Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 22, § 118203 - Requirements for Case Closure
(a) Each local child support agency shall
establish and use a system for closing Title IV-D cases and shall close any
case when it meets at least one of the following case closure criteria:
(1) There is no longer a current support
order and no arrearage payments were made in the preceding twelve consecutive
months, and assigned and unassigned arrears total less than $500 or arrears are
unenforceable under state law. Situations to which this criterion apply
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) Reconciliation of the family.
(B) The death of a child for whom support is
owed.
(C) Paternity is established
and is the only Title IV-D service needed because both parents in a Title IV-A
grant are living together.
(D) A
child for whom support is sought dies before paternity can be
established.
(E) Cases with medical
support orders with specific dollar amounts and arrears which accrue under such
orders.
(F) Emancipation of the
youngest child.
(2) The
noncustodial parent or alleged father is deceased and no further action can be
taken, including a levy against the estate. The local child support agency
shall:
(A) Verify the death of the
noncustodial parent or alleged father.
(B) Document that attempts to identify assets
in the estate that could be levied against were unsuccessful. The closure
notice required by subsection (b) below, shall include information about
possible Social Security Administration death benefits pursuant to subsection
(b)(3)(C).
(3) Paternity
cannot be established because of one of the following:
(A) The youngest child requiring paternity
establishment has reached 18 years of age and there is no pending judicial
action to establish the child's paternity.
(B) A genetic test, or court, or
administrative process has excluded the alleged father and the custodial party
has attested under penalty of perjury that he or she does not know the identity
of other individuals who could be the father.
(C) A local child support agency, in
conjunction with the county welfare department, determines that the child's
best interest will not be served by establishing paternity in a case involving
incest or forcible rape, or a case where legal proceedings for adoption are
pending.
(D) Either the first or
the last name of the biological father is unknown and cannot be identified
after diligent efforts, including at least one face-to-face interview by the
local child support agency with the custodial party. For the purpose of this
subparagraph "diligent efforts" means acting on leads the custodial party may
provide that could help identify and locate the biological father, such as a
last known address or employer. The interview required in this subparagraph may
be conducted by telephone when the custodial party would have to travel at
least 60 miles, or take time from work to be interviewed face-to-face, or is
disabled, or lacks transportation.
(E) The child was conceived as the result of
artificial insemination of a woman other than the donor's wife, and the husband
of the woman, if any, did not consent to the insemination.
(4) The noncustodial parent's or alleged
father's residence, employment address, earnings and assets are unknown and the
local child support agency has made diligent but unsuccessful quarterly
attempts using all locate sources, pursuant to Section 113100, to locate the
noncustodial parent or alleged father and his/her earnings or assets. Such
efforts shall be made over a three-year period when there is sufficient
information to initiate an automated locate effort, or over a one-year period
when there is insufficient information to initiate an automated locate effort.
(A) For the purpose of this subparagraph,
"sufficient information" means the first and last name and date of birth,
and/or Social Security Number of the noncustodial parent or alleged
father.
(B) For the purpose of this
subparagraph, "diligent" means a local child support agency has done both of
the following:
1.For the one-year period,
contacted the custodial party at least once to ask for information which might
serve to further identify and locate the noncustodial parent or alleged
father.
2.Made every reasonable
effort to obtain the missing or incomplete Social Security Number of the
noncustodial parent or alleged father using all appropriate sources including,
but not limited to, the California Parent Locator Service, the Department of
Motor Vehicles, the Social Security Administration, and the Federal Parent
Locator Service.
(5) The local child support agency determines
that the noncustodial parent has no earnings or assets which could be levied or
attached for support and the noncustodial parent cannot pay support for the
duration of the child's minority for any of the following reasons:
(A) The noncustodial parent is
institutionalized in a psychiatric facility.
(B) The noncustodial parent is incarcerated
with no chance of parole.
(C) The
noncustodial parent has a medically verified total and permanent disability
with no evidence of support potential.
(D) The noncustodial parent receives SSI/SSP
and has no other attachable income or assets.
(6) The noncustodial parent lives in a
foreign country.
(A) The noncustodial parent
resides in a country other than Mexico and all of the following apply:
1.The noncustodial parent is a citizen of
that country.
2.The noncustodial
parent does not work for the United States government or a company which has
its headquarters or offices in the United States.
3.The noncustodial parent has no reachable
domestic earnings or assets.
4.California does not have reciprocity with
the country.
(B) The
noncustodial parent resides in Mexico and in addition to the criteria specified
in (A)1. through 3. above, the case is a California-initiated request for
reciprocal child support services with Mexico, and at least one of the
following apply:
1.Paternity is at issue and
either California does not have the basis to establish paternity using long-arm
jurisdiction, specified in Section
4905, Family
Code, or use of long-arm jurisdiction to establish paternity is appropriate and
has been attempted but the local child support agency is unable to establish
paternity.
2.The noncustodial
parent's location is not known.
3.The noncustodial parent is not known to be
working, or the local child support agency is unable to determine the
noncustodial parent's employer.
4.The local child support agency cannot be
provided with a photograph of the noncustodial parent.
5.The only issue in the case is retroactive
support for past public assistance paid.
(7) A local child support agency has provided
non-Title IV-D location-only services, pursuant to Section 113200, as requested
by the custodial party, legal guardian, attorney, or agent, of a child who is
not receiving public assistance, whether or not such services were
successful.
(8) A recipient of
services who is currently not receiving public assistance under Title IV-A,
requests closure of a case and there is no assignment for medical support and
no assigned arrears.
(9) The court
determines it would be inappropriate to establish a child support order for a
case in which retroactive child support for past assistance paid is the only
issue.
(10) There has been a
finding of good cause, as specified in Section 11477.04, or Section
14008.6,
Welfare and Institutions Code, or other exceptions to cooperation with the
local child support agency, and the State or county welfare department has
determined that support enforcement may not proceed without risk of harm to the
child or caretaker.
(11) Except as
specified in subparagraph (C), a local child support agency is unable to
contact a non-Title IV-A recipient of services over a 60-day period after
having made at least one attempt to contact the recipient of services by
telephone, sending a letter by first-class mail to the last known address of
the recipient of services, and after using the Department of Motor Vehicles and
other locate sources to locate the recipient of services.
(A) The 60-day period shall commence with the
date that the contact letter is mailed to the last known address of the
recipient of services.
(B) A local
child support agency shall not mail the case closure letter required by
subsection (b), below, until 60 days have elapsed from the date the contact
letter was mailed to the recipient of services; and until all responses from
queried locate sources have been received indicating no new information is
available that would allow the case to remain open.
(C) When the recipient of services is a
custodial party and a local child support agency has a child support collection
that needs to be distributed to that custodial party, the local child support
agency shall attempt to locate the custodial party for six months, pursuant to
Section113100(g), before the case qualifies for closure under this
criterion.
(D) A Medically Needy
Only recipient's case shall not be closed under this closure criterion. A local
child support agency shall contact the county welfare department for assistance
in locating the recipient of services.
(12) A non-Title IV-A recipient of services,
except a Medically Needy Only recipient, is uncooperative and an action by the
recipient of services is essential for the next step in providing Title IV-D
services. A local child support agency shall explain the incident of the
noncooperation to the recipient of services in writing and warn the recipient
of services that further noncooperation may result in case closure, and shall
document circumstances of noncooperation in the case record. Noncooperation
shall include any action or inaction by the recipient of services which is
essential for the next step in providing Title IV-D services such as:
(A) Continuing to accept direct child support
payments.
(B) Failing to attend
hearings.
(C) Refusing to sign
forms.
(D) Refusing to report
private attorney actions.
(13) A recipient of services has moved to
another county or state and both, subparagraphs (A) and (B) apply:
(A) The recipient of services applied for
services in the other county or state.
(B) The local child support agency documents
in the case record that contact was made with the other county or state to
confirm that the recipient of services has applied for services in the other
county or state; and, in the case of an inter-county transfer, to confirm that
the case, with its support order and arrears, has been transferred.
(C) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and
(B), above, if there are assigned arrears, a case shall not be closed under
this closure criterion until one of the following occurs:
1.The assigned arrears are
collected.
2.The case is closed
under another closure criterion.
3.Responsibility for collecting the assigned
arrears is transferred to another county or state.
(14) A local child support agency
documents failure by an initiating state in an interstate case to take an
action which is essential for the next step in providing Title IV-D services.
(A) If California is the responding state and
a local child support agency needs additional information to process an
interstate case, that local child support agency shall send to the initiating
state a notice requesting the initiating state to provide the information
within 30 days, or provide a response within 30 days as to when the information
shall be provided
1.If the information or
notice of when information will be provided is not received by the local child
support agency after 30 days from mailing the request specified in subparagraph
(A) above, the local child support agency shall notify the initiating state
that the case will be closed in 60 days.
2.The local child support agency shall also
send a copy of the closure notification to the initiating state's central
registry with a notation requesting any assistance the central registry can
provide the initiating state's Title IV-D agency in obtaining information
necessary to keep the case open.
(B) When the initiating state requests case
closure and does not provide the case closure criterion, or provides a case
closure criterion that is inconsistent with subparagraphs (1) through (13) and
(15), the local child support agency shall send the initiating state a written
notice of intent to close the case in 60 days, unless the initiating state
provides a case closure criterion that is consistent with subparagraphs (1)
through (13) and (15).
(C) The case
shall be closed after 60 days have elapsed from the date of mailing the closure
notice specified in subparagraph (A)1. and (B) above, if the initiating state
does not provide the information needed to process the interstate case or a
response stating when the information will be provided.
(15) A Title IV-D case is erroneously opened
and both of the following apply:
(A) No Title
IV-D services can be appropriately provided for the case.
(B) There is clear and complete documentation
in the case file explaining why the case was erroneously opened and why no
Title IV-D services can be provided.
(b) A local child support agency shall notify
the recipient of services in writing when closing a case pursuant to
subsections (a)(1) through (6) and (11) through (14), above, of the local child
support agency's intent to close the case.
(1)
Written notice shall not be provided for cases closed pursuant to subsections
(a)(7), (8), (9), (10) or (15), above.
(2) Written notice of case closure shall be
mailed to the last known address of a recipient of services 60 days prior to
closing a case. When the only address for a recipient of services is a Title
IV-A agency, a local child support agency shall send the closure notice to that
Title IV-A agency's address.
(3) A
notice of intent to close the case shall, at a minimum, include the following
information:
(A) The reason the case is being
closed.
(B) The circumstances under
which the case will be reopened, such as receipt of new information regarding
the location of the noncustodial parent's or alleged father's residence or
earnings or assets, as specified in subsection (c), below.
(C) Whom to contact to apply for possible
Social Security death benefits for cases closed for the reasons specified in
subsection (a)(2), above.
(4) When a case qualifies for closure
pursuant to subsection (a)(1) because the parents have reconciled and the
reconciliation makes the family ineligible for public assistance, and there are
no arrears assigned to the state that are eligible for enforcement, a local
child support agency shall mail a case closure notice to both the custodial
party and noncustodial parent. The notice shall state both of the following:
(A) The case is being closed because the
family has reconciled.
(B) Title
IV-D service shall be terminated.
(5) A case shall remain open if:
(A) A recipient of services responds to a
closure notice with information that could lead to the establishment of
paternity or a support order or enforcement of an order; or
(B) Contact is re-established with a
recipient of services within the timeframes specified in subsection
(a)(11).
(c)
The local child support agency shall reopen a case that has been closed when a
non-Title IV-A former recipient of services requests that the case be reopened
and can provide information that could lead to the establishment of paternity
or a support order or enforcement of an order. When a non-Title IV-A former
recipient of services requests resumption of Title IV-D services, the recipient
of services shall complete a new application package pursuant to Section
112100(b)(2).
(d) Closed Title IV-D
case records shall be retained for a minimum of four years and four months from
the date of closure, unless otherwise specified, and summary criminal history
information shall be disposed of, in accordance with record disposal
requirements specified in Section111460.
(e) When a local child support agency closes
a case, it shall evaluate the case to determine whether it is appropriate to
release, remove, rescind or terminate establishment and enforcement actions
initiated against the obligor.
(1) A local
child support agency shall release, remove, rescind or terminate all
establishment and enforcement actions, when an obligor never had or no longer
has a current child support or a medical support obligation, and no arrearage
exists.
(2) For purposes of
subparagraph (1) above, release, removal, rescission or termination of
establishment and enforcement actions includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
(A) Dismissal of Summons and
Complaints without prejudice. A Summons and Complaint may be dismissed only
when a judgment for support has not been entered; or, when a judgment for
support has been entered and the court has entered an order to set aside or
vacate the judgment.
(B)
Termination of income withholding orders and National Medical Support Notices.
When the criteria set forth in subparagraph (1) above, are satisfied, such
orders shall be terminated under any of the following circumstances, unless the
court order specifies alternative termination provisions:
1.The child reaches the age of 18, or, if the
child continues to be a full-time high school student, is unmarried, and is not
self-supporting, then at the time the child completes the 12th grade or reaches
the age of 19, whichever occurs first.
2.The child for whom child support is ordered
has legally emancipated.
3.The
child for whom child support is ordered has died.
(C) Removal of an obligor's name and social
security number from all State and federal intercepts.
(D) Release of personal and real property
liens.
(3) If a local
child support agency closes a case when the obligor continues to have a current
child support or medical support obligation or unassigned arrears exist
pursuant to subparagraph (8) of subsection (a), the local child support agency
shall release, remove, rescind or terminate establishment or enforcement
actions as appropriate. For purposes of this subparagraph, release, removal,
rescission or termination of establishment and enforcement actions includes,
but is not limited to, the following:
(A)
Removal of obligor's name and Social Security Number from all State and federal
intercepts.
(B) Substitution of
payee on income withholding and medical support order. The local child support
agency shall substitute the obligee as the payee on any income withholding and
medical support orders.
(C)
Substitution of payee on real property lien. The local child support agency
shall file and record a substitution of payee in each county in which a
judgment or abstract of judgment has previously been recorded.
(D) Substitution of payee on notice of child
support lien or lien against personal property lien. The local child support
agency shall file a substitution of payee with the Secretary of State for any
notice of child support lien previously filed pursuant to Section
17523, Family
Code.
(4) When a
recipient of services has a family violence indicator, a local child support
agency shall obtain from a recipient of services a substitute address, when
necessary for releasing, removing, rescinding or terminating establishment and
enforcement actions and shall not disclose the whereabouts of the recipient of
services and the affected child(ren) unless ordered to do so by a court of
competent jurisdiction after proper notice and hearing.
Notes
Note: Authority cited: Sections 17306, 17310 and 17312, Family Code. Reference: Sections 4506.2, 5237,7613, 17502, 17523 and 17531, Family Code; and 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 302.35, 303.3 and 303.11.
2. New article 2 (section 118203) and section refiled 8-22-2002 as an emergency; operative 8-22-2002 (Register 2002, No. 34). Pursuant to Family Code section 17306(e)(2), a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 2-18-2003 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
3. Certificate of Compliance as to 8-22-2002 order transmitted to OAL 2-13-2003 and filed 3-24-2003 (Register 2003, No. 13).
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