006.25.95 Ark. Code R. § 003 - Investigator Responsibilities - License Suspension
Together, Act 752 of 1995 and §23 of Act 1184 of 1995 authorize and establish procedures for the suspension of specified State issued licenses, including commercial driver's and driver's licenses; permanent license plates; and occupational, professional and business licenses of a noncustodial parent, if certain conditions exist on a case. See Attachment A to this section for a complete listing of all State issued licenses subject to suspension under this section. When interviewing the noncustodial parent, the local IV-D office shall request that the noncustodial parent allow the office to copy the noncustodial parent's driver's (or commercial driver's) license and Social Security card for identification purposes and for future reference. This information is to ■ be maintained in the file at the local IV-D office. Quarterly, to the extent available, field staff will receive printouts by social security number of noncustodial parents holding State issued licenses subject to suspension. All licensing authorities affected may not initially be capable of interface automation with the IV-D data base. Field staff should periodically make inquiries with custodial parents or other knowledgeable sources to determine if a noncustodial parent holds a State issued license subject to suspension under Act 752 or Act 1184 when either of the following two (2) conditions exists on a case:
Condition 1 . NCP is delinquent on a court-ordered child support payment in an amount equal to six (6) months obligation or more, or the NCP is delinquent on payments toward an adjudicated arrearage in an amount equal to a six (6) months obligation or more; or
Condition 2. NCP is the subject of an outstanding' failure to appear, body attachment,, or bench warrant related to a child support proceeding.
Note: If the NCP has filed bankruptcy, no action to suspend or revoke a license should be taken unless an Order granting relief from the Automatic Stay has been obtained from Bankruptcy Court. Consult with the responsible IV-D attorney.
Exceptions:
If either Condition 1 or Condition 2 noted above exists and none of the five (5) Exceptions apply, a Notice of Intent to Suspend License (OCSE-1695, the "90 day Notice") will be mailed to the NCP by the responsible field office. Notices should be sent certified mail to the most current address provided on . the printout as provided by the licensing authorities or to the address provided to the court by the NCP, unless a verified address has been obtained. In the event a Notice sent by certified mail is rejected or unclaimed, a subsequent mailing of the Notice by regular first class mail shall be considered sufficient. The Notice will specifically identify all known specified licenses and permanent license plates held by the noncustodial parent to be suspended in 90 days, and it will inform the noncustodial parent of the opportunity to request an Administrative Hearing within 60 days following receipt of the 90 day Notice.
Following issuance of the 90-day notice (OCSE-1695), a NCP may avoid license suspension by contacting the local IV-D office and entering into an Agreed Order or written installment agreement with OCSE as described in Exception 4 of Section 4805. Agreed Orders and written installment agreements made after issuance of a 90-day notice should include a condition which requires that some payment be made by the NCP before expiration of the 90-day time frame following issuance of the OCSE-1695. In the event the NCP-contests the accuracy of the arrearage information or the duration of the delinquency, an appointment must be scheduled with the local IV-D office to resolve the issue. The local IV-D office will promptly attempt to resolve the complaint. Issues that can not be resolved by the local IV-D office should be forwarded to Central Office for an Administrative Hearing if the NCP requests.
An Administrative Hearing can not clear an outstanding failure to appear, body attachment, or bench warrant. These issues must be dealt with by the court. The NCP should be advised that legal action would be required for a determination on any of these issues. So long as the outstanding failure to appear, body attachment, or bench warrant remains, adverse action for license suspension must proceed under this policy.
Referral packets for administrative hearings must contain copies of the following:
* 90-day Notice (OCSE-1695)
* Noncustodial Party's request for a hearing
* Hearing statement completed by local office
* Copies of all child support orders
* Arrears summary
* Copies of any relevant correspondence between the NCP (or representative) and the Office of Child Support Enforcement.
The packet should be routed to the Central Office, Attention: Appeals and Hearings. The Appeals and Hearings Section will notify the NCP and the responsible local IV-D office of the date, time and location of the hearing. Also, the hearing scheduling notice shall recite that the NCP's failure to appear for the scheduled hearing will be considered a choice to waive the administrative hearing. The Appeals and Hearings Section will also confirm for the initiating local IV-D office that the hearing packet has been received and whether any additional information or documents are needed.
Administrative hearings on license suspension will be conducted in accordance with Section 7000, Rules of Order for Administrative Hearings, with the exception that 60 days are allowed to request an administrative hearing following receipt of the 90 day notice. Administrative hearings on license suspension are limited to a determination whether either of the two (2) Conditions under Section 4805 are present and whether any of the five (5) Exceptions are satisfied.
NCP's not satisfied with an agency administrative hearing decision have the right of appeal to a court of appropriate jurisdiction. Within thirty (30) days (60 days in the event of CDL suspension) from the effective date of the suspension, the noncustodial parent may appeal the suspension action by filing a petition in the chancery court or the juvenile division thereof as appropriate of the county wherein the child support order was entered. The petition is filed by the noncustodial parent with the appropriate Chancery Clerk and must be accompanied with a copy of the Notice of Suspension attached, or a copy of the final administrative hearing decision. The noncustodial parent is responsible for causing the Chancery Court Clerk to issue a summons and service of these documents on the OCSE Administrator. The case shall be tried de novo, but a certified copy of the complete administrative hearing record and transcript when available will be submitted to the Court by OCSE within 30 days from the date of service on the agency or within such further time as the Court may allow, but not exceeding an aggregate of 90 days.
Chancery and Juvenile Judges are vested with jurisdiction to determine whether the petitioner is entitled to license reinstatement or whether the decision of the hearing officer should be affirmed, modified, or reversed.
For persons paying child support pursuant to Ark. Ann. § 9-17-501 or § 9-17-502, the foreign order shall be registered by OCSE pursuant to § 9-17-601 et seq.
Central Office staff will have access to Driver Control files and will be responsible for keying any suspensions or reinstatements of driver's and commercial drivers licenses. All suspensions and reinstatements must be submitted in writing to Central Office, Attention: Appeals and Hearings Section. To ensure that the NCP is allowed 90 days from the receipt by mail of the Notice of Intent to Suspend License (OCSE-1695), a copy of this Notice must be retained in the case file with the signed certified mail receipt attached, whenever available. NCP's who pay their arrearage below an amount equal to six (6) months obligation must have their license reinstated. Following license suspension, a noncustodial parent may obtain license reinstatement by entering into an agreed order or written installment agreement with OCSE as described in Section 4805, Exception #4. The Agreed Order or written installment agreement should contain a provision requiring a lump sum payment in addition to requiring the periodic payment of current support and regular periodic payments on the arrearage/delinquency. It is imperative that the Central Office be notified to immediately take necessary actions to restore the license or permanent license plate of the noncustodial parent when the condition warranting suspension has been removed - However, if the license has otherwise expired, the NCP should be advised to contact the appropriate licensing authority to obtain a new license.
In some instances, NCP's may initiate action on their own accord resulting in a court order eliminating the presence of Condition 1 or 2 listed in section 4805. If the NCP takes such action eliminating the threshold condition for license suspension prior to the effective date of the intended suspension, the responsible field office must immediately notify the Appeals and Hearings Office to take action to set aside suspension activity* on the case and to notify the NCP accordingly.
In the event of fraud or mistake, resulting in a wrongful suspension, OCSE shall immediately notify the licensing authority involved to restore the license or permanent license plate of the noncustodial parent as appropriate.
Whenever OCSE or any of its local offices determines that a noncustodial parent has engaged in an activity not authorized per license suspension, a referral should be made to the licensing authority and/or to law enforcement, as appropriate. In some cases the local IV-D office may consider seeking a court injunction from the appropriate Chancery Court or Juvenile Division thereof restraining the noncustodial parent from any activity not permitted during the period of license suspension. The responsible IV-D attorney should be consulted if the local IV-D Office believes that injunctive relief should be pursued.
Semiannually, the Clerk of the Arkansas Supreme Court is requested to furnish the Office of Child Enforcement with a list of persons that possess an Arkansas Law License. NCP's on the list who meet one of the Conditions and none of the Exceptions of Section 4805 will be referred to the Clerk of Supreme Court for review of their license.
LICENSE
ATTACHMENT "A"
|
TYPE |
Arkansas Code TITLE |
|
1. Abstracters |
17 |
|
2. Accountants |
17 |
|
3. Agricultural inspectors |
2 |
|
4. Agricultural consultants |
17 |
|
5. Sale of alcoholic beverages |
3 |
|
6. Appraisers |
17 |
|
7. Architects |
17 |
|
8. Asbestos; removal, consultants, contractors, and training providers |
20 |
|
9. Athletic Agents |
17 |
|
10. Auctioneers |
17 |
|
11. Automobile clubs, agents |
23 |
|
12. Child care facilities; owners, operators |
20 |
|
13. Bail bondsmen |
17 |
|
14. Barbers |
17 |
|
15. Billiard halls; owners, operators |
14 |
|
16. Boiler inspectors, sales, installations |
.20 |
|
17. Bowling alleys; owners, operators |
14 |
|
18. Boxing |
17 |
|
19. Brokers, dealers, agents, and investment advisers |
23 |
|
20. Buyers of precious metals |
17 |
|
21. Child placement agencies |
9 |
|
22. Chiropractors |
17 |
|
23. Cigarettes and tobacco products; purchasing for resale, or selling |
4 |
|
24. Collection agencies |
17 |
|
25. Contractors |
17 |
|
26. Controlled substances; wholesale distributor |
20 |
|
26. Correspondence schools; owners, operators |
6 |
|
27. Cosmetology |
17 |
|
28. Counselors |
17 |
|
30. Dentist, dental hygienists |
17 |
|
31. Dietetics practice |
17 |
|
32. Disease intervention specialists |
17 |
|
33. Drivers license |
27 |
|
34. Drug precursor; manufacture, possession, transfer, transportation |
5 |
|
35. Electricians |
I7 |
|
36. Elevators/escalators, inspectors |
20 |
|
37. Embalmers and funeral directors |
17 |
|
38. Engineers |
17 |
|
39. Ferries; owners, operators |
27 |
|
40. Fires extinguisher; sales,' service installation, repair |
20 |
|
41. Fireworks dealers |
20 |
|
42. Fishing |
15 |
|
43. Foresters |
17 |
|
44. Fraternal benefit societies, agents |
23 |
|
45. Funeral homes |
17 |
|
46. Geologist |
17 |
|
47. Ginseng; retail sales, artificial propagation |
2 |
|
48. Going out of business sales |
4 |
|
49. Greyhound racing; owners, trainers |
23 |
|
50. Hazardous substances |
8 |
|
51. Healing arts |
17 |
|
52. Hearing aid dispensers |
17 |
|
53. Home Builders |
17 |
|
54. Home health services |
26 |
|
55. Horse racing; owner, trainer, jockey, jockey agent |
23 |
|
56. Hunting |
15 |
|
57. HVACR |
17 |
|
58. Insurance; agents, brokers, and.solicitors |
23 |
|
59. Itinerant merchants |
17 |
|
60. Landscape architects |
17 |
|
61. Liming materials; vendors |
2 |
|
62. Long term care facilities; administrators |
20 |
|
63. Massage therapists |
17 |
|
64. Medical waste; owners, operators |
20 |
|
65. Mental health; family home I or II |
20 |
|
66. Lay Midwives |
17 |
|
67. Milk sampler and grader |
20 |
|
68. Motor cycles |
27 |
|
69. Motor vehicles; dealers, distributors, manufacturers, salesmen |
23 |
|
70. Mussels taker; boat, buyer, shelltaker |
15 |
|
71. Narcotic drugs; manufacturers and wholesalers |
20 |
|
72. Nurseries'; owners, operators |
2 |
|
73. Nurses |
17 |
|
742. Occupational therapists |
17 |
|
753. Ophthalmic dispensers |
17 |
|
76. Optometrists |
17 |
|
77. Osteopaths |
17 |
|
78. Pest control |
17 |
|
79. Pesticides |
20 |
|
80. Pharmacists |
17 |
|
81. Physical therapists |
17 |
|
82. Physicians and surgeons |
17 |
|
83. Physician's Trained Assistants |
17 |
|
84. Plumbers |
17 |
|
85. Podiatrists |
17 |
|
86. Polygraph examiners |
17 |
|
87. Private investigators and private security agencies |
17 |
|
88.. Professional Fund Raisers and Solicitors |
17 |
|
89. Prophylactics; wholesale, retail |
20 |
|
90. Psychologists |
17 |
|
91. Real estate brokers and salesmen |
17 |
|
92. Residence and correspondence schools; owners, operators |
6 |
|
93. Respiratory care practitioners |
17 |
|
94. Security guards |
17 |
|
95. Septic tank cleaners |
17 |
|
96. Social workers |
17 |
|
97. Soil Classifiers |
17 |
|
98. Speech pathologists and audiologists |
17 |
|
99. Surveyors |
17 |
|
100. Teachers |
6 |
|
101. Transient merchants |
17 |
|
102. Veterinarians and Animal Technicians |
17 |
|
103. Voice stress analysis examiners |
17 |
|
104. Wastewater plant operators |
8 |
|
105. Water system operators |
17 |
|
106. Water well constructors |
17 |
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IMPACT OF LICENSE SUSPENSION
General Information
The Office of Child Support Enforcement has successfully implemented' an administrative process for suspension of commercial driver's licenses under legislation enacted in 1993. It has been proven that the vast majority of persons not paying on their child support obligation begin paying once they realize the consequences of their failure to pay court ordered child support. Noncustodial parents who are 6 months behind on child support can avoid license suspension by agreeing to meet their current court ordered child support obligation plus an additional amount to be applied toward satisfaction of unpaid arrearage. The majority of license suspension actions have been avoided or reinstated quickly when noncustodial parents agree to pay back support. No court actions have been necessary since the agency can quickly reinstate licenses upon agreement of the responsible parent to begin paying support.
Collection of child support from non-traditional wage earners is a difficult and often frustrating experience for families and front-line child support caseworkers. Traditional remedies such as . income withholding and tax refund offset do not work. Noncustodial parents who are self-employed hold some type of license that they use in the course of their business, whether it is a regular driver's license, business or professional license or a license to sell liquor, insurance or real estate or a commercial driver's license. In many cases, affecting the noncustodial parent's right to have a license is the only remedy available to collect child support.
OCSE has incurred very little additional costs since implementation of the commercial driver's license suspension program in 1994. This initiative has not required the addition of new staff or equipment. Some additional postage expense has been necessary, but even this amount has been minimal as the agency routinely corresponds with noncustodial parents. With implementation of the broader license suspension authority under Act 752 of 1995, the agency anticipates few increases in administrative costs due to the additional activity, as trained staff and adequate facilities are presently in place for this enforcement effort.
Nationally
* 15 million workers or 13% of those who filled income tax forms in 1991 were self-employed.
* 38.5% of total child support collections are from remedies other than income withholding, tax refund offset and unemployment compensation.
Other State's Experiences
* Maine collected $11,598,775 from August, 1993 to June, 1994 from 9,901 individuals through their administrative process for license revocation. Maine targets occupational professional and drivers licenses. As of June, 1994 only 8 licenses were actually revoked.
* California's administrative process for license revocation matched 10,000 noncustodial parent license holders with delinquent child support obligations in the first year. The estimated increase in collections is $1000 to $1200 per match.
The Arkansas Experience (CDL)
* From October, 1994 through July, 1995 over $187,000 in overdue child support payments was collected through the commercial driver's license suspension program.
* In September, 1995, a total. of 53 Installment Payment Agreements was entered with noncustodial parents following issuance of 90 day suspension notices, representing over $284,000 in child support arrearages. Over $17,000 was collected in lump sum payments; and over $36,000 in installment payment obligations was secured.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.