218 R.I. Code R. 218-RICR-20-00-2.7

Current through November 7, 2024

Section 218-RICR-20-00-2.7 - Cooperation with the Office of Child Support

2.7.1Assignment of Support Rights

A. An applicant for or recipient of cash assistance for and on behalf of herself or himself and for and on behalf of a child(ren) or children, shall be deemed, without the necessity of signing any document other than the Application for Assistance, to have made an assignment to the Department of Human Services pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-6-9 against any parent failing to or obligated to provide for the support and maintenance of any minor child(ren) for the period of time that assistance is being paid by the Department.

B. Additionally, the Department of Human Services, Office of Child Support Services (DHS-OCSS), is authorized to perform the act of instituting suit to establish paternity and/or to collect support for said child(ren) who receives or received assistance from DHS. However, the OCSS will not pursue a support order against a non-custodial parent where a custodial parent or her/his child would be put at risk of physical or emotional harm.

2.7.2Referral to the Office of Child Support

A. The DHS agency representative automatically refers the applicant's case to DHS-OCSS electronically after approval of eligibility. If a good cause for refusal has been determined, the DHS agency representative correctly codes the electronic case record.

B. In the case of a minor head of household who is not living with her parents, a referral to the Office of Child Support Services is required for both the teen parent and any other child(ren) in the household.

2.7.3Cooperation in Obtaining Support

A. An explanation must be given by the agency representative that a parent or caretaker relative must assist DHS and DHS-OCSS by providing all relevant information in seeking support from a person who has a legal duty to support the child(ren) and/or in establishing paternity and seeking support from the putative father unless good cause for refusing to do so is determined to exist. The Notice Concerning Good Cause for Refusal to Cooperate, a copy of which is included in the intake package, is reviewed with the applicant who is requested to sign a copy for the case record. See Child Support Rules and Regulations (Part 30-00-1 of this Title) for further discussion on child support processing for active RI Works families

B. An applicant or recipient must cooperate with the agency for each child for whom assistance is applied or received (unless good cause for refusing to do so has been determined to exist) in:

1. Identifying and locating the parent of a child for whom assistance is claimed;

2. Establishing the paternity of a child born out of wedlock for whom assistance is claimed;

3. Obtaining support payments for the applicant or recipient and for a child for whom assistance is claimed; and

4. Obtaining any other payments or property due the applicant or recipient or the child from an absent parent.

5. In the case of a minor head of household, a referral to the Office of Child Support Services is required for both the teen parent and any other child(ren) in the household.

C. To cooperate in achieving the above objectives, at the request of DHS or DHS-OCSS, the applicant or recipient must:

1. Appear, as necessary, to provide verbal, written, or documentary evidence, known to, possessed by, or reasonably obtainable by her/him.

2. Appear as a witness at court or other hearings or proceedings, as necessary.

3. Provide information, or attest to the lack of information, under penalty of perjury.

4. Forward to the agency any support payments received from the absent parent which are covered by the assignment.

2.7.4Good Cause for Refusing to Cooperate

A. Every applicant or recipient is given an opportunity to claim good cause for refusing to cooperate. A Notice Concerning Good Cause for Refusal to Cooperate is read by the applicant/recipient, explained by the DHS agency representative and signed and dated, in duplicate, by each. The applicant/recipient retains a copy. The second (2nd) copy is filed in the case record. Signatures can be captured telephonically.

B. Good cause applies only to cooperation. The eligibility requirement regarding assignment is not affected by a good cause determination. If good cause is claimed, the applicant/recipient is advised that s/he must state the basis of the claim and present corroborative evidence within twenty (20) days of the claim; or, s/he must provide sufficient information to enable the investigation of the existence of the circumstance; or, provide sworn statements from individuals to support the claim as specified on the Notice Concerning Good Cause for Refusal to Cooperate.

C. A determination of good cause is based on the evidence supplied which establishes the claim; or, an investigation by the agency of the circumstance which confirms the claim; or, a combination of evidence and investigation; or, when the claim is one of anticipated physical harm without evidence, the investigation supports the credibility of the claimant. The determination as to whether good cause does or does not exist should be made within thirty (30) days of the good cause claim unless the record documents that the agency needs additional time because the information required to verify the claim cannot be obtained within the time standard.

D. If the reason that the information is not available is that the client did not present the corroborative evidence within twenty (20) days of the claim, the record must document that the agency determined that the applicant/recipient required additional time to obtain the evidence, the amount of additional time allowed, and that this decision had supervisory approval. The final determination that good cause does or does not exist, including the findings and basis for the decision, must be included in the electronic case record.

E. The DHS representative will obtain verification and/or conduct an investigation in order to make the determination. If sufficient information to conduct an investigation is provided, an otherwise eligible individual is provided assistance (or assistance is continued) pending the final determination on the good cause claim.

2.7.5When Cooperation is not in Best Interest

A. Cooperation is determined to be against the best interest of the child, if:

1. The individual's cooperation is reasonably anticipated to result in physical or emotional harm to the child, mother, or other relative with whom the child is living. (Physical or emotional harm must be determined to be of a genuine and serious nature. The mere belief that cooperation would result in harm is not sufficient basis for a finding of good cause. The emotional harm to the mother must be of such a serious nature that the capacity to care for the child adequately would be reduced.); or

2. It would be harmful to the child for whom support would be sought because the child was conceived as a result of incest or forcible rape; or

3. Legal proceedings for adoption of the child are pending before a court of competent jurisdiction; or

4. The individual is currently being assisted by a public or licensed private social agency to resolve the issue of whether to maintain custody of the child or release her or him for adoption and the discussions have not gone on for more than three (3) months; or

5. There is anticipated physical harm to the parent without corroborative evidence.

2.7.6Corroborative Evidence for Good Cause

A. Corroborative evidence upon which a determination of good cause is based without further agency investigation is limited to documents similar to the following which must be presented within twenty (20) days of the claim:

1. Birth certificates, medical, or law enforcement records which indicate that the child was conceived as a result of incest or forcible rape.

2. Court documents or other records which indicate that legal proceedings for adoption are pending before a court of competent jurisdiction.

3. Court, medical, criminal, child protective services, social services, psychological, or law enforcement records which indicate that the putative father or absent parent might inflict physical or emotional harm on the child or caretaker relative.

4. Medical records which indicate emotional health history and present emotional health status of the caretaker relative (parent or loco parentis) or the child for whom support is sought or, written statements from a mental health professional indicating a diagnosis or prognosis concerning the emotional health of the caretaker relative or the child for whom support is sought.

5. A written statement from a public or licensed private social agency indicating that the individual is being assisted by the agency to resolve the issue of whether to maintain custody of the child or release him/her for adoption, and the discussions have not gone on for more than three (3) months.

B. If the evidence is insufficient, the DHS agency representative will promptly notify the applicant/recipient that additional corroborative evidence is needed and specify the type of document needed. The DHS representative will assist in obtaining the needed evidence if requested to do so by the individual. This assistance might be in the form of advising the individual how to go about obtaining the documents, or, if requested, undertaking reasonable efforts to obtain the evidence, if s/he is not reasonably able to obtain it by him or herself.

C. When sufficient information to permit an investigation is provided, or when the claim is one of anticipated physical harm without corroborative evidence and the DHS representative considers the claim credible and corroborative evidence is not available, the DHS representative will conduct an investigation. In conducting the investigation, the DHS representative will not contact the absent parent or putative parent unless such contact is determined to be necessary to establish the claim. Prior to making any contact, the applicant or recipient will be notified in order for him/her to present additional evidence or information that the contact is unnecessary or he/she can withdraw the application, or the good cause claim can be denied.

D. On the basis of the evidence or the results of the investigation, the DHS agency representative makes a decision on the applicant/recipient's good cause claim as described in §2.7.7 of this Part.

E. Emotional and Physical Harm Defined

1. Physical harm and emotional harm, as defined, must be of a serious nature. It must be demonstrated to the DHS agency representative that there exists an emotional impairment that substantially affects the individual's functioning for a finding of good cause for emotional harm to be made.

2. If a determination is based in whole or in part upon the anticipation of emotional harm to the child, parent, or other caretaker relative, consideration is given to the following:

a. The present emotional state of the individual subject to emotional harm;

b. The emotional health history of the individual;

c. Intensity and probable duration of the emotional upset;

d. Degree of cooperation to be required; and the extent of involvement of the child in paternity establishment or support enforcement activity to be undertaken.

3. The DHS agency representative can find good cause on the basis of anticipated physical harm without corroborative evidence if the agency considers the claim credible without corroborative evidence and if such corroborative evidence is not available. For example, battered women are often too afraid or ashamed to tell anyone of the beatings they have received and would therefore be unable to corroborate a valid good cause claim.

4. In this case, the claimant has the burden of establishing her credibility as well as explaining why no evidence is available.

5. The agency is required to investigate this type of claim and while it may not establish the good cause circumstance, it should establish the credibility of the claimant.

2.7.7Good Cause Decision

A. After the DHS representative has made a determination that good cause exists, and the case has been referred to DHS-OCSS, the OCSS representative evaluates the evidence and information in the electronic case record. The OCSS representative makes a determination whether support enforcement activity can be conducted without risk of harm to the child or caretaker relative if taken without the caretaker's cooperation.

B. Review of Good Cause Finding

1. A review of the good cause decision must be made at each redetermination by the DHS agency representative. If it is determined that circumstances have changed such that good cause no longer exists, there must be enforcement of the cooperation requirements.

2. The failure of a parent or caretaker relative to comply with child support enforcement cooperation requirements without good cause results in the imposition of a sanction as outlined in §2.7.8 of this Part. DHS-OCSS notifies the DHS representative of any failure to cooperate with that agency and the DHS representative must take the necessary action on the case.

2.7.8Consequences of Non-Cooperation with OCSS

A. Due to the COVID-19 virus and the national State of Emergency, the Department of Human Services has temporarily suspended the compliancy requirements of plan participation as a condition of eligibility. The requirement of compliance may continue based on the individual's ability to participate from home. If participation is not possible, sanctions may be imposed during the COVID-19 crisis.

B. The failure of a parent or caretaker relative to cooperate with DHS-OCSS in establishing paternity or in establishing, modifying, or enforcing a support order with respect to a child and failure to qualify for good cause results in the imposition of a financial sanction.

C. The financial sanction is equal to a twenty-five percent (25%) reduction of the entire assistance unit's standard of assistance before the application of any income disregards. The sanction renders the noncompliant parent or caretaker relative ineligible for cash assistance. However, the noncompliant parent or caretaker relative will still be required to cooperate with, and participate in, employment plan opportunities. Further, after three (3) months' sanction due to non-compliance with OCSS (or due to similar non-compliance with employment plan opportunities), the family unit will be subject to closure due to full-family sanction.

D. DHS-OCSS notifies the RI Works Program representative of the failure to cooperate, and the RI Works Program representative must take the necessary action on the case.

E. The reduction in assistance and ineligibility of the sanctioned individual shall continue until the parent/caretaker relative who refused to comply with child support cooperation requirements consents to and cooperates with the agency in satisfying those requirements, or until the three (3) month full-family sanction begins. DHS-OCSS notifies the RI Works Program staff of any compliance for appropriate follow-up by the RI Works Program representative.

218 R.I. Code R. 218-RICR-20-00-2.7

Adopted effective 1/6/2019
Amended effective 2/16/2020
Amended effective 2/27/2022
Amended effective 11/11/2022
Amended effective 8/26/2023
Amended effective 11/4/2023