5016-5        CASE PROCESSING

Unless a good cause claim has been made, when an application is approved or a child added to a case and there is a noncustodial parent, the caseworker must complete the following EIS screens as thoroughly as possible:

1. Absent Parent Identification (APID) screen, including assigning each noncustodial parent an ID number;
    

2. Child Support Reference (CSR1 and CSR2);
    

3. Specified Relative/Deprivation (SPRD); and
    

4. CSEA.

The screens should be completed from available information if the CSSD 1603a has not been returned, unless a good cause claim has been made.

Preliminary Good Cause Decision:  If the applicant has indicated an intent to claim good cause, a referral to CSSD should not be made until the good cause claim has been filed and decided.  In the meantime, the CSEA screen should be coded indicating a decision is underway (using the PD code in the Coop Field) so that benefits can be issued.

• If a good cause claim is denied; the caseworker should then complete all related screens.
   

• If the good cause claim is approved; information is not completed on the APID screen, the CSEA screen is coded for good cause, and a referral to CSSD is not made.

Transfer to new case number: If a new case is being opened for a child who was previously on another case, some but not all noncustodial parent information attached to that child will automatically transfer to the new case number.  The caseworker must update the information for the noncustodial parent so that an appropriate referral is sent to CSSD.

Example:    

A Family Medicaid case consisting of mom and her 7-year son, Johnny, is closed for excess resources.  Johnny is transferred to a new Denali KidCare case number.  All of the noncustodial (absent) parent information on Johnny’s father that was recorded on EIS as part of the Family Medicaid case number is automatically transferred to the Denali KidCare case number, except that the ACTION # field on the APID screen is blank.  In order for CSSD to capture this same noncustodial parent information on Johnny’s Denali KidCare case number, the caseworker must assign the noncustodial (absent) parent a number in the ACTION # field.

Using the same case number:  If a case closes and is registered to the same number at a later date, the APID may still have the noncustodial parent information that was entered previously.  If the applicant has requested a good cause determination, all of this information should be deleted.  If the good cause determination is not approved, all noncustodial parent screens must be updated and the case referred to CSSD.