
effort to obtain any specific documents which the applicant or recipient is not
reasonably able to obtain without assistance (e.g., contacting out-of-state
witnesses).
e) Where a
claim is based on the applicant's or recipient's anticipation of physical harm
as specified in Section
160.35(c),
and corroborative evidence is not submitted in support of the claim (e.g.,
unreported or suspected incidents of incest):
1) The Department will investigate the good
cause claim when the agency believes that:
A)
The claim is credible without corroborative evidence from the client;
and
B) Corroborative evidence is
not available from the client.
2) Good cause will be found if the claimant's
statement and the investigation which is conducted satisfies the agency that
the applicant or recipient has good cause for refusing to cooperate.
3) A determination that good cause exists
will be reviewed and approved or disapproved and the Department's findings will
be recorded in the case record.
f) The Department will seek further
verification of good cause claim if the applicant's or recipient's statement of
the claim required by Section
160.35(d)(1),
together with the corroborative evidence do not provide sufficient basis for
making a determination. When the Department determines that it is necessary,
the Department will conduct an investigation of good cause claims to determine
that good cause does or does not exist.
g) If the Department conducts an
investigation of a good cause claim, the Department will:
1) Contact the absent parent or putative
father from whom support would be sought if such contact is determined to be
necessary to establish the good cause claim; and
2) Prior to making such necessary contact,
notify the applicant or recipient to enable the applicant or recipient to:
A) present additional corroborative evidence
or information so that contact with the parent or putative father becomes
unnecessary;
B) withdraw the
application for assistance or have the case closed; or
C) have the good cause claim
denied.
