Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) For the
purposes of this rule and OAR 137-055-1360, the following definitions apply:
(a) "FPLS" means the Federal Parent Locator
Service operated by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services.
(b) "Original requestor"
means a party to a paternity or child support case who is seeking FPLS
information, directly, through an attorney, or through court request.
(c) "Custodial Parent" includes a caretaker
or caretaker relative as defined in OAR 461-120-0610.
(d) "Legal Guardian" means a person appointed
as a guardian under ORS Chapter 125 or similar provision.
(e) "Reasonable evidence of possible domestic
violence" means:
(A) A record on the Oregon
Judicial Information Network or the Law Enforcement Data System that an order
of protection has or had been issued against the original requestor in favor of
the person being sought; or
(B) A
record that the person being sought has or had been granted good cause pursuant
to ORS 412.024 not to establish
paternity or to establish or enforce a support order against the original
requestor; or
(C) A record that the
person being sought has or had been granted an order for nondisclosure of
information or an ACP order for nondisclosure of information pursuant to OAR
137-055-1160 in a case where the original requestor is or was the other party
in a legal action.
(f)
"Reasonable evidence of possible child abuse" means that there is a record with
the Department of Human Services child welfare program that the original
requestor has been investigated for alleged abuse of any child.
(2) For the purposes of this rule,
an authorized person is:
(a) A custodial
parent, legal guardian, attorney, or agent of a child (other than a child
receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)), seeking to establish
parentage or to establish, modify or enforce a support order.
(b) A court or agent of the court which has
the authority to issue an order of paternity or support and maintenance of a
child or to serve as the initiating court to seek such an order from another
state; or
(c) A state agency
responsible for administering an approved child welfare plan or an approved
foster care and adoption assistance plan.
(3) An authorized person as defined in
section (2) of this rule, may request information to facilitate the discovery
or location of any individual:
(a) Who is
under an obligation to pay child support;
(b) Against whom a child support obligation
is sought;
(c) To whom a child
support obligation is owed; or
(d)
Who has or may have parental rights with respect to a child.
(4) If available from FPLS, the
information that may be provided about an individual described in subsections
(3)(a)-(d) of this rule includes:
(a) The
address and verification of the social security number of the individual
sought;
(b) The name, address and
federal employer identification number of the employer of the individual
sought; and
(c) Information about
income from employment and benefits from employment, including health care
coverage.
(5) A request
pursuant to this rule must be made in writing directly to the Division of Child
Support (DCS) and must contain:
(a) The
purposes for which the information is requested;
(b) The full name, social security number (if
known) and date of birth or approximate date of birth of the individual
sought;
(c) The full name and date
of birth and social security number of the person making the request;
(d) Whether the individual is or has been a
member of the armed forces or if the individual is receiving federal
compensation or benefits, if known;
(e) If the request is from the court, the
signature of the judge or agent of the court; and
(f) If the request is from an individual not
receiving TANF, the individual must attest:
(A) That the request is made to obtain
information or facilitate discovery for the purpose of establishing parentage
or establishing, modifying or enforcing child support obligations;
(B) That the information will be used solely
for those reasons and will be kept confidential; and
(C) If the individual is a parent, that he or
she is the parent with physical custody of the child.
(6) The request may be made on a
form adopted by the Child Support Program (CSP) and available from any CSP
office.
(7) When DCS receives a
request from an authorized person pursuant to subsections (2)(a) or (2)(b) of
this rule, it will determine if there is any record of possible domestic
violence by the original requestor against the individual sought or any record
of possible child abuse by the original requestor.
(8) If reasonable evidence of domestic
violence or child abuse is found pursuant to section (7) or FPLS does not
return information due to a family violence indicator, an authorized person may
ask the court to determine, pursuant to
42 USC
653(b)(2)(B), whether
disclosure of the information could be harmful to the parent or child sought.
(a) If the court concludes that disclosure of
the information would not be harmful to the parent or child, DCS will submit
the request along with the court's determination to FPLS.
(b) If the court concludes that disclosure of
the information would be harmful to the parent or child, the request will be
denied.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
25.265 &
180.345
Stats. Implemented: ORS
25.265,
180.380
