Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-01-48-.01 - CHILD SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS

(1) Introduction. The Office of Child Support Services is the agency with responsibility for the administration of the requirements under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act to locate absent parents, establish paternity, collect support payments, and recover any overpayments due to the family's retention of assigned support.

(2) Support is defined as court-ordered or voluntary money payments made to or on behalf of, any member of a Families First assistance unit by an absent parent (legally recognized parent, or natural parent who admits paternity). Such support is assigned to the state, pursuant to state law, as a condition of Families First eligibility. Spousal support is also assigned if it was ordered at the time of the child support order by a court.

(3) Conditions of Families First Eligibility Relating to Child Support. As a condition of Families First eligibility for him/herself, each applicant for or recipient of aid on behalf of a child must:

(a) Assign to the state any rights to support from any other person that the A/R may have in behalf of any member of the assistance group. This assignment includes past support rights which have accrued at the time of such assignment. There is no waiver of the assignment requirement.

(b) Cooperate with the state in:

1. Identifying and locating the absent parent(s);

2. Establishing paternity if necessary;

3. Obtaining support payments.

4. Identify any third party that may be liable for care and services available under the state's Title XIX state plan in behalf of the applicant/recipient or any other family member for whom the A/R is applying for or receiving assistance.

(c) As an element of cooperation, turn over to the state any support paid directly to the applicant/recipient, whether voluntary or court-ordered.

(4) Summary of the Treatment of Support Payments.

(a) When an assignment is in effect on a Families First case, any support paid to or on behalf of the assistance group members must go to the Department to be disbursed in accordance with federal regulations.

(b) Support may or may not be court ordered. Prior to the establishment of an order of support, the actual monthly amount of voluntary support, less the child support bonus, is tested against the grant or appropriate need standard to (re)determine eligibility. In case of court ordered support, the court ordered amount, less the child support bonus, is tested against the appropriate need standard. Any excess amount paid over the court ordered amount of support by the absent parent is used by Child Support to reimburse arrearages owed the state and federal governments for the Families First payment. If there are no arrearages, the overage is credited to "futures" to be used for reimbursement purposes as needed.

(c) If the support payment, less the child support bonus, is insufficient to meet the family's needs by DHS grant standards, the family receives the full Families First grant to which it is entitled, disregarding the support. The support payment is used to reimburse state and federal Families First funds expended on the family.

(d) If the support payments do meet the needs of the family (or children), the Families First case must be terminated.

(5) Cases Subject to Support Procedures. Any Families First case in which eligibility is based upon absence of a parent is subject to child support requirements and will be referred to Child Support upon approval of the Families First case and at the time of an addition of a child(ren) to the assistance group. Cases in which the grant is less than ten dollars ($10.00) must also be referred to IV-D. Referrals for the absent parent(s) of a minor parent who is the caretaker of her Families First case or a minor parent who is a dependent child in a Families First case are also required. The following types of Families First AGs are exempt from support processes and are not referred to the IV-D agency even where eligibility is based on absence:

(a) "Caretaker Only" cases in which the needy child is an SSI recipient.

(b) Absence due to court ordered public service in lieu of incarceration.

(c) Single parent adoptions.

(d) Assistance units consisting of a pregnant woman only.

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-01-48-.01

Original rule filed December 2, 1996; effective February 15, 1997. Public necessity rule filed July 2, 2007; expired December 14, 2007. Amendment filed October 1, 2007; effective December 15, 2007.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-201 et seq., 4-5-202, 4-5-209, 71-1-105, 71-3-152, 71-3-153 and 71-3-154; 71-3-158(d)(2)(D); 42 U.S.C. §§ 601 et seq., 42 U.S.C. § 608(a)(2) and (3), 42 U.S.C. 608(a)(6)(A), 42 U.S.C. § 608(b)(3), 42 U.S.C. § 609(a)(5) and (14) and 42 U.S.C. §§ 654 and 657; Public Acts of 1996, Chapter 950, and 45 CFR 232 ; Deficit Reduction Act 2005 (Pub. L. 109-171 §§ 7101 and 7102, February 8, 2006); 71 Federal Register 37454 (June 29, 2006); and Acts 2007, Chapter 31.