218 R.I. Code R. 218-RICR-30-00-1.23

Current through December 3, 2024

Section 218-RICR-30-00-1.23 - Child Support Financial Management

1.23.1 Legal Basis

A. Whenever an individual assigns his/her support rights to the State, that assignment constitutes an obligation owed to Rhode Island by the individual responsible for providing such support.

B. Such an obligation is collectible under all applicable State and local processes. Likewise, whenever the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) or such other department, agency, society, institution or person having the charge, care or custody of a child must pay for the support and maintenance of a child, the parents of the child are liable for the support and maintenance of the child and are liable for the reimbursement to the DCYF or other department, agency, society, institution or person having the charge, care, or custody of a child for the support and maintenance of the child. It is within the discretion of DCYF, in accordance with their policy and Regulations, to determine which cases to refer.

1.23.2 Collections by the State

A. The State Disbursement Unit is operated by the Office of Child Support Services and utilizes the automated procedures, electronic processes, including electronic funds transfer (EFT) provisions and computer driven technology for the collection and disbursement of support payments, including procedures for receipt from parents, employers and other States, and for disbursement to custodial parents and other custodial parents for:

1. Accurate identification of payments;

2. To ensure prompt disbursement of the custodial parent's share of any payment; and

3. To furnish any parent, upon request, timely information on the current status of support payments.

B. The Office of Child Support Services shall distribute all amounts payable within two (2) business days after receipt from the employer or other source of periodic income. In cases in which support is assigned to the State and where there is an existing Child Support order made payable to the custodial parent, after notice to the non-custodial parent and custodial parent, the State Disbursement Unit shall direct the non-custodial parent through a wage withholding order to change the payee to the appropriate in-State or intergovernmental government entity without the necessity for a court order or hearing.

C. Arrearage

An arrearage is a debt that results because of an unpaid support obligation. An arrearage accrues at the rate of the unpaid periodic child support amount.

D. Unreimbursed Assistance

The Department of Human Services shall not seek reimbursement for RIW remitted either from the custodial or non-custodial parent, except in cases of fraud.

E. Interest on Arrearages

All alimony and support obligations established under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 15-5 that are in arrears shall be subject to the imposition of interest at the rate of one percent (1%) per month on the unpaid balance.

F. Fees

1. A fee represents an amount due as payment for services rendered.

2. IV-D fees include but are not limited to DNA testing fees, non-assistance (NA) fees, and services for location only.

1.23.3Verification of Child Support Payments

A. When calculating a child support debt, the Child Support Services agent will document any information used to determine the debt amount. In addition, s/he will explain how, why, and when the information was obtained and exactly what it verifies.

B. The following resources can be used in calculating the amount of child support owed:

1. The amount of assistance paid on behalf of the payee and each child;

2. The amount of court ordered support due. This will be calculated by using the original court order and any subsequent modifications;

3. The non-custodial parent's payment receipts, the custodial parent's Affidavit of Arrearage, and/or the court payment records.

1.23.4Distribution

A. Distribution refers to the act of collecting child support payments and disbursing those payments to the proper individual or agency.

B. Prior to October 1, 1998, for purposes of distribution in IV-D cases, amounts collected, other than collections made through Federal or State income tax offset, are treated first (1^st) as payment on the required child support obligation for the month in which the support was collected, next applied to any applicable "A" (RIW) arrearage, and then "N" (Non-RIW) arrearage.

C. Amounts collected through Federal and State income tax refund offset must be applied to arrears owed to the State ("A"), then applied to arrears owed to the custodial parent ("N"), unless otherwise specified in a support order(s).

D. On or after October 1, 1998, distribution is subject to new criteria based on the custodial parent's RIW or former RIW status, assignment requirements, and priority ordering of arrearages as outlined in the following subsections.

E. The Office of Child Support Services will re-process child support collections under the(se) new Rules, and to the extent that additional monies are owed to families, such payments will be authorized. If families are adversely affected by the new Rules, no amount will be owed for any collection made prior to July, 1999.

F. Date of Collection This section is divided into policy and procedures to be followed based on support collected before October 1, 1998 and on or after October 1, 1998.

1. Support collected before October 1, 1998:

a. Intergovernmental Cases

(1) For collection and distribution purposes, an intergovernmental case is one in which one (1) of the parties resides in Rhode Island and the other resides out-of-state. The following Rules shall be used for determining the date a child support payment is made by a non-custodial parent in intergovernmental cases:

(AA) The date of collection for distribution purposes in IV-D intergovernmental cases shall be the date on which the payment is received by the IV-D agency in Rhode Island or the legal entity of any State or political subdivision actually making the collection, whichever is earliest. For intergovernmental cases, the responding IV-D agency must include sufficient information to identify the case and indicate when the payment was received at the initial point of receipt by the IV-D agency or legal entity of the State or political subdivision actually making the collection, whichever is earlier. In the absence of sufficient information, the Office of Child Support Services must promptly obtain this data.

(BB) When the custodial parent turns in support payments which were received directly from the non-custodial parent, the Office of Child Support Services will use the date on the check or money order as the date of collection unless the custodial parent can provide proof that the payment was made at another time. If the support payments were forwarded to the custodial parent from another jurisdiction, the Office of Child Support Services must contact the other jurisdiction to ascertain the date the collection was made in that jurisdiction.

b. In-State Cases

(1) An in-state case is one in which both parties reside in Rhode Island. The following rules shall be used for determining the date a child support payment is made by a non-custodial parent in in-state cases:

(AA) With respect to in-state payments made through wage or other income withholding that are received by the IV-D agency, the date of collection for distribution purposes shall be the date the wages or other income are withheld (pursuant to a court or administrative order for income withholding) to meet the support obligation. If the employer fails to report the date of withholding, the IV-D agency must reconstruct that date by contacting the employer, or comparing actual amounts collected with the pay schedule specified in the court or administrative order;

(BB) With respect to in-state payments (except for tax offset, income withholding collections, and payments made in person at the Rhode Island Family Court or any DHS office), the date of collection for distribution purposes shall be the date the payment is mailed as evidenced by a legible United States Postal Service postmark or a legibly dated receipt from a commercial carrier. For payments made in person at the Rhode Island Family Court or any DHS office, the date of collection is the date the payment is tendered;

(CC) The policy on support payments made directly to the custodial parent from either the non-custodial parent or another jurisdiction is the same for in-state cases as it is for intergovernmental cases. (See above policy for intergovernmental cases.)

(DD) If none of the above is applicable, the date of collection shall be the date the payment was actually received by the Department of Human Services or its agent, Rhode Island Family Court.

2. Support Collected on or After October 1, 1998:

For support collected on or after October 1, 1998, the date of collection is, for amounts collected and distributed under title IV-D of Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Chapter 7, the date of receipt by the State Disbursement Unit, except when current support is withheld by an employer in the month when due and is received by the State Disbursement Unit in a month other than the month due. When this occurs, the date of withholding is deemed to be the date of collection.

G. Payment Received

1. Prior to October 1, 1998

Any amount collected in a month is considered payment on the required support obligation for the month in which the support was collected and will be sent to the family within fifteen (15) calendar days of the date of initial receipt by the State.

2. On or after October 1, 1998

Any amount collected is distributed according to the order of distribution based on the family's RIW, non-RIW, or former RIW status as outlined in § 1.23.4 of this Part and any payment distributed to the family shall be sent to the family within two (2) business days of the determination that the amount is due and owing.

H. Distribution for Current RIW Recipients

1. All child support amounts collected, except for amounts collected through Federal income tax refund offset, must be treated first (1^st) as payment on the required support obligation for the month in which the support was collected and if any amounts are collected which are in excess of such amount, these excess amounts shall be treated as amounts which represent payment on the required support obligation for previous months.

2. The State shall retain all collections of child support up to the amount of unreimbursed assistance while a family receives cash assistance under the RIW Program.

3. Any collections on or after October 1, 1998 shall be distributed in the following order, to satisfy:

a. Current support and, as appropriate, current spousal support;

b. RIW arrears, temporary arrears, and spousal arrears;

c. MA reimbursement;

d. Non-assistance arrears if there are active SSI children;

e. Non-MA reimbursement.

4. Hard-copy reports of cases receiving Excess of Grant payments and Excess of Unreimbursed Assistance payments are generated monthly electronically and placed in the document repository.

5. If the IV-A agency determines amounts are sufficient to make families ineligible for an assistance payment, the agency representative closes the case. The eligibility system automatically codes the case as "Non-assistance" and issues a Continuation of Services letter explaining that the Child Support Services agency will continue to provide IV-D services.

6. In any case in which direct support payments are received by a RIW recipient with respect to whom an assignment is in effect, such payments shall be endorsed over to the Office of Child Support Services or Family Court, as appropriate, and not retained by the family.

I. Payment of Pass Through to RIW Families

1. All child support collections made on behalf of current RIW custodial parents shall be retained by the State up to the cumulative amount of unreimbursed assistance.

2. For any month in which a non-custodial parent makes a child support payment in the month when due and the support is collected by the Office of Child Support Services for a child or children receiving RIW cash assistance, the first fifty dollars ($50.00) of the child support payment, or the actual amount of the child support payment if the payment is less than fifty dollars ($50.00), shall be paid to the family in which the child resides. If more than one (1) non-custodial parent makes a child support payment to children living in the same family, there shall be only one (1) payment not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) paid to the family from the child support collected. This payment is known as the "pass through" payment and shall be sent to the family within two (2) business days of the determination of the amount that is due and owing and no later than within two (2) business days of the end of the month in which the support was collected.

3. Pass through payments are excluded from income in calculating the family's RIW cash assistance amount. However, the fifty dollars ($50.00) pass through is counted as income in the Food Assistance Program.

J. Payment in Excess of Grant

1. Any amount collected during the month which represents payment on the required support obligation for that month, and is in excess of the fifty dollars ($50.00) pass through, shall be retained by the State to reimburse, in whole or in part, the assistance payment for the month in which the support was collected.

2. If the monthly amount owed and collected is greater than the assistance payment for the month, DHS authorizes payment to the family an amount equal to the difference between the assistance payment for the month and the court ordered amount for that month. This payment will be made in the month following the month in which the amount of the collection was used to re-determine eligibility for a RIW payment. If the court-ordered amount is less than the RIW payment, no amount shall be paid to the family. In cases in which there is no court order, the family shall not be paid any amount under this section.

3. Any month in which the amount collected exceeds the current support due, the State will retain such amount as reimbursement of past assistance payments up to the cumulative amount of unreimbursed assistance.

4. Any payment made under this section must be sent to the family within two (2) business days of the determination that the amount is due and owing.

K. Future Payments If an amount collected represents payment on the required support obligation for future months, the amount will be applied to future months only after amounts which have been collected fully satisfy the support obligation assigned for the current month and all past months.

L. Federal or State Tax Offset-Active RIW Cases

1. Prior to October 1, 1998, amounts collected through Federal or State tax offset are applied first to RIW arrears. Any balance remaining is applied to the past-due support owed to the family in the amount certified to the Federal and State governments.

2. Any collection received as a result of Federal or State income tax refund offset, which is due to a RIW family, must be sent within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of initial receipt by the IV-D agency.

3. For amounts collected under Federal income tax offset on or after October 1, 1998, the amount collected in active RIW cases will be distributed as outlined below. Any collection received from tax offset, which is due to a RIW family, must be sent within two (2) business days of receipt.

4. The State shall retain all collections of child support while a family receives cash assistance under the RIW Program. Any collections from Federal income tax offset on or after October 1, 1998 shall be distributed in the following order, to satisfy:

a. RIW arrears;

b. Temporary arrears;

c. Spousal arrears;

d. Reimbursement; and e. Non-assistance arrears if there are active SSI children.

5. Amounts collected through State income tax offset will be applied and distributed in accordance with § 1.23.4(G) of this Part.

M. Payment in Excess of Required Support

1. Prior to October 1, 1998

Any amount collected in a month which exceeds the required monthly support amount is treated as payment on the required support obligation for previous months (past-due support). The State will retain such amounts to satisfy arrears that have accrued while the family was on assistance when:

a. There is no specific arrears order on the case; or

b. There is no arrearage priority set on the case to distribute to non-RIW arrears first.

2. After October 1, 1998, any amount collected in excess of the required current monthly support obligation for active RIW cases and for former RIW cases, as outlined in § 1.23.4(G) of this Part.

N. Former Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)/RIW Cases

1. Prior to October 1, 1998

a. When a family ceases to receive RIW, amounts collected that represent payment on the current support obligation will be sent to the family within fifteen (15) calendar days of the date of initial receipt in the State.

b. However, support collected in a month after any month in which the support collected made the family ineligible for an assistance payment, but prior to or in the month in which the family receives its last assistance payment, shall be used to reimburse the State for any assistance paid in such months with any excess being paid to the family. This provision will not apply when a hearing is requested pursuant to 45 C.F.R. § 205.10. In these cases, when the hearing results in a determination that the family was ineligible for an assistance payment, the Office of Child Support Services will:

(1) Determine the total amount of support paid in the last month assistance was paid;

(2) Determine the total amount of assistance paid in the month; and

(3) Pay the excess amount to the family.

c. If the family is determined to be eligible for assistance, distribution will continue as outlined in § 1.23.4(G) of this Part.

2. On or after October 1, 1998

Other than collections through Federal income tax refund offset, the State will:

a. Distribute the amount collected to satisfy the current monthly support obligation and pay that amount to the family;

b. Distribute any amount above the current monthly support obligation to satisfy never-assigned arrearages and pay that amount to the family;

c. Distribute any amount in excess of the amounts distributed in a. and b. to satisfy unassigned pre-assistance arrearages and conditionally-assigned arrearages and pay that amount to the family.

d. Distribute any amount above amounts distributed in §§ 1.23.4(N)(2) (a) through (c) of this Part to satisfy permanently-assigned arrearages.

e. Reduce the cumulative amount of unreimbursed assistance by the total amount distributed under § 1.23.4(N)(2)(d) of this Part, distribute collections exceeding the cumulative amount of unreimbursed assistance to satisfy unassigned during-assistance arrearages and pay those amounts to the family.

O. Federal or State Tax Offset-Former RIW Cases

1. Prior to October 1, 1998

a. Amounts collected through Federal or State tax offset are applied first to RIW arrears. Any balance remaining is applied to the past-due support in the amount certified to the Federal and State governments.

b. Any collection received as a result of Federal or State income tax refund offset that is due to a family must be sent within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of initial receipt by the IV-D agency.

2. On or After October 1, 1998

Any collection received from tax offset that is due to a custodial parent must be sent within two (2) business days of receipt. The amount collected in former RIW cases are distributed as outlined below, to satisfy:

a. RIW arrears and conditional arrears;

b. Reimbursement, not including past liability;

c. Non-assistance arrears and unassigned during assistance arrears;

d. Past liability; and e. Spousal arrears.

3. Amounts collected through State income tax offset will be applied and distributed in accordance with § 1.23.4(G) of this Part.

P. Never-Assistance Cases

1. Prior to October 1, 1998

a. All support collected is first applied to the required support obligation for the month in which the support is collected and is sent to the family within fifteen (15) calendar days of the date the collection is received by the Family Court.

b. Any amount collected in excess of the required current support amount is applied to past-due support. Payments are sent to the family within fifteen (15) calendar days of the date the collection is received by the State.

2. On or after October 1, 1998

All support collections must be paid to the family within two (2) business days.

Q. Foster Care Distribution

1. For distribution purposes, amounts collected in Foster Care maintenance cases shall be treated first as payment on the required support obligation for the month in which the support was collected and if any amounts are collected which are in excess of such amount, these excess amounts shall be treated as amounts which represent payment on the required support obligation for previous months.

2. Effective June 9, 1988, the date of collection shall be the date on which the payment is received by the Office of Child Support Services or the legal entity of any State or political subdivision actually making the collection, whichever is earliest. In any case in which collections are received by an entity other than the agency responsible for final distribution under this section, the entity must transmit the collection within ten (10) days of receipt.

3. Payment Received Any amount collected in a month which represents payment on the required support obligation for that month will be retained by the State to reimburse itself for foster care maintenance payments.

4. Payment in Excess of Required Support

a. If the amount collected is in excess of the monthly amount of the foster care maintenance payment but is not more than the monthly support obligation, the State will pay the excess to the State agency responsible for supervising the child's placement and care.

b. If the amount collected exceeds the amount required to be distributed as described above, but is not greater than the total unreimbursed foster care maintenance payments provided or unreimbursed assistance payments the State will retain the excess to reimburse itself for these payments. If past foster care payments are greater than the total support obligation owed, the maximum amount the State may retain as reimbursement for such payments is the amount of such obligation.

c. If amounts are collected which represent the required support obligation for periods prior to the first (1^st) month in which the family received public assistance or foster care maintenance payments, such amounts may be retained by the State to reimburse the difference between such support obligation and such payments.

d. Any balance remaining is paid to the State agency responsible for supervising the child's placement and care and is used to serve the best interest of the child.

5. Future Payments

If an amount collected as support represents payment on the required support obligation for future months, the amount will be applied to those future months. However, no amounts can be applied to future months unless amounts have been collected which fully satisfy the support obligation for the current month and all past months.

6. Foster Care Maintenance Payments Cease

When a State ceases making foster care maintenance payments the assignment of support rights terminates except for the amount of any unpaid support that accrued under the assignment. The Office of Child Support Services will attempt to collect such unpaid support.

7. Intergovernmental Cases

When a non-custodial parent is making payments to one (1) State IV-D agency for a family residing in another State, amounts collected by the responding agency must be forwarded to the initiating State within fifteen (15) calendar days of the initial point of receipt in the responding State. Amounts will be distributed as outlined within this section.

1.23.5SSI Child Having Special Needs

A. Title XVI of the Social Security Act provides funding to States to pay benefits to indigent, aged, blind, and/or disabled individuals. This program, known as Supplemental Security Income, is commonly referred to as SSI. There may be instances in which an SSI child is a member of a family where all other members are eligible for and in receipt of RIW benefits.

B. The SSI child is not included in the RIW grant and his/her resources are not included in determining RIW eligibility.

C. The SSI child is not included in any assignment of support rights and therefore, support received on behalf of an SSI child cannot be retained by the State and must be disbursed to the family. Distribution of support must occur within five (5) days of receipt by the Office of Child Support Services according to the requirements outlined below:

1. If the SSI child is the only person covered by the support order, one hundred percent (100%) of the support collected shall be paid to the custodial parent.

2. If the SSI child is not the only person covered by the child support order, a per capita proportion of the amount collected shall be paid to the custodial parent, unless otherwise specified in the court order.

D. Child support distributed to a custodial parent on behalf of an SSI child is not considered income for purposes of determining RIW eligibility or payment level for members of the RIW household. However, child support distributed to a custodial parent on behalf of an SSI child is considered unearned income in the Food Assistance Program.

E. The Office of Child Support Services will provide to the custodial parent of an SSI child a monthly statement that discloses the amount of child support collected and distributed during the month on behalf of the child. The statement includes notification of the custodial parent's right to a hearing with regard to disputes involving the collection and distribution of the child support.

1.23.6Recovering Erroneously Disbursed Support

A. Mispostings/Overpayments

1. Erroneously disbursed support payments are those payments collected by Office of Child Support Services and distributed in error to a custodial parent for a variety of reasons. It may occur because the posting was made to the wrong child support account or the payment may have been received and posted at an incorrect date or amount. When signing an application for child support services, or accepting benefits through the RI Works program, the custodial parent has agreed that child support distributed in error will be repaid from future child support at the rate of twenty-five percent (25%) per future child support payment until the overpayment is paid in full. There is no need to have the custodial parent sign a separate agreement permitting OCSS to recoup.

2. Whenever the Office of Child Support Services discovers that an erroneous amount of support has been disbursed to a custodial parent that results in an overpayment, the Office of Child Support Services shall recoup the overpayment at the rate of twenty-five percent (25%) per payment.

B. A notice will be sent to the custodial parent to advise that:

1. Twenty-five percent (25%) of each future child support payment will be retained until the overpayment is recouped; and

2. That full repayment may be made within thirty (30) days of the date of the notice in lieu of the weekly twenty-five percent (25%) recoupments.

C. Any notice to the custodial parent about recovery of erroneously disbursed support will also inform him/her of:

1. The right to an informal review with Office of Child Support Services to discuss the overpayment. This meeting will allow the custodial parent to discuss any disagreement about the correctness of the overpayment without the need to file for a formal, administrative hearing.

2. The right to an administrative hearing. This may be requested regardless of whether the custodial parent has had an informal meeting with Office of Child Support Services as described in the preceding paragraph.

1.23.7Insufficient Funds (Bounced Check)

A. If an employer or non-custodial parent makes a child support payment via a check, which is then posted to the Child Support case, disbursed to the custodial parent via KIDS card or via direct deposit to his/her checking account, and it is later found to have insufficient funds, those funds must be recouped from the non-custodial parent or employer. OCSS will send a notice requesting that the employer or non-custodial parent remedy the situation by sending a money order or certified check for that payment and any future payments to be made. The notice shall advise the non-custodial parent that the amount of past due support shall be increased by the amount of the payment made with insufficient funds and all enforcement actions shall apply. The notice shall outline the procedures for filing a request for an administrative hearing to contest the action.

B. The State reserves the right to file a Motion to Adjudge the appropriate party in contempt and to refer the matter to the Attorney General's Office for possible criminal prosecution.

C. If the child support payment was disbursed to the Kids Card or via direct deposit to the custodial parent's checking account within five (5) days of discovery, the OCSS reserves the right to reverse the payment.

1.23.8Recovering Tax Offsets

A. Whenever either the Federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the State Division of Taxation requires the Office of Child Support Services to return all or a part of a tax refund intercepted by the IRS or the State Division of Taxation which had been sent to Office of Child Support Services by either of these tax collection agencies, and subsequently disbursed by Office of Child Support Services to a custodial parent in accordance with Federal or State tax refund offset requirements, the Office of Child Support Services shall:

1. Provide notice to the custodial parent that IRS or the State Division of Taxation has demanded a return of all or a part of the tax refund that was intercepted.

2. Indicate in the notice the amount of the refund being requested to be returned, and the date of the disbursement to the custodial parent.

3. If the refund has been deposited to the Kids Card or via direct deposit to the custodial parent's checking account, and the reversal occurs within five (5) days, the OCSS will reverse the payment.

4. Notify the custodial parent that the amount shall be recouped at the rate of twenty-five percent (25%) of each future child support payment if the total amount of the tax refund intercept that is being requested by either IRS or the State Division of Taxation, within thirty (30) days of the date of the notice.

B. Tax refund intercepts that are sent to custodial parents erroneously because of mispostings to accounts will be recovered under the procedures outlined in § 1.23.6 of this Part.

218 R.I. Code R. 218-RICR-30-00-1.23

Amended effective 3/29/2019
Amended effective 1/1/2021