DHS ORS ANIA WEB 03/03/06
Child
Support Services & Information
Utah Department of Human Services
Office of Recovery Services
Child Support Services
The Office of Recovery Services/Child Support
Services (ORS/CSS) provides child support services under the Federal/State IV-D
Child Support Program. These services
are provided to people who: 1) receive cash assistance or Medicaid from the
Department of Workforce Services (DWS) or the Department of Health (DOH); 2)
are no longer receiving cash assistance or Medicaid but continue to receive
child support services; and 3) apply directly to ORS/CSS for IV-D child support
services.
For online information
visit the ORS Web Site located at: http://www.ors.utah.gov
Contents
Services Provided................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Help Us Help You............................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Electronic Funds Transfer................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Important Information to parents Receiving
Cash Assistance............................................................................................................................ 5
Fees for Services.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Other Information................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
ORS/CSS Regional Office Addresses and
Telephone Numbers ......................................................................................................................... 6
Services Provided:
Case Opening and
Locating the Non-Custodial Parent
We
will open your case and try to locate the non-custodial parent’s address,
income and assets through automated computer matches to obtain or enforce a
child support order.
Establish an Order for Paternity,
Child Support and Medical Support
We
will try to establish the paternity of children who are born to unmarried
parents. We will provide genetic testing
to identify the paternity of a child. If
there is no order we will try to establish a child support and/or medical
support order. The order will address
each parent’s share of the total monthly obligation when the child(ren) is not
living with that parent. We will enforce
the obligation of the non-custodial parent(s).
If physical custody of the child changes, the support obligation will
follow the child unless there is more than one child and physical custody of
the children are split between the parents.
You will be notified if you are obligated to pay child support to our
office. The order will require either
parent to maintain medical insurance coverage for the children, if it is
available, and will require each parent to share equally in the children’s
future uninsured medical expenses. The
parent who has insurance coverage available will be required to get the
insurance.
Review and
Adjustment of Support Orders
Either
parent may ask us to review the support order once every three years from the
time the order was issued or last modified, or when a substantial change in
circumstances has occurred. You must
make a request for a review in writing. Not
all reviews will result in a change (adjustment) to the order. If there is a change, the amount could go up
OR down. To get an idea what the new
amount may be, request a “Review and Adjustment Packet” by calling your
regional ORS/CSS office (see the phone numbers on page 6). Or you may obtain this information at our web
site listed above.
Medical Support
Enforcement
We
automatically provide medical support enforcement services to people who are
receiving cash assistance, Medicaid or apply for our services. If medical insurance coverage is not ordered
in the support order, ORS/CSS may modify the order to include a provision for
medical insurance.
When
a parent is ordered to maintain insurance coverage for the children, but fails
to do so on a qualifying case, we will send notice to
the parent’s employer to enroll the children in a health insurance plan.
Enforcing a
We
will enforce the support obligation of the parent(s) that does not have
physical custody of the child. If the
child is living with a relative, we must open separate cases for the parents.
When physical custody of the child changes, we may enforce the obligation
against the other parent(s) without modifying the order.
Enforcing All
Child Support Orders
We
will try to collect support by taking the payments out of the non-custodial
parent’s paycheck (referred to as “income withholding”), taking federal and
state offset payments, imposing liens for past-due support on real and personal
property, reporting the past-due amount to the credit bureau, and taking other
enforcement actions we decide are appropriate.
If your case is closed and a past-due amount is still owed, we will stop
all enforcement action and withdraw our lien that has been reported to the
court. Withdrawing our lien does not
mean the money is no longer owed, only that ORS/CSS will not be reporting or
collecting the lien amount.
Support Payments
When
payments are received (except federal offset payments), they are generally
credited in the following order: 1) to
current support debts; 2) to past-due
amounts owed to the family, when the family is not receiving cash assistance;
and 3) to past-due support owed to the state, when the family is receiving cash
assistance. We may split the support
payments received among the non-custodial parent’s current child support debts if s/he does not pay enough to cover
the monthly amount due. If the non-custodial parent owes past-due support to more than one family, we may split the payment
of the past-due amount among the cases.
Payments
received from federal offset are credited as follows: 1) past-due amounts owed to the State; 2)
past-due amounts owed to the family.
Payments are usually credited to support owed for the month in which
they are received in the ORS/CSS office.
However, payments received during the last two working days of the month
may not be credited to the case(s) until the following month. We generally send support payments to the
custodial parent within two days of receiving the payment when the family is
not receiving cash assistance. We
generally send federal offset payments within 6 months of receiving the money.
ORS/CSS
tries to credit payments properly.
However, if the employer or non-custodial parent does not provide
complete information with the payment, the payment may be credited incorrectly.
If we send you a payment that was intended for another ORS/CSS debt, we may
retain your future payment(s) to repay the debt. Sometimes a federal or state offset payment
that has been sent to the custodial parent is taken back by the source that
sent it to us. If this happens, the
custodial parent must repay the take-back amount. Federal offset payments may
be taken back up to six years.
Release of Case
Information
The
names and social security numbers of the custodial parent, the non-custodial
parent and the children are sent to the Federal Case Registry, where the
information may be accessed by authorized agencies, such as child support
agencies in other states.
The
address or employer’s address of the non-custodial parent or the custodial
parent and children’s address may be released to the other party or to the
other party’s attorney if we receive a written request and a parent-time
order. If we receive a request to
release your location information, you will be sent a notice that gives you the
opportunity to contest the action and to provide us with documentation that
will safeguard your location information.
The
address or employer’s address of the non-custodial parent or custodial parent
may be released under the Government Records Access Management Act (GRAMA) to
the other party or his/her attorney if
needed to serve legal process to establish or modify a child support, spousal
support, medical support, or child care order or judgment.
If
a National Medical Support Notice is sent to the employer of either parent to
enroll the children in an insurance plan, the addresses of the custodial parent
and the non-custodial parent will be included in the referral. If the case is sent to the Attorney General’s
Office for a court action, the addresses of the custodial parent and the
non-custodial parent will be included in the court documents, which become
public records unless we are provided with an alternate address. If the case is sent to the Office of
Administrative Hearings, the addresses of the custodial parent and the
non-custodial parent will be included in the hearing documents. If the case is referred to a child support
agency in another state, the addresses of the custodial parent and the
non-custodial parent will be included in the referral.
If
you have a domestic violence issue and you would like ORS/CSS to attempt to
safeguard your case information and your children’s case information so that it
will not be released, see the “Release of Information” section on the attached
APPLICATION FOR NON-IV-A SERVICES (form ANIB).
Based
on section 466(a)(13) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 666(a)(13)] it is
mandatory for a State’s child support enforcement program to request an
individual’s social security account number in order to locate individuals for
purposes of establishing paternity and establishing, modifying, and enforcing
support obligations.
Interstate
If
the non-custodial parent lives in another state and we are unable to work the
case ourselves, we and must refer the case to the other state. We cannot tell the other state how to work
your case. The only information we
receive from the other state is when a hearing is scheduled and the results of
the hearing. If the non-custodial parent
does not live in the
Help Us Help You:
Telephone Automated Information Service (AIS) and ORS
Interactive Web Site
Use AIS for information
or questions about payments, receiving electronic payments, or general
information about the services provided by ORS/CSS. The regional phone numbers are listed on page
6. Or use our interactive web site to access payment and case status
information. You can also submit new
address, employment and insurance information, and questions about your case
electronically. Go to http://orsica.dhs.utah.gov where you
will find a log-in page.
Cooperate with ORS/CSS
Provide truthful and
correct information about the other parent and any past-due support that
may be owed; answer all questions
regarding your case; give us copies of orders and the child support worksheets;
send ORS/CSS any payments you receive directly from the non-custodial
parent(s); appear at interviews, administrative or court hearings; submit to
genetic testing, etc.
Non-Cooperation
If you are receiving
cash assistance and do not cooperate with ORS/CSS, your cash assistance may be
reduced and/or your DWS case closed unless ORS/CSS determines that you have
cooperated in good faith. If you feel cooperation
may cause physical or emotional harm to you or your children, contact your DWS
worker.
If you are NOT receiving
cash assistance and do not cooperate and ORS/CSS is unable to take the next
step on your case, your case will be closed.
Medicaid Cooperation/Non-Cooperation
If you are receiving
certain Medicaid benefits you must cooperate with ORS/CSS in obtaining and
enforcing a medical support order. You
must give to ORS/CSS any medical support you receive from the non-custodial
parent. If you do not cooperate, you
will be removed from the Medicaid card.
Tell ORS/CSS Immediately of New Information
Tell us if you are
working with a private attorney or agency to collect your child support. Also tell the private attorney or agency that
you have a case with ORS/CSS.
Tell us if an attorney
or agency files any legal pleadings in court in regard to your child support.
Keep us advised of your
current name (for example, if you remarry), address, social security number,
phone number and your employer’s name and address.
Give us the social security numbers of everyone
involved in your case.
Tell us if the
non-custodial parent’s address, phone number employer or insurance changes.
Tell us if you, the
non-custodial parent, or a spouse enrolls the children in a health insurance
plan. Also, tell us if the children are
dropped from the health insurance plan.
Tell us if your children
are receiving cash assistance and tell us when they are no longer eligible to
receive child support. For example: a
child who has emancipated or is no longer living with you. You will need to repay any support payments
sent to you for ineligible children.
Give us a certified copy of all your support
orders, such as a legal separation order, divorce decree, paternity order,
juvenile court order, order modification or
judgment for past-due child support, medical support, and/or child
care. Judgments must be issued by the judicial district court and not by a
small claims court.
If we are not informed
of a reduction of court ordered support that results in an overpayment to the
custodial parent, we may offset future payments to adjust for the overpaid
amount.
Support Payments
Send any support
payments you receive directly from the non-custodial parent or from any other
source to:
Child Support Services
ORS
Enclose a note that
includes the following information:
1) your case number or
the non-custodial parent’s social security number, and
2) a statement that
indicates the payment was made directly to you.
If you do not include the
note, the full payment may not be credited to your case. We will notify the
non-custodial parent to send any future support payments directly to ORS/CSS.
Electronic
Payment Options: Electronic Funds Transfer (Direct Deposit) or EPPICard (debit card)
We
can deposit your child support payments directly into your checking or savings
account at your financial institution or apply payments to an EPPICard (debit card), unless you are receiving cash
assistance from the State of Utah.
Benefits:
- Your payment goes
directly into your checking or savings account for Electronic Funds
Transfer (direct deposit).
- If you do not have
a checking or savings account your payment is credited to your EPPICard (debit card).
- Your payment will
be deposited within three days.
- You do not have to
wait for the
- You do not have to
go to the bank to cash a check.
- No risk of a lost
or stolen check.
To Enroll:
Complete
the “Direct Deposit” or “EPPICard”section in the APPLICATION
FOR SERVICES (Form ANIB). For more
information call the AIS number for your region on page 6 of this form, or go
to http://orsica.dhs.utah.gov.
Important Information to Parents
Receiving Cash Assistance and/or Medicaid
You
cannot enter into an agreement with the non-custodial parent to accept
“in-kind” support in place of the court ordered support. If you do accept “in–kind” support, you will
need to pay ORS/CSS an equal cash amount.
Examples of in-kind support are food, clothing, housing, utilities, etc.
You
cannot enter into a written agreement with the non-custodial parent for a
reduction of child support during an extended visitation while you are
receiving cash assistance. If your child
support order gives the non-custodial parent extended visitation rights, please
contact your regional ORS/CSS office prior to the extended visit.
When
your cash assistance case and Medicaid case close, we will continue to provide full services, which includes child support, spousal support
and medical support enforcement services unless you tell us you do not want the
services. If you were only receiving
Medicaid and opted not to receive child support services, we will continue to
provide only medical support enforcement services.
You
assigned (transferred) your past, present and future child, spousal and medical
support rights to the State when you became eligible for cash assistance. You will NOT receive your monthly child support
payments when you are receiving cash assistance. We will keep any support
the non-custodial parent pays up to the total amount of cash assistance you
receive. If the amount of the support
collected is more than the total cash assistance you receive, the excess amount
is sent to you.
If
legal paternity for your child(ren) has not been
established, you must cooperate in identifying and locating all possible
alleged fathers and in establishing paternity for your child(ren) unless
ORS/CSS determines you are unable to meet the cooperation requirements, or the
Department of Workforce Services (DWS) determines there is good cause or other
exception to cooperation.
FEES
FOR SERVICES – Charged to individuals who are NOT receiving cash assistance or
Medicaid.
PAYMENT PROCESSING
We charge a $5.00
administrative fee to the applicant each time a payment is processed and sent,
by mail Direct Deposit or EPPICard. The fee will not exceed $10.00 per
month. This charge will be withheld from
the support payment before it is sent.
EPPICard FEES
There are no fees for
withdrawing money from a teller at a bank that displays the MasterCard brand
mark, or to make purchases from a merchant that accepts MasterCard. There is a
transaction fee of $0.85 each time you use the ATM to withdraw money and a
$0.50 fee for a balance inquiry.
FEDERAL OFFSET PAYMENT CHARGE
We charge the case
applicant up to $25.00 if we take the non-custodial parent’s federal offset
payment. If the custodial parent is the
applicant, we will withhold the charge from the federal offset payment before
it is sent. If the non-custodial parent
is the applicant, a $25.00 charge will be added to the non-custodial parent’s
obligation.
PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT SERVICES
If the mother does not
name all possible consorts at the time a case is opened, we will charge her for
the cost of additional genetic testing, unless the man first named as the
father is not excluded by genetic testing.
INTERSTATE CASES
There may be other
charges if your case is referred to another state and that state charges a fee.
If your court order
exempts you from paying fees, you may ask the Clerk of Court who issued your
order to initiate a Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support to have the
payments sent to our office and forwarded to you. No additional services are provided on these
cases and no fees are charged. See our
website for more information or contact the Clerk of Court.
ORS/CSS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO GIVE FURTHER NOTICE ABOUT
ADDITONAL COSTS AND FEES THAT MAY BE CHARGED IN THE FURTURE
Other Information
We ONLY collect spousal support (alimony) if the non-custodial
parent is also ordered to pay current child support for children living with
the custodial parent.
We ONLY collect interest if it is listed as a specific
dollar amount in a judgment or in an
interstate case if the other state provides ORS/CSS with the specific interest
amount, or if a case has been referred for criminal non-support prosecution.
We ONLY collect ongoing medical support if it is included as a
specific dollar amount in your
support order. We will try to enforce
judgments you obtain from the
judicial district court for unpaid medical bills.
We ONLY collect ongoing child care expenses if a parent makes the
request, the specific dollar mount for child care is included in an order along
with a child support obligation, and neither parent is disputing the monthly
child care amount. We will try to
enforce past-due child care expenses if you obtain a judgment from the judicial
district court.
We do not represent either parent. We are assisted by attorneys from the Utah
Attorney General’s Office. They
represent the State and are not personal attorneys for either parent. This means that no attorney client
relationship exists between you and the State’s attorney. If you want legal advice, you will need to
consult with a private attorney.
We decide the actions that we will take on your case. This includes possible civil or criminal
actions. You may want to consider using
a private attorney or agency if you want legal action or a service that we do
not provide, or if you want to be involved in deciding exactly how your case is
worked.
We cannot address custody, visitation, property settlement
issues or any other non-support issues. We cannot
provide all the services you may receive from a private attorney. Services are limited to those described in
this Notice.
We will attempt to collect child support until the child is
legally emancipated. For
We cannot always collect past-due support. Based on
ORS/CSS Regional Offices and Telephone Numbers
P.O. Box 45033,
(Office located at 515 E
100 S 1st Floor)
801-536-8500 or
800-662-8525 801-374-7233
or 800-255-8734
523 Heritage Blvd. Suite
801-779-2273 or
877-547-1808 435-896-5461
or 800-896-5461
801-626-3475 or
800-336-2629 435-674-3900
or 800-678-1732
Reasonable accommodations per Americans with Disabilities
Act available with minimum 3 days advance notice.