Section 75-02-04.1-11 - Parental responsibility for children in foster care or guardianship careIt is important that parents maintain a tie to and responsibility for their child when that child is in foster care. Financial responsibility for the support of that child is one component of the maintenance of the relationship of parent and child. Parents of a child subject to a guardianship order under North Dakota Century Code chapter 27-20.1 or 30.1-27 remain financially responsible for the support of that child.
1. In order to determine monthly net income, it is first necessary to identify the parent or parents who have financial responsibility for any child entering foster care or guardianship care, and to determine the net income of those financially responsible parents. If the parents of a child in foster care or guardianship care reside together, and neither parent has a duty to support any child who is not also a child of the other parent, the income of the parents, including imputed income of each parent, if applicable, must be combined and treated as the income of the obligor. In all other cases, each parent is treated as an obligor, and each parent's support obligation must be separately determined.2. Unless subsection 3 applies to the obligor, the net income and the total number of children are applied to section 75-02-04.1-10 to determine the child support amount. That child support amount is then divided by the total number of children to determine the child support obligation for each child in foster care or guardianship care. For purposes of this subsection, the "total number of children" means: a. If a child entering foster care or guardianship care resides in the obligor's home, the total number of children residing in the obligor's home to whom the obligor owes a duty of support, including the child or children entering foster care or guardianship care, plus any other full siblings of the child or children entering foster care or guardianship care to whom the obligor owes a duty of support who are not residing in the obligor's home; orb. If no child entering foster care or guardianship care resides in the obligor's home, the child or children entering foster care or guardianship care plus the full siblings of the child or children entering foster care or guardianship care to whom the obligor owes a duty of support.3. If an obligor owes a duty of support to any child other than the child or children described in subdivision a or b of subsection 2, as applicable to that obligor, the support obligation must be determined through application of section 75-02-04.1-06.1 such that:a. The total number of children, as described in subdivision a or b of subsection 2, as applicable to that obligor, are treated as one obligee; andb. The amount resulting from the application of section 75-02-04.1-06.1 for the children described in subdivision a or b of subsection 2, as applicable to that obligor, is divided by the total number of such children to determine the child support obligation for each child in foster care or guardianship care.4. For purposes of subsection 2, a full sibling of the child or children entering foster care or guardianship care is a brother or sister who has both parents in common with the child or children entering foster care or guardianship care.N.D. Admin Code 75-02-04.1-11
Effective February 1, 1991; amended effective January 1, 1995; August 1, 1999; August 1, 2003; July 1, 2011.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 2023-389, July 2023, effective 7/1/2023.General Authority: NDCC 50-06-16, 50-09-25
Law Implemented: NDCC 14-09-09.7, 50-09-02(16); 42 USC 667