IMA POLICY MANUAL
PART V: PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND SANCTIONS
CHAPTER 2: CHILD SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS
This chapter applies to MA, TANF, and POWER assistance units that include a dependent child who has an absent parent. In the case of MA, the head of the unit must assign the right to medical support for a dependent child while in the case of TANF and POWER, the head of the unit must assign the right to both medical and child support. Medical support is defined as the absent parent's voluntary or court-ordered agreement to be responsible for the payment of his/her child's medical expenses. A signed Combined Application (CA) serves as the assignment of child and/or medical support rights. If a dependent child subsequently becomes part of another assistance unit, the head of the new unit is subject to the child/medical support assignment requirement.
The medical support cooperation requirement applies only to AR and AX program types. It does not apply, however, to pregnant women.
The SSR will send Form 1288/1288A "Notice to Child Support Agency" to the Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) for each MA*, TANF, and POWER applicant/recipient who will be required to cooperate with paternity and child support establishment, child support enforcement, medical support enforcement, and collection. In addition, the Department will send CSED Form 886 Information Exchange for each TANF and MA applicant/recipient who has self-identified a past, present, or future risk of domestic violence. CSED will place the form in the case file of the applicant/recipient and will refer to this in making its good cause determination. An SSR may learn of domestic violence issues through the preliminary assessment, information provided by the vendor, or other collateral contacts.
*Customers applying for MA using the D.C. Healthy Families mail-in application will be referred to CSED on a "volunteers first" basis. Those customers that indicate that they would like CSED assistance quickly will be referred immediately. IMA will maintain information on other customers, but nor refer them to CSED until CSED requests this information. In this way, IMA and CSED will prioritize those cases in which CSED assistance would most likely result in the collection of child support.
The SSR should refer assistance units required to assign medical and/or child support rights to CSED. These assistance units must cooperate with CSED unless there is good cause for non-cooperation. Cooperation may include any of the following:
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identifying and locating the absent parent,
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establishing the paternity of a child born out-of-wedlock,
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securing a court order for medical and/or child support of the child, and
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enforcing and/or modifying the support order.
If the assistance unit claims good cause for non-cooperation, CSED will evaluate the claim and inform IMA of its finding.
To validate a claim of good cause, CSED may:
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decide the claim based on information provided by the applicant/recipient, or
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decide to conduct a further investigation to verify the claim
CSED will not contact the non-custodial parent without informing the applicant/recipient and will not contact the non-custodial parent at all if it will put the applicant/recipient in danger. CSED will not attempt to establish third party liability (see Section 3.2: Third Party Liability For Payment of Medical Expenses in this Part) for medical services in situations in which it determines that the applicant/recipient has good cause for refusing to cooperate. If CSED does not determine that there is good cause, the individual can continue to fail to cooperate (making CSED contact impossible) and suffer the associated sanction.
If CSED does not find good cause or the assistance unit does not cooperate, IMA then applies a sanction to the assistance unit. The sanction for non-cooperation differs by program. If a TANF/POWER recipient fails to cooperate, the family's TANF/POWER grant is reduced by 25 percent. In MA, the adult who failed to cooperate is disqualified from MA.
This chapter relates only to those MA, TANF, and POWER assistance units which are subject to the medical/child support requirement. Thus, when the term 'ALL' is used in this chapter, it refers only to those programs and categories which impose this requirement.
POWER policy follows TANF policy, therefore the policies listed under 'TANF' also relate to POWER.
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Child Support
Requirements |
TANF: D.C. Code 4-205.19, 4-
217.8-10; 29 DCMR 1707 and 1715
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MA: 42 USC 1396a(a)(45), 1396k; 42 CFR 433.145-.148, 435.610
TANF: 45 CFR 264.30-3 |
THE NOTICE OF REQUIREMENT TO COOPERATE AND RIGHT TO CLAIM GOOD CAUSE FOR REFUSAL TO COOPERATE WITH CHILD SUPPORT EFFORTS 2.3
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Every applicant/recipient who is a parent or caretaker of a child for whom benefits are paid or sought must be given a copy of the Notice of Requirement to Cooperate and Right to Claim Good Cause for Refusal to Cooperate in Child Support Enforcement. The SSR should explain the purpose of the notice, the penalties for not cooperating with CSED, and the reasons that the applicant/recipient may be exempt from the requirement to cooperate (i.e., good cause).
The SSR must make sure the applicant/recipient reads, understands, and signs the Notice of Requirement to Cooperate and Right to Claim Good Cause for Refusal to Cooperate in Child Support Enforcement. The SSR must also sign the notice and place a signed and dated copy in the case file of the applicant/recipient and provide an additional copy to the applicant/or recipient at the time of signing. The applicant/recipient must be given an opportunity to express his/her intent to claim a good cause reason not to comply with child support requirements at the time s/he signs the notice. If s/he expresses an intent to claim good cause, this information must be registered in ACEDS. The recipient can also claim good cause at the point s/he meets with CSED or at any future date. After the SSR signs the notice, the SSR will refer the assistance unit to the CSED which will begin the process of establishing paternity (if required) and collecting support from the absent parent.
The SSR must provide a copy of the Notice of Requirement to Cooperate and Right to Claim Good Cause for Refusal to Cooperate in Child Support Enforcement form to the recipient at least once per year.
If an applicant/recipient informs IMA of his/her intent to claim good cause for not cooperating with child support requirements, the SSR must inform CSED of this fact within five days of the claim of good cause if the claim arose during a redetermination or within five days of application approval. |
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Upon receipt of a referral from IMA, CSED will contact the applicant/recipient for a meeting with CSED. At this meeting, CSED will inform the applicant/recipient again verbally and in writing of the right to claim good cause and the requirements applicable to good cause determinations.
During this meeting, CSED will make a finding as to whether the applicant/recipient could reasonably be expected to provide information with regard to the non-custodial parent. In making the finding, CSED will consider:
- the age of the child for whom support is sought,
- the circumstances surrounding the conception of the child,
- the age and/or mental capacity of the applicant/recipient,
- the time that has elapsed since the customer last had contact with the alleged non-custodial parent, and
- whether the applicant/recipient is the parent of the child for whom support is sought.
CSED has the responsibility to make a final determination of non-cooperation in all situations and informs IMA of the results. IMA applies sanctions based on the CSED findings.
CSED will make a determination of good cause no later than 180 days from the date the applicant/recipient makes the claim. The determination period may exceed 180 days only if verification of required information will take longer and the applicant/recipient did not provide corroborative evidence within the period required. |
COOPERATION ESTABLISHING PATERNITY AND SUPPORT 2.5
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As a condition of eligibility, each applicant has the responsibility to cooperate with CSED by:
- providing the name of the non-custodial parent of the child for whom assistance is sought;
- providing all relevant information about the absent parent to CSED such as:
- age or date of birth;
- last known home address;
- SSN ;
- home and work telephone numbers;
- last known employer name and address
- occupation;
- union or trade association affiliation;
- schooling;
- names and addresses of relatives or associates;
- date and place of any arrest;
- make, model, or license plate number of car ;
- driver's license number ;
- bank account or credit card information; or
- any additional information necessary to establish paternity for the child or to establish, modify, or enforce a child support order;
- appearing at interviews, hearings, and legal and administrative proceedings regarding the support of the child with respect to whom assistance is sought;
- submitting to genetic testing as required by a judicial or administrative order; and
- submitting the child for whom assistance is sought to genetic testing as required by a judicial or administrative order.
- paying to the District any support payments received directly from the non-custodial parent that are subject to assignment
- attesting to lack of information under penalty of perjury if the applicant/recipient is, in good faith, unable to identify or assist in locating the non-custodial parent (see Section 2.6: Good Cause For Non-Cooperation in this Chapter).
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