9.1- Introduction

Federal Authority:

Social Security Act

§452(f) and (k) - Duties of the Secretary

§454(4), (18), (19),(20) and (31) - State plan for child support and spousal support

§466(a)(1), (2), (4), (7), (16), (17) (19), (b) and (d) Requirement of statutorily prescribed procedures to improve effectiveness of child support enforcement

Code of Federal Regulations

45 CFR 302.60 Collection of past due support from Federal tax refunds

45 CFR 302.80 Medical support enforcement

45 CFR 303.6 Enforcement of Support Obligations

45 CFR 303.7 Provision of services in intergovernmental IV-D cases

45 CFR 303.31 Securing and enforcing medical support obligations

45 CFR 303.32 National Medical Support Notice

45 CFR 303.72 Requests for collection of past due support by Federal refund offset

45 CFR 303.73 Applications to use the courts of the United State to enforce court orders

45 CFR 303.100 Procedures for income withholding

45 CFR 305.2 Performances measures

45 CFR 305.63 Standards for determining substantial compliance with IV-D requirements

45 CFR 308 Annual State Self Assessment Review and Report

State Authority:

Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 7-13-421 Restitution as a condition of parole

Wyo. Stat. § 20-2-310 Enforcement of child support

Wyo. Stat. § 20-2-401 & §20-2-406 et. seq. Medical Support for Children

Wyo. Stat. § 20-6-104 Child support enforcement services generally

Wyo. Stat. § 20-6-106 Powers and duties of department regarding collection of support

Wyo. Stat. § 20-6-111 Driver’s license suspension; nonpayment of child support; administrative hearings

Wyo. Stat. § 20-6-112 Professional, occupational, or recreational license suspension; nonpayment of child support; notice and hearing

Wyo. Stat. §§ 20-6-201 - 20-6-222 Income Withholding Act

Wyoming Child Support Enforcement Rules

Chapter 4, General Services

Chapter 6, Income Withholding

Chapter 7, Federal Offset Program

Chapter 8, Consumer Credit Reports and Reporting

Chapter 9, Financial Institution Data Match

Chapter 10, License Revocation and Suspension

Policy Number: 9.1

Effective Date: July 1, 2015

Chapter

This chapter contains the following sections:

Administrative Remedies
Dunning Letters
Contempt
Federal Prosecution
Lien
License Suspension
Medical Support
Wage Withholding

Overview

Once child and medical support are established, the Child Support Program (CSP) will monitor the IV-D child support case for payments and enforce the order when the non-custodial parent does not meet his or her child and/or medical support obligation(s). Child support professionals within the CSP may utilize a number of different enforcement tools supported by Wyoming and federal law.

Note: In 2011, the Wyoming Legislature strengthened the enforcement tools used within the Wyoming Child Support Program by requiring payment of child support as a condition of parole.

Federal Timeframes

In order to ensure the best possible service to customers of the CSP, the federal Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) established certain timeframes by which actions within the child support program should take place. Below are the federal guidelines and timeframes for this chapter.

Enforcement

Within 30 calendar days of identifying a delinquency, the CSP shall take appropriate enforcement action unless service of process is necessary. If service of process is necessary, the CSP shall complete service within 60 days of the identification of the delinquency or document unsuccessful service attempts in POSSE. If service is unsuccessful, the case worker will examine the reasons for the failed service attempts and determine the next enforcement steps.

On an annual basis, the CSP shall submit those non-custodial parents whose arrears meet federal offset requirements to the OCSS for federal tax intercept.

To comply with this federal regulation through self-assessment, a state shall meet this requirement for seventy-five percent (75%) of all its open cases. (45 CFR 305.63(c)(3) and 45 CFR 308.2(c))

Income Withholding

Within 2 business days of POSSE receiving notice of an obligor's new employer, the CSP shall issue a wage withholding notice to the employer utilizing the federal income withholding form. The employer is required to send the withheld amount to the State Disbursement Unit (SDU) within 7 days of the date the obligor is paid.

To comply with this federal regulation through self-assessment, a state shall meet this requirement for seventy-five percent (75%) of all its open cases. (45 CFR 305.63(c)(3) and 45 CFR 308.2(c))

Medical Support

Within 2 business days of identifying an employer for a non-custodial parent through the Wyoming Directory of New Hires, the CSP will send the National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) to the employer, provided the order requires the non-custodial parent to provide medical insurance for a minor child (ren) if such insurance is available at a reasonable cost or through an employer.

To comply with this federal regulation through self-assessment, a state shall meet this requirement for seventy-five percent (75%) of all its open cases. (45 CFR 305.63(c)(5) and 45 CFR 308.2(e))

Closure

Under certain circumstances, a IV-D child support case may be closed as long as it meets all of the requirements for closure outlined in the federal regulations (45 CFR 303.11). The criteria for closing an enforcement case are:

There is no longer a current support order and arrears are under $500.00 or unenforceable ((b)(1)).
The non-custodial parent is deceased and no further action, including a levy against the estate, can be taken ((b)(2)).
The non-custodial parent cannot pay support for the duration of the child’s minority because the non-custodial parent:
- Has been institutionalized in a psychiatric facility;
- Is incarcerated with no chance for parole during the child’s minority; or
- Has a medically verified total and permanent disability.

The CSP shall ensure that no income or assets are available ((b)(5)).

The non-custodial parent is a citizen of, or lives in, a foreign country, does not work for the United States or a corporation with offices in the United States, and has no reachable domestic assets and Wyoming does not have reciprocity with the foreign country ((b)(6)).

To comply with this federal regulation through self-assessment, a state shall meet this requirement for ninety percent (90%) of all its open cases. (45 CFR 305.63(b)(2) and 45 CFR 308.2(a))

Federal Incentive

The federal incentive funding system to states includes two measures to track the success of states in enforcing child support obligations. The following is a brief description of each enforcement federal incentive measure.

Current Support Collected

In order to maximize the current support measure incentive, Wyoming shall collect more than 80% of the current support due on its IVD cases. This measure is computed monthly and the total of all months is reported at the end of the federal fiscal year. The federal incentive measure formula for current support collected:

Number of dollars collected for current support in IV-D cases

_____________________________________________________

Total dollars owed for current support in IV-D cases

Arrears Cases Paying

To meet the Arrears Cases Paying incentive, Wyoming must receive a payment toward past-due support within a fiscal year. In order to receive the maximum incentive amount allowed for this measure, Wyoming shall receive an arrearage payment on 80% of all cases with arrears. The federal incentive measure formula for arrears cases paying is:

Total number of eligible IV-D cases paying toward arrears

___________________________________________________

Total number of IV-D cases with arrears due

Cross Reference

None

Version Number: 2

Last Revised Date: October 1, 2015

Last Reviewed Date: October 1, 2015