(A) This rule
describes the conditions that must exist and the process a child support
enforcement agency (CSEA) shall use to terminate IV-D services or to terminate
support enforcement program services (i.e., case closure).
(B) Terms used in
this rule.
(1) "Alleged
father," as used in this rule, means a man who alleges or is alleged to be
the father of a child.
(2) "Caretaker,"
as used in this rule, means the custodial parent, individual, or agency that is
or may become the beneficiary of a support order.
(3) "Case
closure" means the termination of support enforcement program services.
(4) "Duty to
provide support enforcement program services" means the responsibility,
imposed pursuant to section 3125.11 of the Revised Code, to enforce support
orders in the county the CSEA services.
(5) "IV-D
case" is defined in rule 5101:12-10-01 5101:12-1-10 of the Administrative Code.
(6) "IV-D
services" are identified in rule 5101:12-10-01 of the Administrative Code
and also include support enforcement program services.
(7) "Non-custodial
parent" or "NCP" means an individual who is or may become
obligated to pay support.
(8) "Non IV-D
case" is defined in rule 5101:12-10-015101:12-1-10 of the Administrative Code.
(9) "Non-public
assistance case" or "NPA case," for the purposes of this rule,
is a IV-D case in which:
(a) The CSEA
approved a IV-D application;
(b) The CSEA
received a IV-D referral but the Ohio works first (OWF), medicaid, or Title
IV-E foster care maintenance (FCM) benefits have terminated. There may or may
not be assigned arrears; or
(c) The CSEA
received a IV-D referral and the child is currently receiving medicaid benefits
and one of the following exists:
(i) The
caretaker with whom the child resides is not receiving medicaid benefits; or
(ii) The
caretaker with whom the child resides is receiving medicaid benefits and the
caretaker meets one of the exceptions to cooperation in accordance with
paragraph (D) of rule 5101:12-10-31 of the Administrative Code.
(10) "Public
assistance case" or "PA case," for the purposes of this rule,
means a IV-D case in which the CSEA received a IV-D referral and:
(a) The child is
currently receiving OWF or FCM benefits; or
(b) The child is
currently receiving medicaid benefits, the caretaker with whom the child
resides is receiving medicaid benefits, and the caretaker is required to
cooperate with the CSEA in accordance with paragraph (D) of rule 5101:12-10-31
of the Administrative Code.
(11) "Recipient
of IV-D services," for the purposes of this rule, means:
(a) The individual
who signed the approved IV-D application; or
(b) The caretaker
in a IV-D referral.
(12) "Support
enforcement program services" are identified in rule 5101:12-10-01 of the
Administrative Code.
(C) When the phrase
"terminate services" is used in this rule, it refers to the decision
made by the CSEA to either terminate all services or to terminate IV-D services
but continue to provide support enforcement program services. The decision made
by the CSEA must be made based on one of the criteria described in paragraph
(D) of this rule. To further clarify, when the CSEA elects to terminate
services, then:
(1) In a IV-D
case:
(a) IV-D services
terminate but the CSEA shall continue to provide support enforcement program services
when the CSEA has a duty to provide support enforcement program services. The
case is then considered a non-IV-D case.
(b) Case closure
shall occur when IV-D services have been terminated and the CSEA has no duty to
provide support enforcement program services.
(2) In a non-IV-D
case, case closure shall occur when the CSEA has no duty to provide support
enforcement program services.
(D) A CSEA may
terminate services when the case record contains verification that the case
meets one of the following criteria:
(1) There is no
current support obligation owed to the caretaker and one of the following
applies:
(a) The child is
no longer in the home of the caretaker and there is no support order or no
arrears are owed under a terminated support order.
Use of this criterion shall result in case closure.
(b) There is no
duty of support, as described in section 3103.03 of the Revised Code, owed to
the caretaker, and paternity establishment is not required.
Use of this criterion shall result in case closure.
(c) The court or
administrative support order has been terminated and there are no arrears or
the total of all arrears is less than five hundred dollars and a payment has
not been received on the case within the preceding six months.
Use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case when there
are arrears or case closure when there are no arrears.
(d) The court or
administrative support order has been terminated, the arrears are unenforceable
under state law, and a payment has not been received on the case within the
preceding six months.
Use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case.
(e) The child has reached the age of
majority, the NCP is entering or has entered long-term care arrangements (such
as a residential care facility or home health care), and the NCP has no
available income or assets above the subsistence level that could be levied or
attached for support.
Use of this criterion shall result in a
non IV-D case when there are arrears, or case closure when there are no
arrears.
(2) The NCP has
died and no further support enforcement program services, including a levy
against the estate, can be provided.
Use of this criterion shall result in case closure.
(3) The CSEA
cannot establish paternity because:
(a) The child is
twenty-three years of age or older and the action to establish paternity is
barred by statute of limitations as specified in section 3111.05 of the Revised
Code;
(b) Genetic
testing has excluded the alleged father;
(c) There is a
final and enforceable determination of paternity that determines that the
alleged father is not the father of the child or that another man is the father
of the child;
(d) The CSEA has
determined that it would not be in the best interest of the child to establish
paternity in a case involving incest or forcible rape or where legal
proceedings for adoption are pending; or
(e) The identity
of the biological father is unknown and cannot be identified after diligent
efforts, including at least one interview by the CSEA with the recipient of
IV-D services.
Use of this criterion shall result in case closure.
(4) The NCP's
location is unknown, the CSEA has made diligent efforts to locate the NCP using
multiple sources, as described in rules 5101:12-20-05 to 5101:12-20-05.3 of the
Administrative Code, and all efforts have been unsuccessful over a period of:
(a) ThreeTwo years when there
is sufficient information to initiate an automatic locate effort; or
(b) One year when there is sufficient
information to initiate an automatic locate effort, but locate interfaces are
unable to verify a social security number; or
(b)(c) One yearSix months when there is not sufficient information to
initiate an automatic locate effort.
Use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case when there
is a support order or arrears, or in case closure
when there is no support order or arrears.
(5) The NCP has no
available income or assets above the subsistence level that
could be levied or attached for support and cannot pay support for the duration
of the child's minority, or after the child has reached
the age of majority because:
(a) The NCP is
institutionalized in a psychiatric facility;
(b) The NCP is
incarcerated with no chance for parole; or
(c) The NCP has a
medically verified total and permanent disability with no evidence of support
potential.
Use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case when there
is a support order or arrears, or in case closure
when there is no support order or arrears.
(6) The NCP's sole income is from
supplemental security income (SSI) payments, and paternity has been
established.
Use of this criteria shall result in a
non-IV-D case when there is a support order or arrears, or in case closure when
there is no support order or arrears.
(6)(7) The NCP is a citizen of and lives in a
foreign country and:
(a) Does not work
for the federal government or a company with headquarters or offices in the
United States;
(b) Has no
reachable domestic income or assets; and
(c) Ohio has been unable to establishThere is no federal or state treaty or reciprocity with
that country.
Use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case when there
is a support order or arrears, or in case closure
when there is no support order or arrears.
(7)(8) The case was opened for location services
only, location services have been completed, and a final location response has
been sent to the caretaker.
This criterion shall only be used in an NPA case or a Title
IV-E, non-FCM case when the case was opened as a result of a request for
location services only. Use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case
when there is a support order or arrears, or in
case closure when there is no support order or arrears.
(8)(9) The recipient of IV-D services requests that
the CSEA terminate IV-D services.
(a) This criterion
shall only be used in a case when there are no assigned arrears and the CSEA:
(i) Approved a
IV-D application; or
(ii) Received a
IV-D referral but the OWF, medicaid, or FCM benefits have terminated.
(b) Use of this
criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case when there is a support order or
arrears, or in case closure when there is no
support order or arrears.
(9)(10) The CSEA has:
(a) Approved a
good cause waiver or determined other exceptions to cooperation; and
(b) Determined
that no support enforcement services may be provided without risk of harm to
the child or caretaker.
This criterion shall only be used in a PA case. Use of this
criterion shall result in case closure.
(10)(11) The CSEA is unable to contact the
recipient of IV-D services within a sixty day period despite
an attempt of at least one letter sent by first class
mail to the last known address of a good faith
effort madethe recipient of IV-D services through at least two different methods, one of which shall be
a letter sent by first class mail to the last known address. Other methods may
include attempted contact by: email, telephone, the state services portal
(SSP), or other method. The two methods of contact shall be documented in the
case record.
This criterion shall only be used in an NPA case when there are
no assigned arrears. Use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case when
there is a support order or arrears, or in case
closure when there is no support order or arrears.
(11)(12) The CSEA documents the circumstances
of non-cooperation by the recipient of IV-D services and an action by the
recipient of IV-D services is essential for the next step in providing
services.
This criterion shall only be used in an NPA case when there are
no assigned arrears. Use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case when
there is a support order or arrears, or in case
closure when there is no support order or arrears.
(13) Another assistance program, including
Title IV-A, Title IV-E, supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), and
medicaid, has referred a case to the CSEA that is inappropriate to establish a
child support order, enforce a child support order, or continue to enforce a
child support order, and the caretaker or NCP has not applied for IV-D
services, when:
(a) The child is living in the home of an
intact two parent household; or
(b) The caretaker is no longer receiving
services from an assistance program that requires cooperation with the CSEA.
The CSEA shall make reasonable efforts to
establish paternity prior to use of this criterion.
Use of this criterion shall result in a
non IV-D case when there is a support order or arrears, or in case closure when
there is no support order or arrears.
(12)(14) The CSEA documents that the initiating
state has failed to take an action after repeated requests from the CSEA for
additional information or documents, that is essential for the CSEA to take the
next step in providing services.
Use of this criterion shall result in case closure if there is
no Ohio controlling order on the case, or there are no assigned arrears owed to
Ohio. If there is an Ohio controlling order, or if there are assigned arrears
owed to Ohio, the use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case.
(13)(15) The initiating agency has notified the
CSEA that the initiating state has closed its case. The CSEA shall close the
case within ten business days of receiving the notification.
Use of this criterion shall result in case closure if there is
no Ohio controlling order on the case, or there are no assigned arrears owed to
Ohio. If there is an Ohio controlling order, or if there are assigned arrears
owed to Ohio, the use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case.
(14)(16) The initiating agency has notified the
CSEA that the CSEA's intergovernmental services are no longer needed. The CSEA
shall close the case within ten business days of receiving the notification.
Use of this criterion shall result in case closure if there is
no Ohio controlling order on the case, or there are no assigned arrears owed to
Ohio. If there is an Ohio controlling order, or if there are assigned arrears
owed to Ohio, the use of this criterion shall result in a non-IV-D case.
(17) The case has been transferred to a tribal
IV-D agency and the CSEA has complied with the following before transferring
and closing the case with Ohio:
(a) The recipient of services has requested
the CSEA to transfer the case to the tribal IV-D agency and close their case
with Ohio;
(b) The CSEA has notified the recipient of
services of its intent to transfer the case to the tribal IV-D agency and close
their case with Ohio, and the recipient did not respond to the notice; or
(c) The tribal IV-D agency has a
state-tribal agreement approved by the federal office of child support
enforcement (OCSE) to transfer and close cases, with the consent from the
recipient of services.
Use of this criterion shall result in
case closure.
(15)(18) In a non-IV-D case, a court has, in
accordance with section 3121.441 of the Revised Code, permitted the obligor to
make spousal support payments directly to the obligee instead of to the office
of child support when:
(a) The obligee
and obligor have no minor children born as a result of their marriage; and
(b) The obligee
has not assigned the spousal support amounts to the Ohio department of job and
family services.
This criterion shall only be used in a non-IV-D case. Use of
this criterion shall result in case closure.
(16)(19) The case was opened in error or
another administrative reason exists to close the case.
Use of this criterion shall result in case closure.
(E) In a IV-D
case, the CSEA shall make reasonable efforts to establish paternity or a child
support order, when appropriate, prior to terminating IV-D services.
(F) A CSEA shall terminate services when
the case record contains verification that the case meets the following
criteria:
(1) The child is eligible for health care
services from the Indian health service (IHS); and
(2) The case was opened because of a
medicaid referral based solely upon health care services, including the purchased/referred
care program, provided through an IHS.
Use of this criterion shall result in
case closure.
(F)(G) Notice of termination of services.
(1) Sixty days
prior to terminating services, the CSEA shall issue a JFS 07046, "Pending
Case Closure Notice" (effective or revised effective date as identified in
rule 5101:12-10-99 of the Administrative Code), to:
(a) The recipient
of IV-D services when services are proposed for termination pursuant to
paragraphs (D)(1) to (D)(6)(7), (D)(10),or (D)(11), or (D)(12) of
this rule.
(b) The initiating
state in an interstate case when services are proposed for termination pursuant
to paragraph (D)(12)(14)
of this rule.
(2) The IV-D case
must beremain open when,if, during the sixty
day period:
(a) Contact is
reestablished with the recipient of IV-D services and the case was proposed for
termination pursuant to paragraph (D)(10)(11) of this rule;
(b) In response to
the JFS 07046, the recipient of IV-D services or the initiating state supplies
information that could lead to any of the following:
(i) Establishment
of paternity;
(ii) Establishment
of a child support order; or
(iii) Enforcement
of a child support order.
(G)(H) Termination of support enforcement program
services in a non-IV-D case with an existing arrears balance.
(1) The CSEA may
terminate support enforcement program services and close a non-IV-D case when
the support order has been terminated and:
(a) The total of
all arrears is less than one hundred fifty dollars; or
(b) There has been
no collection received on the case during the past three years and all manual
and automated location or enforcement methods have been unsuccessful.
(2) When the CSEA
proposes to terminate support enforcement program services and close a non-IV-D
case, the CSEA shall issue a notice to the last known address of the parties to
the support order that contains the following information:
(a) The arrears
balances, when applicable;
(b) Either party
to the support order may request that the CSEA continue providing support
enforcement program services by contacting the CSEA in writing within sixty
days of the date on the notice;
(c) After the
case has been closed, either party to the support order may contact the CSEA at
any time and request that the CSEA resume providing support enforcement program
services or IV-D services; and
(d) The CSEA will
reopen the case at a later date when a collection is received on the case.
(3) The CSEA may
close the non-IV-D case when neither party has contacted the CSEA within sixty
days of the date of the notice described in paragraph (G)(2)(H)(2) of this rule to request that the CSEA continue
to provide services.
(4) When the CSEA
closes the non-IV-D case, the arrears balances that display on the support
enforcement tracking system (SETS) must accurately reflect the arrears balances
owed on the case.
(5) When the CSEA
has closed a non-IV-D case, the CSEA shall reopen the case in accordance with
rule 5101:12-10-02 of the Administrative Code or when a collection is received
on the case.
Effective: 2/1/2018
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 9/1/2020
Certification: CERTIFIED ELECTRONICALLY
Date: 01/04/2018
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3123.121, 3125.25
Rule Amplifies: 3121.441, 3123.12, 3125.11
Prior Effective Dates: 08/01/1982, 11/11/1982, 07/01/1983,
01/01/1984, 07/11/1987, 12/01/1987, 07/15/1988, 12/20/1988, 06/02/1989,
09/01/1989, 10/01/1990, 11/01/1991, 04/01/1992, 07/01/1996, 10/01/1999,
02/22/2002, 06/15/2006, 05/15/2008, 12/15/2009, 11/01/2011, 09/01/2015