Section 43-5-590 - Powers and duties of Department of Social Services in accordance with approved child support planIn accordance with a child support plan approved by the federal government, the department has the power and its duty must be to:
(a) require as a condition of eligibility for assistance that the applicant or recipient: (i) furnish his social security account number or, to the extent permitted by federal law, proof of making application for a social security account number if the applicant or recipient has no social security account number;(ii) assign to the State the rights to support, including health care expenses, from any other person the applicant may have in his own behalf or in behalf of any other family member for whom the applicant is applying for or receiving aid and which have accrued at the time the assignment is executed or which may accrue in the future. By accepting public assistance for or on behalf of a child or children, by making application for services under Title IV-D, or through placement of a child or children in state-funded foster care or under Title IV-E, except where good cause as determined by the agency exists, the recipient or applicant is considered to have made an assignment to the State Department of Social Services of rights, title, and interest to a support obligation which is owed for the child or children or for the absent parent's spouse or former spouse who is the recipient or the applicant with whom the child is living, if and to the extent that a spousal support obligation has been established and the child and the child support obligation is being enforced pursuant to Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act. The assignment to the department is considered to have been made up to the amount of public assistance money, including Medicaid payments, or foster care board payments paid for or on behalf of the child or children for that period of time as the public assistance monies or foster care board payments are paid. The assignment consists of all rights and interest in a support obligation that the recipient may be owed past, present, or future by a person up to the amount of public assistance money, including Medicaid payments, paid to the recipient for or on behalf of the minor child or children or a child in foster care. The department is subrogated to the rights of the child or children or the person having custody of the child or children to collect and receive all support payments. The department has the right to initiate a support action in its own name or in the name of the recipient to recover payments ordered by the courts of this or any other state or to obtain a court order to initiate these payments including an action to determine the paternity of a child. The clerk of court shall execute the necessary order substituting the department and changing the payee of the support to the department upon receipt by the clerk of the notice of assignment.(iii) cooperate with the department in establishing the paternity of a child born out of wedlock with respect to whom aid is claimed, and in obtaining support payments for such applicant and for a child with respect to whom such aid is claimed, or in obtaining any other payments or property due such applicant of such child and that, if the relative with whom a child is living is found to be ineligible because of failure to comply with the requirements of items (a) and (b), any aid for which such child is eligible will be provided in the form of protective payments. The department shall establish criteria in accordance with federal regulations to determine whether action to establish paternity and secure support is not in the best interest of a child.(b) Provide for protective payments for any child eligible for assistance when a caretaker relative is ineligible due to the caretaker relative's failure to comply with either subitems (1) or (2) of item (a) of this section.(c) Provide that in any case in which the child support payments are collected for a child with respect to whom an assignment has been made pursuant to subitem (ii) of item (a) of this section the payment is made to the department for distribution pursuant to item (g) of this section except for those payments made for any month in which the amount collected is sufficient to make the family ineligible for assistance. The department shall pay the amounts to the recipient consistent with federal laws and regulations. Whenever a family ceases receiving public assistance the assignment pursuant to subitem (ii) of item (a) of this section converts to a nonpublic assistance assignment. However, the nonpublic assistance recipient may submit a written request to have the assignment terminated except with respect to the amount of any unpaid support obligation that has accrued under the assignment. From this amount the department shall attempt to collect the unpaid obligation and distribute the amounts consistent with federal laws and regulations. The department may not charge fees or recover costs from support collections and shall pay all amounts collected which represent monthly support payment and arrearage owed to the family. The department shall continue to provide all appropriate IV-D services and distribute any amounts collected consistent with federal laws and regulations except that the department may not require any formal application or impose an application fee but may recover costs consistent with federal laws and regulations pursuant to item (f) of this section.(d) The department shall create a single and separate organizational unit which is responsible for developing and implementing a federally-approved state plan for child support. The unit shall maintain a parent locator service to locate absent relatives owing or allegedly owing child support, utilizing all sources of information and legally available records and the parent locator service of the federal Department of Health and Human Services by filing in accordance with Section 453(B) of the Social Security Act.(e) Undertake either directly or pursuant to cooperative arrangements with appropriate courts or law enforcement officials to:(i) establish paternity of children born out of wedlock with respect to whom an assignment pursuant to subitem (2) of item (a) of this section has been made or with respect to an individual not otherwise eligible pursuant to item (f) of this section;(ii) secure support for a child with respect to whom such an assignment has been made from any legally responsible relative.(f) The department shall provide that the support collection or paternity determination services made available to approved applicants for the Aid to Families With Dependent Children Program under this section be made available to an individual not receiving assistance under the program who files an application for the services with the department. For an individual not otherwise eligible for these services under the program, a fee and cost may be imposed by the department. The fee and cost must be an amount not to exceed the amount permitted by federal law. The fees and cost recoveries as would cause a reduction in the amount of federal matching funds must be retained by the department to offset, dollar for dollar, the federal reductions. When there is an assignment of the rights to support, the clerk of court shall execute the necessary order substituting the department and changing the payee of the support to the department upon receipt by the clerk of the notice of assignment.(g) provide for bonus payments to recipients consistent with federal law from amounts collected periodically without any decrease in the amount of assistance;(h) make incentive payments to political subdivisions consistent with federal law whenever the political subdivision enforces or collects support rights assigned to the department pursuant to subitem (2) of item (a) and item (f) of this section.(i) construe and implement this section in order to comply with Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act relating to child support and the establishment of paternity. The department shall take all steps necessary to implement a federally approved state plan for child support.(j) to provide that in rendering services under the plan to individuals with respect to whom an assignment is effective under this section, the State represents the public interest in establishing and enforcing child support obligations and the assignment does not create an attorney-client relationship between the agency and the custodial parent, the child, or any other party.1997 Act No. 71, Section 43, eff 6/10/1997; 1995 Act No. 102, Part VI, Section 3, eff 1/1/1996; 1992 Act No. 297, Section 1, eff 3/26/1992; 1990 Act No. 576, Section 1, eff 6/11/1990; 1990 Act No. 493, Section 1, eff 5/29/1990; 1990 Act No. 336, Sections 1, 2, eff 2/20/1990; 1989 Act No. 195, Section 6, eff 6/19/1989; 1986 Act No. 511, Section 1, eff 7/1/1986.