717-4          FAILURE TO COOPERATE WITH CSSDChild Support Services Division

717-4 A.      WHAT IS NONCOOPERATION

Noncooperation occurs when:

• The parent or caretaker relative refuses or fails to complete and sign a GEN 53Child Support Information Form for the noncustodial parent of a dependent child included in the assistance unit;
• The parent or caretaker relative fails or refuses to sign over to CSSDChild Support Services Division any child support payments for months of ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program benefits made by or on behalf of a noncustodial parent for any child included in the assistance unit; or
• CSSDChild Support Services Division informs the caseworker that the parent or caretaker relative has failed to cooperate.

717-4 B.      GOOD CAUSE FOR NONCOOPERATION

A parent or caretaker relative cannot be required to cooperate with CSSDChild Support Services Division activities if the parent or caretaker relative claims and establishes good cause. If at any time a parent or caretaker relative indicates they have good cause for noncooperation, they must be given the opportunity to complete the GEN 80Child Support Cooperation Statement or EISEligibility Information System notice W060Child Support Cooperation Statement. Once a good cause claim is made, the caseworker must decide whether or not to allow the claim. If the good cause claim is allowed, the parent or caretaker relative is excused from cooperation. See ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 723 for policy on good cause for not cooperating with CSSDChild Support Services Division.

717-4 C.      FAILURE TO COMPLETE A CHILD SUPPORT INFORMATION FORM (GEN 53)

A new GEN 53Child Support Information Form is needed each time a new application is received, a case is reopened after a 30 day lapse in assistance, or a new child is added to the case.

A completed GEN 53Child Support Information Form means a response is entered for each question and the form is signed by the applicant or recipient.

If the GEN 53Child Support Information Form is not completed for the noncustodial parent of a child, and the parent or caretaker 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 caseworker will take appropriate action to impose a penalty on the parent or caretaker relative following the rules for noncooperation. See ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 723 for policy on imposing a penalty.

Applicants: An applicant in a DPADivision of Public Assistance office is given a GEN 53Child Support Information Form to complete with their application form. If they refuse or fail to complete the GEN 53Child Support Information Form, the caseworker must give them the opportunity to claim good cause by providing them with a GEN 80Child Support Cooperation Statement or EISEligibility Information System notice W060Child Support Cooperation Statement. When applications are received without an accompanying GEN 53Child Support Information Form, the form must be provided to the applicant with the GEN 80Child Support Cooperation Statement or W060Child Support Cooperation Statement notice, and 10 days allowed for the completed form or request to claim good cause to be returned.

Note:

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

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 caseworker may need to provide the recipient with a GEN 53Child Support Information Form for completion. If the recipient refuses or fails to complete the GEN 53Child Support Information Form, the caseworker must give them the opportunity to claim good cause by providing them with a GEN 80Child Support Cooperation Statement or EISEligibility Information System notice W060Child Support Cooperation Statement. This statement may be provided to the recipient with the GEN 53Child 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 caretaker relative claims good cause for not completing the GEN 53Child Support Information Form, the caseworker must decide whether or not to allow the claim. While the good cause decision is pending, the parent or caretaker relative is not required to cooperate with CSSDChild Support Services Division. The caseworker must complete the eligibility determination without entering any noncustodial parent information on EISEligibility Information System so that benefits can be issued, and code the CSEAChild Support Enforcement Agency screen "PD" in the CoOp field to show that a good cause claim is being reviewed.

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 caretaker relative must be informed of the decision is writing.

If good cause is allowed, the W061Child Support - Good Cause Allowed notice is sent and EISEligibility Information System is coded as appropriate. When the good cause decision is made after the eligibility determination has been completed and benefits approved, the caseworker must also notify CSSDChild Support Services Division of the good cause decision by sending an email to cssdgoodcause@alaska.gov. This is necessary:

1. To prevent CSSDChild Support Services Division collection activities as appropriate to each case; and
2. To allow CSSDChild Support Services Division to review the caseworker's decision on the good cause claim. If CSSDChild Support Services Division has reason to question that decision, they may correspond with the caseworker and ask for reconsideration. However, the good cause decision is ultimately the responsibility of the DPADivision of Public Assistance caseworker.

If the caseworker determines good cause does not exist, the caseworker must send the W062Child Support - Good Cause Not Allowed notice and impose a penalty as described in ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 723. If the caretaker is not included in the assistance unit, a penalty cannot be imposed, but CSSDChild Support Services Division will still pursue collection of child support for the child.

2. No Claim for Good Cause

If the parent or caretaker relative refuses to complete the GEN 53Child Support Information Form and does not claim good cause, or fails to respond within 10 days to the request to complete the GEN 53Child Support Information Form or claim good cause, the caseworker must impose a financial penalty following the policy in ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 723. If the caretaker relative is not included in the assistance unit, a penalty cannot be imposed, but CSSDChild Support Services Division will still pursue collection of child support for the child.

717-4 D.      FAILURE TO SIGN OVER CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS

Once TATemporary Assistance is approved, the parent or caretaker relative is required to sign over to CSSDChild Support Services Division any child support payments for months of TATemporary Assistance made by, or on behalf of, a noncustodial parent for a any child included in the assistance unit. This includes any payments received from another state's child support agency, or received in error from the Alaska Child Support Services Division.

• The parent or caretaker relative is allowed to keep up to $50 of child support received in a month under the pass-through provisions described in ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 717-7 A and not have it counted as income. Keeping payments that total $50 or less in a month is not considered noncooperation, and no penalty is imposed.
• Keeping payments from CSSDChild Support Services Division or another state child support agency is also not considered noncooperation and no penalty is imposed.
• If more than $50 in child support is kept, the amount in excess of $50 is considered to be countable unearned income. If payments are kept over a period of time, the caseworker must determine if an incorrect ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program benefit payment has been issued. Also, unless the child support payment is from a child support agency, the caseworker must impose a financial penalty. See ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 723 for the policy on child support penalties.
• Whenever a caseworker learns of child support payments received directly by the family, the caseworker must advise CSSDChild Support Services Division of the total amount of the payment received, the amount disregarded under the $50 pass-through payment provision, and whether any overpayment was established.

717-4 E.      CSSDChild Support Services Division NOTICE OF NONCOOPERATION

CSSDChild Support Services Division will notify the caseworker through an EISEligibility Information System alert whenever they determine a parent or caretaker relative has refused or failed to cooperate with requested activities. If this occurs, the caseworker must send a timely notice of adverse action (EISEligibility Information System notice W709Benefit Decrease - Child Support Penalty) and impose a noncooperation penalty, if the parent or caretaker relative is included in the assistance unit, according to the penalty provisions described in ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 723.

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

• Cooperate by contacting CSSDChild Support Services Division and completing the requested activity; or
• Claim good cause for not cooperating, and provide evidence to support the claim.

If the parent or caretaker relative claims good cause for not completing the requested activity, the caseworker must decide whether or not to allow the claim. A good cause claim must be acted upon with 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 caseworker sends the W061Child Support - Good Cause Allowed notice to the parent or caretaker relative, codes EISEligibility Information System as appropriate, ends the penalty and restores benefits. When the good cause decision is made after the eligibility determination has been completed and benefits approved, the caseworker must also notify CSSDChild Support Services Division of the good cause decision by sending an email to cssdgoodcause@alaska.gov.

If good cause is not allowed, the caseworker sends the W062Child Support - Good Cause Not Allowed to the family and the penalty remains in place. If the parent or caretaker relative is not included in the assistance unit, a penalty cannot be imposed, but CSSDChild Support Services Division will still pursue collection of child support for the child.

If CSSDChild Support Services Division notifies the caseworker that the caretaker has cooperated, the penalty is ended and benefits restored according to the policy in ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MS 723.