Chapter 388-14A Division of child support rules.

(1) The division of child support (DCS) is the part of the department of social and health services that provides child support enforcement services for the state of Washington under Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act. DCS acts as the Washington state support registry …

(1) The division of child support (DCS), on behalf of the department of social and health services of the state of Washington, has established the following provisions as the state plan (the "plan") for its child support enforcement program. This plan is authorized by Title IV-D …

(1) The division of child support (DCS) has been known by many names including:(a) The office of support enforcement (OSE);(b) The support enforcement division (SED);(c) The state's Title IV-D agency; and(d) The Washington state support registry (WSSR).(2) Some statutes and forms…

(1) The following are the primary state and federal laws which apply to the division of child support (DCS):(a) Title IV-D of the Social Security Act sets out the federal requirements for a state's support enforcement program.(b) Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations contai…

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:"Abatement" means the temporary reduction of child support obligations of an incarcerated person who is required to pay support."Absence of a court order" means that there is no court order either setting a support obl…

(1) The division of child support (DCS) provides support enforcement services when:(a) The department of social and health services pays public assistance;(b) A former recipient of public assistance is eligible for services, as provided in WAC 388-14A-2000 (2)(c);(c) The departme…

The services provided by the division of child support include, but are not limited to the following:(1) Receiving payments and distributing the payments (see WAC 388-14A-5000);(2) Establishing or modifying administrative child support orders (see WAC 388-14A-3100 and 388-14A-392…

The division of child support (DCS) maintains a service to locate noncustodial parents, using:(1) All sources of information and available records in Washington or other states; and(2) The federal parent locator service (FPLS) maintained by the federal Department of Health and Hu…

DCS provides locate services for:(1) Persons receiving public assistance for the benefit of dependent children;(2) Any agency or attorney of another state or country seeking to collect support obligations under an agreement entered into with DCS;(3) A court which has the authorit…

A request or referral asking the division of child support (DCS) to provide locate services must contain the following information:(1) The name of the noncustodial parent (NCP);(2) The NCP's Social Security number, if known;(3) Whether the NCP is now or has been a member of the a…

(1) The division of child support (DCS) makes diligent and reasonable efforts to locate the noncustodial parent (NCP), including referral to the federal parent locator service (FPLS).(2) A request for locate services is not an application for full support enforcement services.(3)…

The division of child support (DCS) cooperates with the IV-D agencies of tribes and other states and the central authorities of other countries, according to rules and policies set by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the federal Office of Child Sup…

(1) The division of child support (DCS) may, at the request of an Indian tribe or another state, collect child support which has been assigned to that tribe, state under 42 U.S.C. 608 (a)(3)(A), or another country according to the laws of that country.(2) DCS uses the remedies in…

(1) The division of child support (DCS) is authorized to enter into cooperative arrangements and written agreements including financial arrangements with the appropriate courts and law enforcement officials (including Indian tribes) to assist DCS in administering the state plan f…

(1) The division of child support (DCS) provides payment processing and records maintenance services (called "payment services only") to parties to a court order who are not receiving a public assistance grant when:(a) A Washington superior court order, tribal court order, admini…

(1) When a custodial parent (CP) or physical custodian (also called the CP) applies for or receives cash assistance on behalf of a minor child, the family authorizes the division of child support (DCS) to provide full support enforcement services to the family.(2) These services …

(1) If you are not receiving public assistance, you can apply for support enforcement services. Your case is called a nonassistance case. A nonassistance case receives the same level of services as a case that was opened because of the payment of public assistance.(2) Generally, …

(1) If you are not a resident of the state of Washington but you are applying for services, you must swear or affirm that there is not an open IV-D case in another state.(2) The division of child support (DCS) may decline the application for nonassistance support enforcement serv…

(1) The division of child support (DCS) may deny an application which is incomplete, contains unclear or inconsistent statements, is not supported by necessary documents, or requests services DCS cannot or does not provide.(2) DCS may deny an application from a nonresident as pro…

(1) The division of child support (DCS) provides full support enforcement services for every IV-D case.(2) DCS provides either full or limited nonassistance support enforcement services for recipients of medicaid-only benefits as provided in WAC 388-14A-2005(4).(3) Some cases do …

(1) A custodial parent applying for or receiving cash assistance on behalf of a minor child assigns the family's rights to support as provided in WAC 388-14A-2035, below.(2) A person applying for nonassistance support enforcement services does not assign support rights, but agree…

(1) When you receive public assistance you assign your rights to support to the state. This section applies to all applicants and recipients of cash assistance under the state program funded under Title IV-A of the federal Social Security Act.(2) As a condition of eligibility for…

(1) As a condition of eligibility for assistance, a family member must assign to the state the right to collect and keep, subject to the limitation in WAC 388-14A-2035(3):(a) Any support owing to the family member or to any other person for whom the family member has applied for …

Permanently assigned arrears accrue only under the following conditions:(1) For those periods prior to the family receiving assistance, for assistance applications dated before October 1, 1997; and(2) For those periods while a family receives assistance, for assistance applicatio…

(1) Temporarily assigned arrears are arrears owed to the family at the time TANF started, for TANF periods beginning before October 1, 2008. These arrears remain temporarily assigned during the assistance period.(2) Temporarily assigned arrears convert to conditionally assigned a…

(1) Conditionally assigned arrears are any temporarily assigned arrears that remain on a case after the family stops receiving TANF.(2) These arrears remain conditionally assigned during TANF periods beginning on or after October 1, 2008.(3) If federal tax refund offset collectio…

(1) You must cooperate with the division of child support (DCS) when you receive public assistance unless the department determines there is good cause not to cooperate under WAC 388-422-0020.(2) As described in WAC 388-14A-2080, DCS may close a nonassistance case if the custodia…

(1) If you receive public assistance, there may be penalties, called sanctions, for not cooperating with the division of child support (DCS). These sanctions and the noncooperation process are described in WAC 388-14A-2075. You may be sanctioned if:(a) You do not go to scheduled …

(1) If a custodial parent (CP) receiving public assistance fears that the establishment or enforcement of support may result in harm to the CP or the children, the CP may be excused from the cooperation requirements. The CP must contact the community services division (CSD) to cl…

(1) The community services division (CSD) decides whether you have good cause not to cooperate with the division of child support (DCS). You must tell CSD if you want to claim good cause.(a) CSD determines good cause under WAC 388-422-0020.(b) You may claim good cause at the time…

(1) For custodial parents receiving public assistance, there are two kinds of good cause granted by the community services office (CSO):(a) When the CSO determines that support establishment or enforcement cannot proceed at all because of a risk of danger to the custodial parent …

(1) If the community services division (CSD) grants you good cause level A the division of child support (DCS) closes the case and does not take any action to establish or enforce support for the children covered by the good cause finding.(a) DCS does not reopen the case while yo…

(1) If the community services division (CSD) grants you good cause level B, the division of child support provides support enforcement services without requiring the custodial parent (CP) to provide information or cooperate with DCS in any way.(2) When DCS advises the prosecutor …

(1) When the division of child support (DCS) or its representatives believe that a custodial parent (CP) who receives cash assistance or medical assistance is not cooperating as defined in WAC 388-14A-2040, DCS sends a notice to the CP and to the community services division (CSD)…

(1) The circumstances under which the division of child support (DCS) may close a case depend on whether the application for services was made directly to DCS or to another governmental entity.(2) WAC 388-14A-2081 discusses closure of a case when one of the parties submitted an a…

When the application for services was made directly to the division of child support (DCS) by one of the parties, including when DCS opened the case as the result of an application for public assistance in the state of Washington, the case must remain open unless DCS determines t…

(1) When the application for services was originally made by a party to the child support enforcement agency of another state, tribe, territory, country or political subdivision thereof, which then requested support enforcement services from the division of child support (DCS), D…

(1) The division of child support (DCS) may deny a request to close a support enforcement case when:(a) There is a current assignment of support or medical rights on behalf of the children in the case;(b) There is accrued debt under a support order which has been assigned to the …

(1) The reason for case closure determines whether the division of child support (DCS):(a) Sends a notice of intent to close;(b) Sends a notice of case closure; or(c) Notifies the other jurisdiction.(2) DCS mails a notice of intent to close by regular mail to the last known addre…

(1) Only the person who applied for support enforcement services, also known as the recipient of services, may request a hearing to challenge closure of a case.(2) If the recipient of services requests a hearing, the other party may participate in the hearing.(3) The closure of a…

After support enforcement services are terminated, the division of child support (DCS) returns support money to the noncustodial parent except if the case remains open as a payment services only (PSO) case as described in WAC 388-14A-2000(1).(2) If DCS, as the initiating jurisdic…

(1) When the division of child support (DCS) determines that a support obligation, established by order of a superior court of this state, has been satisfied or is no longer legally enforceable, DCS sends a notice of its intent to file a satisfaction of judgment to the last known…

(1) Under RCW 26.23.120, all information and records, concerning persons who owe a support obligation or for whom the division of child support (DCS) provides support enforcement services, are private and confidential.(2) DCS discloses information and records only to a person or …

(1) Address information is sometimes referred to as whereabouts information, meaning information giving someone's home, work, school or day care location.(2) The last known address of, or employment information about, a party to a court or administrative order for, or a proceedin…

(1) You can make a request for disclosure of most DCS records either orally or in writing. If you are requesting whereabouts information, see subsection (2).(2) You must submit a request for disclosure of a parent or child's address in writing or in person, with satisfactory evid…

(1) The division of child support (DCS) must respond to a public disclosure request within five days, under RCW 26.23.120 and WAC 388-01-090.(2) "Respond" can mean:(a) Providing the requested documents;(b) Acknowledging receipt of the request and giving an estimate of how long it…

(1) Prior to disclosing the address of the custodial parent (CP) or a child, DCS mails a notice to the last known address of the CP, except as provided under WAC 388-14A-2115. The notice advises the CP that:(a) A request for disclosure has been made;(b) DCS intends to disclose th…

(1) Any party to a support order may authorize the division of child support (DCS) to release his or her address to the other party with no prior notice.(2) An authorization to release an address must be:(a) In writing;(b) Notarized; and(c) Effective for any period designated by …

(1) If you are a party to an administrative support order, you may request a support order summary from the division of child support (DCS). The support order summary includes the following information:(a) The noncustodial parent's residential address, employer's address, Social …

(1) The notice and hearing process in WAC 388-14A-2114 and 388-14A-2140 do not apply to requests for address information of the noncustodial parent (NCP).(2) The NCP may request notice before whereabouts info is released to the custodial parent by notifying the division of child …