N.M. Admin. Code § 8.102.420.14

Current through Register Vol. 36, No. 1, January 14, 2025

Section 8.102.420.14 - CHILD SUPPORT

A. Assignment: By state statute, Subsection F of Section 27-2-28 NMSA 1978, any participant who signs an application automatically assigns the participant's child support rights to the HCA. The assignment shall be made with respect to the child for whom NMW is provided and shall be valid as long as the participant receives NMW payments on the child's behalf. The assignment shall also include any spousal support for which the applicant is or may become eligible.

B. Cooperation:

(1) The adult responsible for each child included in the benefit group must cooperate with the child support services division (CSSD) in obtaining child support for any dependent child included in the NMW benefit group. Failure to do so will result in payment sanctions. The adult shall be required to cooperate regardless of whether the adult is included in the benefit group.

(2) Failure to cooperate shall result in the personal ineligibility of the participant refusing to cooperate and in a payment sanction against the benefit group, as described in 8.102.620.10 NMAC.

(3) The determination as to whether the participant has cooperated with CSSD shall be made by CSSD based on CSSD requirements. The cooperation requirement may be partially or fully waived by CSSD upon demonstration of good cause by the specified relative as indicated in Subsection E of 8.102.420.14 NMAC.

(4) The caretaker relative must transmit to CSSD any child support, spousal or medical support payment which the caretaker relative receives directly.

C. Determining that cooperation exists: A caretaker relative who, on the application and certification forms, indicates a willingness to cooperate and who provides basic information determined by CSSD as necessary to establish and pursue support shall be considered to have met the cooperation requirement until such time as CSSD reports to the caseworker that the participant is failing to cooperate.

D. Action upon receiving notice of noncompliance: On notification by CSSD of failure to cooperate, the caseworker shall take immediate action to issue a conciliation notice or to impose a noncompliance sanction.

E. Good cause:

(1) In some situations, it is not in the best interests of the child or parent to pursue support or to require that the caretaker relative cooperate with CSSD in pursuing such support. Caretaker relatives therefore must be:

(a) notified that the requirement to cooperate may be waived;

(b) informed of the requirements involved in the waiver; and

(c) given an opportunity to request a waiver that would exempt them from the cooperation requirement.

(2) If a caretaker relative requests a waiver of the cooperation requirement, assistance shall not be delayed pending determination of good cause, nor may enforcement of support begin or continue while the waiver of the requirement is under consideration. An applicant who makes a waiver request shall not be included in the benefit group until the necessary corroborative information and documents are provided to ISD.

(3) Granting a good cause exemption: The decision whether to grant a good cause exemption shall be made according to the following methods.

(a) Domestic violence exemption: Exemption status shall be reviewed based on the following criteria.

(i) The New Mexico family violence option in the NM TANF state plan allows for exemption from cooperation with CSSD requirements due to a domestic violence environment. The ISD caseworker shall exempt a participant from cooperation requirements with CSSD where a trained domestic violence counselor has certified that cooperation would make it more difficult to escape the domestic violence or would unfairly penalize the participant in light of current experiences.

(ii) CSSD shall exempt a participant from cooperation requirements with CSSD when the participant has demonstrated by reliable medical, psychological or mental reports, court orders or police reports that they are subject to or at risk to domestic violence.

(iii) Upon approval of exemption the caseworker shall submit a memo regarding exemption status to CSSD and ISD central office.

(b) Other good cause exemptions: All other good cause exemptions, including but not limited to and exemption due to a domestic violence environment that is not certified by a trained domestic violence counselor, from cooperation with CSSD requirements shall be made by the director of the CSSD or designee.

(4) Notification:

(a) Approval: The caseworker shall send a written notice to the client whether the waiver has been granted and when it will be reviewed. The letter shall also tell the client whether CSSD has determined that support can be pursued without danger or risk to the client or child.

(b) Denial: If CSSD decides that good cause does not exist, the caseworker shall notify the client that the request has been denied and that the client is expected to cooperate fully in pursuing support, within 10 working days of the day the notice was issued. The notification shall also inform the client that a client has 60 days in which to request an administrative hearing, but that the client is expected to begin cooperating within 10 days after the date of the letter.

N.M. Admin. Code § 8.102.420.14

8.102.420.14 NMAC - Rp 8.102.420.14 NMAC, 7/1/2001; A, 11/15/2007, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXV, Issue 12, June 25, 2024, eff. 7/1/2024