Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
A.
General:
(1) Failure by an adult
caretaker of an unrelated dependent child to comply with child support
cooperation requirements shall result in a payment reduction of 25% for the
first occurrence, 50% for the second occurrence and case closure for the third
occurrence. Cases closed due to sanctioning are ineligible for a period of six
months.
(2) Before imposing the
first sanction, the caretaker shall be given the opportunity to meet child
support requirements through a conciliation process. If the individual does not
agree to cooperate by the end of the conciliation period, a payment sanction
shall be imposed. The reduction shall be applied to the benefit group's
standard of need.
(3) Child support
cooperation requirements shall be applicable to the caretaker adult even if the
adult is not included in the benefit group. Payment sanctions shall be
applicable to benefit group's standard of need even if the caretaker adult is
not included in the benefit group.
B.
The conciliation process:
(1)
When conciliation is
available: Conciliation shall be available to an individual once during
an occurrence of assistance. Once a conciliation period has been made available
to the benefit group, there must be a period of at least 12 months between
occurrences of assistance in order for a conciliation to be available again to
the benefit group.
(2)
Occurrence of assistance: An occurrence of assistance means a continuous
period in which a benefit group receives GA benefits.
(3)
Determining that noncompliance has
occurred: The determination of noncompliance with child support shall be
made by CSED. The conciliation and sanctioning process for child support
noncompliance is initiated by the department upon receipt of notice from CSED
that the caretaker has failed to cooperate.
(4)
Initiating conciliation:
Within ten days of notification by CSED that the caretaker has not complied,
the caseworker shall take action to initiate a conciliation period, if the
individual's conciliation has not been used. A conciliation is initiated by the
caseworker issuing a conciliation notice.
(5)
Conciliation period:
(a) Conciliation is a 30-day period during
which the caretaker has the opportunity to correct whatever failure resulted in
the noncompliance determination. The conciliation process shall occur only once
prior to the imposition of the sanction. The benefit group shall be subject to
sanction in the month following the month the notice of adverse action
expires.
(b) If CSED determines
that the adult caretaker is not complying with child support requirements, the
adult caretaker shall be required to enter into a conciliation process
established by HSD to address the noncompliance, or to identify good cause for
noncompliance or barriers to compliance, if applicable.
(c) The adult caretaker shall have ten
working days from the date a conciliation notice is mailed to contact HSD to
initiate the conciliation process. An adult caretaker who fails to initiate the
conciliation process shall have a notice of adverse action mailed after the
tenth working day following the date on which the conciliation notice is
mailed. An adult caretaker who begins, but does not complete, the conciliation
process shall be mailed a notice of adverse action 30 days from the date the
original conciliation was initiated.
(d) If the adult caretaker has initiated the
conciliation process, it is the adult caretaker's responsibility to contact
CSED and to comply with CSED requirements or to request a waiver. If the
caseworker does not receive confirmation from CSED within 30 days of issuing
the conciliation notice that the caretaker is cooperating, has a good cause
waiver, or has requested a good cause waiver, the conciliation process shall be
considered to have failed and the benefit group shall be subject to a payment
sanction.
C.
Occurrence of noncooperation:
(1) Each instance in which a caretaker is
determined by the department to have failed to meet a child support requirement
shall be considered a separate occurrence of noncompliance.
(2) When the noncompliance continues for
three months without the sanctioned individual reestablishing compliance,
progression to the next higher sanction level shall result in the fourth
month.
(3) Reestablishing
compliance shall allow full payment to resume, or shall appropriately reduce
the sanction level for the benefit group in the month following the month in
which compliance is established.
D.
Cumulative sanctions:
Noncompliance sanctions are cumulative as they relate to an individual in the
benefit group.
(1) A cumulative sanction shall
result when there is more than one failure by an individual in the benefit
group to comply with child support enforcement requirements.
(2) A cumulative sanction, whether or not
cured, shall remain the property of the individual benefit group member who
caused the sanction. An individual with a cumulative sanction who leaves a
benefit group relieves the benefit group of that individual's sanction
status.
(3) An individual's
compliance shall reverse the sanction level to the benefit group.
(4) An individual's sanction status may be
reversed as a result of a hearing decision that renders the sanction
invalid.
(5) A third sanction
level, which results in a mandatory six-month closure for the benefit group,
cannot be reversed.
E.
Progressive sanctions: Sanction levels shall be progressive to
the benefit group in which the sanctioned individual resides.
(1) When the noncompliance continues for
three months without the sanctioned individual reestablishing compliance,
progression to the next higher sanction level shall result in the fourth
month.
(2) A sanction shall
progress until compliance is established by the individual, or there is a
waiver of the requirement. Reestablishing compliance shall allow full payment
to resume or shall appropriately reduce the sanction level for the benefit
group in the month following the month in which compliance is
established.
(3) A progressive
sanction may be reversed as a result of a hearing decision that renders the
sanction level invalid.
(4) An
individual's compliance cannot reverse the sanction level attributed to the
benefit group. Once a sanction has been imposed, any subsequent sanction is
imposed at the next higher level, unless reversed by a hearing
decision.
F.
Sanctioning:
(1) Within ten days of
determining that the caretaker has failed to meet a child support cooperation
requirement, ISD shall issue a notice of adverse action informing the benefit
group that its cash assistance payment will be reduced. The payment reduction
shall take place with the first payment following expiration of the notice of
adverse action.
(2) Notice of
adverse action shall apply to all child support noncompliance sanctions and
levels, including those relating to the conciliation process.
(3) Failure to comply during the 13-day
notice of adverse action time period shall cause the sanction to become
effective.
(4)
Lifting the
sanction: An caretaker who corrects the failure of compliance with child
support enforcement requirements during the 13-day notice of adverse action
time period shall not have the sanction imposed against the benefit group or
payment amount.
(a) The sanction shall not
count as a cumulative or progressive sanction, since the reason for the
sanction was corrected during the notice of adverse action time period and
prior to a benefit reduction being imposed.
(b) A sanction shall be removed effective the
month following the month in which the determination is made that the
individual has complied with requirements.
(c) A child support enforcement sanction
shall be removed after CSED notifies the caseworker that the individual is in
compliance with child support enforcement requirements.
G.
Sanction levels:
(1)
First-level sanction:
(a) The first failure to comply, or first
level sanction for failure to comply, shall result in a reduction of 25% of the
standard of need.
(b) If the first
level, or 25% sanction, lasts for three months, or an individual has a second
incident of failure to comply, the sanction shall advance to level two, or 50%
sanction.
(2)
Second-level sanction:(a) The second
level sanction for failure to comply shall result in a reduction of 50% of the
standard of need. The second level is initiated by failure to comply for more
than three months or a second instance of noncompliance with a CSED
requirement.
(b) A failure to meet
child support enforcement requirements for three months at the second level, or
a third incidence of failure to comply with a requirement shall result in the
third sanction level.
(3)
Third-level sanction:
(a) The third sanction level results in case
closure for a period of not less than six months.
(b) Once an individual is sanctioned at the
third level, any subsequent incident of failure to comply shall immediately
result in the third level sanction, or case ineligibility for six
months.
H.
Sanctions by other states or other programs: Individuals in
sanction status for failure to comply with the requirements of other programs
or other states, such as the food stamp employment and training program shall
not carry that sanction status into the GA cash assistance program.