Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) Each social services district must
establish a single organizational unit, designated as the "Child Support
Enforcement Unit," or "Office of Child Support Enforcement," or other name
approved by the DCSS, as defined in section
347.1
of this Part, which must be responsible only for that social services
district's activities in locating noncustodial parents, alleged parents, and
intended parents, establishing parentage, and establishing, modifying,
enforcing and collecting support obligations. The unit must be directly
responsible to the local commissioner of social services, and must be directed
by a full-time employee with administrative and supervisory capability, whose
responsibilities are limited to the child support activities set forth in this
Part, and/or Part 346 of this Title, and to the supervision of other employees
assigned to carry out such activities on a full-time basis. Each social
services district will implement procedures to ensure prompt referral of child
support and parentage cases to the local child support enforcement unit within
two business days of furnishing aid. That unit must be staffed with employees
who will perform exclusively the following child support functions:
(1) Receive referrals of all public
assistance cases in which the deprivation factor is the continued absence of a
parent from the home, as specified in section
369.2
of this Title, and public assistance cases in which parentage of a child has
not been legally established from the public assistance unit, and accept
applications for child support services from individuals not otherwise
eligible, as required by section
347.17
of this Part.
(2) Maintain child
support case records which will include all information relating to the case,
as required by section
347.18 of
this Part.
(3) Maintain a record of
all noncustodial parents, alleged parents, and intended parents whose location
is unknown and register those individuals with the State Parent Locator
Service, as required by section
347.7
of this Part.
(4) Conduct
investigations to locate noncustodial parents, alleged parents, and intended
parents, as required by section
347.7
of this Part.
(5) Obtain
information regarding the income and resources of noncustodial parents, alleged
parents, and intended parents as may be necessary to ascertain their ability to
support or contribute to the support of their dependents.
(6) In appropriate cases, initiate a court
proceeding to establish the legal obligation of the alleged parent or intended
parent to support their dependent child or children, as required by section
347.6
of this Part.
(7) Establish the
amount of the noncustodial parent's support obligation by obtaining a court
order of support, as required by section
347.8
of this Part. In addition, the child support enforcement unit must conduct
reviews of such orders, and seek adjustments of such orders as appropriate,
pursuant to section
347.8
of this Part.
(8) Ensure that
procedures are in effect for the collection and disbursement of support monies,
as required by Part 346 of this Title and sections
347.12
and
347.13
of this Part.
(9) Notify the public
assistance unit of the amount of any child support collection received, in
accordance with section
347.12
of this Part.
(10) Maintain
effective controls and procedures to determine whether court orders of support
are being complied with and, in cases of noncompliance, take action to enforce
such orders, as required by section
347.9
of this Part.
(11) Maintain
cooperative or contractual arrangements as applicable with the Family Court,
probation department, county attorney or corporation counsel, and law
enforcement officials, including written agreements entered into pursuant to
section
347.4
of this Part, and provide pertinent information to such officials for the
establishment of parentage, the location of noncustodial parents, alleged
parents, and intended parents, and the enforcement and collection of
support.
(12) Maintain records and
prepare such reports as may be required by the Office, pursuant to section
347.18 of
this Part.
(13) Notify applicants
or recipients who have assigned their support rights to the State and social
services district of the time, date and place of any parentage establishment
and/or support proceedings involving such applicants or recipients. Such notice
must state that the attorney initiating the proceeding represents the social
services district.
(14) Information
describing available child support services, including the individual's rights
and responsibilities, applicable fees, cost recovery and distribution policies,
must be provided to applicants for or recipients of public assistance, medical
assistance and federally reimbursable foster care maintenance payments, no
later than five business days after referral to the child support enforcement
unit.
(b) Each local
child support enforcement unit (and its agents) shall cooperate with the DCSS
as defined in section
347.1
of this Part in its monitoring and review of all local child support functions
and activities.
(c) No child
support functions may be delegated by the local child support enforcement unit
to title IV-A or XX caseworkers who also perform the assistance payments or
social services functions under title IV-A or XX. Requests by a sparsely
populated county for waiver of this requirement should document a lack of
administrative feasibility in not utilizing staff of the IV-A agency and
include sufficient reporting and cost allocation methods. Such requests are to
be forwarded to the DCSS as defined in section
347.1
of this Part.
