812-4        FAILURE TO COOPERATE WITH CSSDChild Support Services Division

812-4 A.   WHAT IS NON-COOPERATION

Noncooperation occurs when:

1.  The parent or guardian refuses or fails to complete and sign a Child Support Information form for the noncustodial parent of a dependent child included in the household;

2.  The parent or guardian fails or refuses or to provided information about medical support covered by the assignment of rights; or

3.  CSSDChild Support Services Division informs the ETEligibility Technician that the parent or guardian has failed to cooperate.

812-4 B.   GOOD CAUSE FOR NON-COOPERATION

A parent or guardian of a child cannot be required to cooperate with CSSDChild Support Services Division activities if the parent or guardian claims and establishes good cause. If at any time a parent or guardian indicates they have good cause for noncooperation, they must be given the opportunity to complete the Child Support Cooperation Statement. Once a good cause claim is made, the ETEligibility Technician must decide whether to allow the claim or not. If the good cause claim is allowed, the parent or guardian is excused from cooperation.

A parent or guardian may have good cause for not cooperating with CSSDChild Support Services Division if:

1.  Cooperation may result in physical or emotional harm to the child or to the adult, or affect the adult’s ability to care for the child adequately; or

2.  Proceedings to establish paternity or secure support will be detrimental to the child because:

3.  The child was conceived as a result of incest or rape;

4.  Legal proceedings for adoption of the child are pending before a court; or

5.  The adult is currently being assisted by a public or licensed private social agency to resolve the issue of whether to keep the child or relinquish the child for adoption.

The parent or guardian’s statement may be accepted to establish that good cause exists, if the claim is not questionable. Administrative Procedures Manual Section 105-1 provides policy on when information is considered questionable.

If the claim for good cause is questionable, the household will be asked to submit documents, such as police or court records, medical records, or statements from mental health or social service agencies that establish the existence of good cause. The household may also submit written or oral statements from other individuals who have personal knowledge of the family's circumstances, such as a minister, attorney, social worker, or relatives of the parent or guardian.

In many cases, such as domestic violence situations, documents may not be available to support the good cause claim. If the claim is questionable and additional documents are not available, the ETEligibility Technician will consider the information and use their prudent judgment to make a decision on the claim.

812-4 C.   FAILURE TO COMPLETE A CHILD SUPPORT INFORMATION FORM

A completed Child Support Information form means a response is entered for each question and the form is signed by the applicant or recipient.

Completion of the form is required even if the applicant is reapplying for benefits after a recent closure of their Medicaid case or if the applicant or recipient has already provided similar information for other children included in the household.

If the Child Support Information form is not completed for the noncustodial parent of a child, and the parent or guardian does not have good cause for not cooperating, the child will still be included or added to the case as of the required effective date. The ETEligibility Technician will take appropriate action to impose a penalty following the rules for noncooperation. See section 812-4 (E).

Applicants: For MAGIModified Adjusted Gross Income Medicaid, if all other information necessary to authorize Medicaid is received; authorize Medicaid based on the parent/caretaker relative’s declaration that they will cooperate with Child Support. If a signed Child Support Information form is required as explained in section 812, the parent/caretaker relative must be notified of the requirement to submit a completed Child Support Information form and be given at least 10 days to provide this documentation or request good cause.

If the parent or guardian does not provide the necessary documentation by the due date, the parent or guardian is ineligible for MAGIModified Adjusted Gross Income Medicaid and his or her Medicaid ends with adverse action. See section 812-4 (E) for penalty information.

Note:

If the household is ineligible for some other reason, no further action is taken on the cooperation requirement. The application is denied on the other grounds.

A new Child Support Information form is required when an applicant reapplies for benefits following the denial or closure of a case for any reason unless the application is received in the month following case closure.  

Recipients: When a recipient’s household composition changes, such as when a child is added to an ongoing case or a parent leaves the home, the ETEligibility Technician may need to provide the recipient with a Child Support Information form (GEN 53) for completion. If the recipient refuses or fails to complete the Child Support Information form, the ETEligibility Technician must give them the opportunity to claim good cause by providing them with a Child Support Cooperation Statement (GEN 80) ARIESAlaska's Resource for Integrated Eligibility Services Child Support Information Correspondence. The Statement may be provided to the recipient with the Child Support Information form, and 10 days allowed for the completed form or request to claim good cause to be returned.

1.  Good Cause Claim

If the parent or guardian claims good cause for not completing the Child Support Information form, the ETEligibility Technician must decide whether to allow the claim or not. While the good cause decision is pending, the parent or guardian is not required to cooperate with CSSDChild Support Services Division. The ETEligibility Technician must complete the eligibility determination without entering any noncustodial parent information in the eligibility system so that benefits can be issued.

A good cause claim must be acted upon within 30 days from the date the signed claim for good cause is received in the DPADivision of Public Assistance office. The parent or guardian must be informed of the decision in writing.

If good cause is allowed, the eligibility system must be coded appropriately. When the good cause decision is made after the eligibility determination has been completed and benefits approved, the ETEligibility Technician must also notify CSSDChild Support Services Division of the good cause decision by sending an email to dor.cssd.goodcause@alaska.gov. This is necessary:

a.  To prevent CSSDChild Support Services Division activities as appropriate to each case; and

b.  To allow CSSDChild Support Services Division to review the ET’s decision on the good cause claim. If CSSDChild Support Services Division has reason to question that decision, they may correspond with the ETEligibility Technician and ask for reconsideration. However, the good cause decision is ultimately the responsibility of the ETEligibility Technician.

If the ETEligibility Technician determines that good cause does not exist, the ETEligibility Technician must impose a penalty as described in section E. If the parent or guardian is not receiving Medicaid, a penalty cannot be imposed, but CSSDChild Support Services Division will still pursue medical support for the child.

2.  No Claim for Good Cause

If the parent or guardian refuses to complete the Child Support Information form and does not claim good cause, or fails to respond within 10 days to the request to complete the Child Support Information form (GEN 53) or claim good cause, the ETEligibility Technician must impose a penalty following the policy in section E. If the parent or guardian is not receiving Medicaid, a penalty cannot be imposed, but CSSDChild Support Services Division will still pursue medical support for the child.

812-4 D.    CSSDChild Support Services Division NOTICE OF NON-COOPERATION

CSSDChild Support Services Division will notify the ETEligibility Technician through an alert or task whenever they determine a parent or guardian has refused or failed to cooperate with requested activities. If this occurs, the ETEligibility Technician must send a timely notice of adverse action and impose a noncooperation penalty if the parent or guardian is included in the household according to the penalty provisions described in section 812-4 (E).

The notice informs the caretaker that CSSDChild Support Services Division has notified DPADivision of Public Assistance of their noncooperation. It also instructs the parent or guardian to take one of the following actions within 10 days:

1.  Cooperate by contacting CSSDChild Support Services Division and completing the requested activity; or

2.  Claim good cause for not cooperating, and provide evidence to support the claim.

If the parent or guardian claims good cause for not completing the requested activity, the ETEligibility Technician must decide whether to allow the claim or not. A good cause claim must be acted upon within 30 days from the date the signed claim for good cause is received in the DPADivision of Public Assistance office.

If good cause is allowed, the ETEligibility Technician ends the penalty and restores benefits. When the good cause decision is made after the eligibility determination has been completed and benefits approved, the ETEligibility Technician must also notify CSSDChild Support Services Division of the good cause decision by sending an email to dor.cssd.goodcause@alaska.gov.

If good cause is not allowed, the penalty remains in place. If the parent or guardian is not receiving Medicaid, a penalty cannot be imposed, but CSSDChild Support Services Division will still pursue medical support for the child.

If CSSDChild Support Services Division notifies the ETEligibility Technician that the parent or guardian has cooperated, the penalty is ended and benefits restored.

812-4 E.   PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COOPERATE

A parent or guardian who is required to cooperate with CSSDChild Support Services Division for a child living in the household, but who fails to do so without good cause, is ineligible for Medicaid. Should that parent or guardian want Medicaid benefits in the future, cooperation is required.

Only the parent or guardian may incur a loss of Medicaid benefits for refusal to cooperate with CSSDChild Support Services Division. To assure that a child is not made ineligible because of the parent or guardians’ noncooperation, the following rules apply toward determining household size and need standard.

1. The needs of the non-cooperating parent or guardian who is a mandatory member of the household continue to be included in determining the household size for MAGIModified Adjusted Gross Income Medicaid and their income still counts, but the parent or guardian’s Medicaid eligibility ends.

2. A 19 or 20 year old who fails to cooperate with CSSDChild Support Services Division in establishing the paternity of his or her own child is ineligible for Medicaid.

Exception:

A parent or guardian who is a SSISupplemental Security Income recipient will remain Medicaid eligible even if they fail to cooperate with CSSDChild Support Services Division or provide good cause.