Response: As we stated in OCSE-PIQ-92-09, the final regulations published in the Federal Register on August 4, 1989 (54 FR 32284 at 32306) state that we received many comments by States and other organizations who requested that non-cooperation by the custodial parent (failure to attend hearings, refusal to sign forms, etc.) Such a case is open and being worked by only one State. Therefore, the IV-D agency may close a case because the non-AFDC individual has failed to sign an agreement to pay to the State fees or costs incurred in providing IV-D services billed to the family under the State's fee and IV-D cost recovery policy. Modification: A court-ordered change to an order, e.g., the amount of current child support ordered may be modified up or down. In addition, it must be kept in mind that the individuals the IV-D agency is attempting to contact with this mailing are recipients of services who are not receiving public assistance. (4) The noncustodial parent's location is unknown, and the State has made diligent efforts using multiple sources, in accordance with Sec. Electronic Payment Card (EPC): You receive a Mastercard branded card that works like a debit card. Regulations at 42 CFR 433.147 and 433.148 require the Medicaid agency to determine whether the non-AFDC Medicaid recipient had good cause for failure to cooperate and whether the IV-D agency may continue to attempt to establish paternity and secure support without the cooperation of the non-AFDC Medicaid recipient, under 302.31(b) and (c). 4. Therefore, for purposes of 303.11, if the applicant for services was not the custodial parent, States should substitute the applicant for services whenever 303.11 refers to the custodial parent. Response: OCSE concurs with both of these suggestions. SUBJECT: Clarification of Case Closure Criteria. The case must be kept open if the recipient of services or the initiating State supplies information in response to the notice which could lead to the establishment of paternity or a support order or enforcement of an order, or, in the instance of paragraph (b)(10) of this section, if contact is reestablished with the recipient of services. Q. The following table provides guidance for determining when and how to close cases. When these two factors came into direct conflict, we attempted to resolve the issue in favor of keeping a case open if there is a chance of success. 3507(d)). 6/22) Federal IV-D Case Closure Criteria (45 CFR 303.11) (a) The IV-D agency shall establish a system for case closure. The error occurs in the section "Comments to Paragraph 303.11(b)(2)", in the response to comment one. The committee developed several recommendations, which were considered in the development of the notice of proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on February 24, 1998 (63 FR 9172). For example, some entities identify individuals by name and date of birth. Redesignated paragraph (b)(9) adds IV-D and food stamp agencies to the list of State agencies with the authority to make good cause determinations. Response: Yes. Description of Regulatory Provisions---Sec. Child Support Case Managers establish, modify, enforce child support orders and maintain all financial aspects of a child support case by determining and deciding needed action, initiating and authorizing administrative and judicial legal action and preparing cases for hearing. Case Closure Checklist Why Didn't My Case Close 2. Under the clarifications provided in OCSE-AT-90-12, a case may be closed in one category and re-opened in another when the status of the case changes. Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. When the initiating jurisdiction receives the intent to close notice for this case closure Comment: One commenter objected to the replacement of the former "certified'' mailing requirement with the current "regular'' mailing requirement. Such a policy or requirement would not meet one of the criteria for case closure set forth at 45 CFR 303.11(b), and is therefore an inappropriate action by the IV-D agency. Question 26: If the custodial parent and child(ren) do not receive public assistance and are unwilling to cooperate in the establishment of paternity and a support obligation based on the request of the non-custodial individual, must the IV-D agency continue to assist with the establishment process? Similarly, it is OCSE's position that it would be inappropriate for a IV-D agency to close a case in an analogous situation, if the custodial parent hired a private attorney, because that too would not meet one of the case closure criteria set forth in 303.11. (f) When CSS staff closes a case, CSS: Somewhat earlier, the State IV-D Directors' Association had established a committee to examine the case closure issue. As we stated in OCSE-PIQ-92-13, a IV-D agency may not adopt a policy of requiring IV-D obligees to request case closure of their IV-D cases while they have contracts with private collection agencies. V. CASE CLOSURE OF NON-AFDC MEDICAID CASES. (e) The case applicant requests that a child support case be closed by submitting CSS Form 03GN542E, Case Closure Application - Child Support Services.When a case closure application is received, CSS staff determines whether the case meets federal case closure criteria per 45 C.F.R. However, if a State, using authority under its UIFSA statute, sends a withholding notice directly to an employer in another State, it cannot be considered noncooperation and a rationale for case closure under section 303.11(b)(12) by the employer's State which is otherwise processing an interstate case for the State that sends the direct withholding. in non-AFDC cases be addressed. In some of these cases, the responding State may have been unable to locate the noncustodial parent, or may have located him or her in another State. Similarly, if the initiating State failed to provide necessary information to enable the responding State to provide services, and failed to respond to requests to provide the information, the responding State was required to keep the case open, although it was unable to take any action on it. For this reason, any arrearages remaining due would not be automatically discharged and would remain enforceable by the court. For case information, you may also call 1-888-524-3578. HTML PDF: 388-14A-7115 If so, are arrearages automatically discharged? Comment: One commenter objected to paragraph (b)(4) on the basis that it assumes a level of State automation which does not currently exist. Finally, once a IV-D case is established, it is inappropriate to "change'' the service recipient to another individual who neither received the appropriate form of public assistance nor applied for IV-D services. The final rule clarifies the situations in which States may close child support cases and makes other technical changes. The State could, when the IV-D agency realizes it failed to send the family of the notice of continuation of services, send such notice at that time, and then, as appropriate, follow with the letter of intent to close the IV-D case. Pursuant to 303.11(c), the State is not required to send the 60-day notice of case closure in cases closed under 303.11(b)(9). Title IV, Part D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 3. Comment: Two commenters observed that section 454(29) of the Act exempts a public assistance recipient from the requirement to cooperate with the IV-D program for good cause "and other exceptions.'' When a non-AFDC individual subject to fees or cost recovery fails to pay any fee prescribed in Federal regulations or reimburse the State for costs associated with providing IV-D services, and charged to that individual, the IV-D agency may close the case under this criterion when the payment of such fees or costs is required under the IV-D State plan. Paragraph (c) is revised to incorporate the renumbering of paragraph (b). Comment: One commenter asked that the term "identity'' be clarified in the final rule. Finally, the term "low collection potential'' is extremely difficult to define in an objective fashion. BACKGROUND: Since publication of regulations governing standards for program operations (54 FR 32284, August 4, 1989, as disseminated in OCSE Action Transmittal 89-15 on the same date), we have received numerous requests for clarification of the case closure criteria listed at 45 CFR 303.11(b). Three other commenters offered related recommendations that the final rule clarify that the interstate program standards in 45 CFR 303.7 apply to the application of paragraph (b)(12). Under 303.7(b)(4), the initiating State must furnish the responding State with the additional information, or notify the responding State when the information will be provided within 30 calendar days of receipt of the request. Q. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (954) 755-0126 today. Response: No. The IV-D agency must send to the custodial parent the 60-day case closure notice in accordance with 303.11(c). If arrears (past- due support) are owed those arrears must be paid to the PRS. Case ClosureHomeChild SupportCase ClosureGet Case InformationApply for Child SupportMake a Payment OnlineChild support cases close for different reasons. Olivia A. Comment: One commenter suggested the addition of a new criterion for case closure. Thirty-one individuals or organizations provided comments to the proposed rule. There is no requirement that the other parent also must be provided with notice in such cases. As stated in the NPRM's Description of Regulatory Provisions, the purpose of this requirement was to clarify that the eligibility interview conducted by staff associated with the State's public assistance agency would not be sufficient for purposes of this subparagraph. As we stated in OCSE-PIQ-92-04, a State may close a case only if the applicant for services requests closure and the requirements of 303.11(b)(9) are met. a. Paragraph (b)(1) is revised and paragraph (b)(2) is removed to read as follows: Both PRWORA and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) frequently allow notices to be sent by regular mail. As specified in OCSE-PIQ-91-14, in cases in which the noncustodial parent is unknown or so little information is available that no automated locate sources can be accessed, the IV-D agency should contact the custodial parent at least annually to determine whether any new information is available that would allow further action to be taken. The case worker will send the closure request to the Responding State via CSENet or regular mail. * * * * *, j. Paragraph (d) is revised to read as follows: Question 22: Because of the way some States have designed their automated systems, it is very common for them to close one case on a family and to immediately open another. [Page 11810-11818] Review a case for closure as allowed by federal regulation (See Chapter 12 Closure for details on each closure type); Close the case on POSSE, if appropriate; and. Question 28: May a State which imposes fees in accordance with Federal regulations, or has elected in its IV-D State plan to recover costs from non-AFDC individuals who are receiving services under 302.33(a)(1)(i) (an applicant for IV-D services) or 302.33(1)(iii) (a former recipient of AFDC, title IV-E foster care, or non-AFDC Medicaid), close a case if a non-AFDC individual subject to a fee or cost recovery fails to pay the State the fee or the costs that have been billed to the family? CSSD: Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department The agency responsible for managing the child support program in Los Angeles County. The IV-D agency should periodically monitor the noncustodial parent's status to ascertain the expected release date, and take appropriate action at such time. Paragraph (c) was also revised to clarify that the responding State, upon deciding to close a case pursuant to the authority of paragraph (b)(12) must send a notice of case closure to the initiating State. OCSE reminds States that enhancements to the Enumeration Verification System (EVS) frequently allow unknown or incomplete social security numbers to be identified by the Social Security Administration when the State has an individual's full name and date of birth. If non-IV-A recipients of services fail to keep the IV-D agency apprised of their current addresses, they effectively deny that agency the ability to provide child support enforcement services to them. * * * * *, (iv) The identity of the biological father is unknown and cannot be identified after diligent efforts, including at least one interview by the IV-D agency with the recipient of services; Response: Because this paragraph only applies to interstate cases, the program standards appearing at Sec. Under this paragraph, a case would not be available for closure if the resident address of the noncustodial parent was known but the IV-D agency was unable to locate any assets attributable to the noncustodial parent. Comment: Two commenters requested a revision to paragraph (b)(12) to provide for specific criteria which would support the case closure decision made by a responding State. The IV-D agency should contact the Medicaid agency for assistance in locating the custodial parent. We believe a one-year waiting period achieves a reasonable balance between the desire to assure that workable cases remain open and the desire to close those cases which show no promise of being workable. AGENCY: Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration for Children and Families, HHS. ATTACHMENT: Attached is a final ruleVisit disclaimer page(PDF), published in the Federal Register March 10, 1999 (64 FR 11810) revising Federal regulations outlining criteria for closing child support enforcement cases, in response to the Presidents Memorandum of March 4, 1995, to reduce or eliminate mandated burdens on States, other governmental agencies or the private section. While the term "custodial parent" is used because that is the typical situation, it encompasses any applicant or recipient of IV-D services. This final rule balances our concern that all children receive the help they need in establishing paternity and securing support, while being responsive to administrative concerns for maintaining caseloads that include only those cases in which there is adequate information or likelihood of successfully providing services. By name and date of birth Office of child support program in Los Angeles County child support program Los. 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