Child Support Pass-Through & Disregard Child Support Pass-Through & Disregard

Objectives  Define pass-through and disregard  Explain who gets pass-through and disregard  Explain who gets disregard only  State when a voluntary redirect or joinder is needed  Explain coding for pass-through and disregard  Explain coding for disregard only  Know where to get more information

Helpful Terms DCS – Division of Child Support Obligee – Person owed support Obligor – Person required to pay support Reliacard – Debit card to which child support is deposited

Pass-Through is: Child support. Up to $50 per dependent child or minor parent per financial group per month. Not to exceed $200 per financial group per month. Received by DCS and sent to the client before any remaining current child support is withheld by the state.

Disregard is: Child support. Up to $50 per dependent child or minor parent per financial group per month. Not to exceed $200 per financial group per month. Not counted as income of clients in the Pre-TANF, TANF, or SFPSS programs.

Pass-Through and Disregard Includes only current child support (does not include arrears). Current child support = amount of child support that is paid voluntarily for the support of a child or that is ordered by a court or DCS for the benefit of a child.

Pass-Through and Disregard Does NOT include cash medical support.

Question! Mom and her three kids are getting TANF. Dad pays $60 per month to DCS for each kid. How much child support is sent by DCS to Mom per month as pass-through, and is disregarded as income? A. $180 per month. B. $200 per month. C. $150 per month submit

Answer! Mom and her three kids are getting TANF. Dad pays $60 per month to DCS for each kid. How much child support is sent by DCS to Mom per month as pass-through, and is disregarded as income? “C - $150.00” is correct; pass- through is $50 per month per child, up to $200 a month per family.

Assignment of Rights – Why does it matter? In addition to TANF eligibility, an assignment of rights to child support affects whether a client is eligible for – ☆ ☆ child support pass-through and disregard, or ☆ ☆ disregard only.

Assignment of Rights #1 There is an assignment of rights to child support when: ✓ TANF is paid for the support of a child and ✓ TANF paid is funded with federal grants.

Assignment of Rights #2 When there is an assignment of rights to child support: ✓ child support must be paid through DCS and except for the pass-through amount, ✓ the state keeps child support paid through DCS up to the amount of un-reimbursed assistance (URA).

Special Note on URA URA (un-reimbursed assistance) is the amount of the cash grant that is owed to the state but not yet paid back to the state. URA accumulates only in cases where there is an assignment of rights. URA does NOT include any amount of pass- through sent to a client.

Assignment of Rights #3 There is NO assignment of rights to child support when: TANF is paid for the support of a child AND The TANF paid is funded with state money.

The following programs are funded with state money. There is NO assignment of rights to child support for families in: ✓ Pre-TANF ✓ SFPSS Assignment of Rights #4

There IS an assignment of rights to child support for a family receiving TANF who is NOT in: ✓ Pre-TANF ✓ SFPSS Assignment of Rights #5

TANF recipients get both a pass-through and a disregard of child support. Remember: This means that even though there is an assignment of rights and child support would generally be kept by the state, some of the child support sent to DCS by the obligor will be sent to the TANF recipient and will not be counted as income of the recipient. Pass Through and Disregard # 1

Pamela, who is getting TANF, has twin boys and a lovely daughter. The dad of the twin boys is paying $120 in support. The dad of the daughter is not paying any support. Because Pamela is getting a TANF grant, she gets a disregard only of the child support. True or False? Question! submit

Pamela, who is getting TANF, has twin boys and a lovely daughter. The dad of the twin boys is paying $120 in support. The dad of the daughter is not paying any support. Because Pamela is getting a TANF grant, she gets a disregard only of the child support. Answer! False. Pamela has an open TANF grant so there is an assignment of rights. This means that the state will keep child support paid to DCS for her twins; however, the state will pass through and disregard support up to the allowed limits. This means that $100 will be passed through to Pamela and not counted as income.

Pass Through and Disregard # 2 Because there is no assignment of rights to child support, the state generally sends all child support to: TANF Applicants, including those in Pre- TANF Families in SFPSS

Pass Through and Disregard # 3 Because there is no assignment of rights to child support, and the state generally sends all child support received, clients receive a disregard only when the family is: A TANF applicant, including those in Pre-TANF Participating in SFPSS

Remember! Disregard means that up to $50 per dependent child or minor parent per financial group per month (not to exceed $200 per financial group per month) is not counted as income of the client.

Disregard for Medical-Only Cases? More information on disregard for families who get medical assistance but not TANF will be covered in a separate training. For questions on disregard for medical-only cases, please contact: SSP-POLICY, Medical Joyce Clarkson – Michelle Mack – Carol Berg –

Pass Through and Disregard for Other Programs? Clients who are not receiving TANF or medical benefits do not have to assign their rights to child support to the state. Child Support Pass-Through and Disregard does not apply when a client is receiving benefits through the following programs only: ✓ Food Benefits (SNAP) ✓ Employment Related Daycare (ERDC)

Question! Penelope is applying for TANF. She has two kids. Paternity has not been established for one of the children. Penelope received $110 in child support from the absent father. The following amount of child support will be disregarded: A. $50 per month B. $110 per month C. $100 per month submit

Answer! Penelope is applying for TANF. She has two kids. Paternity has not been established for one of the children. Penelope received $110 in child support from the absent father. The following amount of child support will be disregarded: “A - $50.00” is the correct answer. Disregard is limited to $50 per month per child on whose behalf the child support was sent.

Child support must be paid through DCS because there is an assignment of rights to child support. The obligor pays the child support to the TANF recipient directly instead of sending the child support to DCS? What Happens When…

Direct payments of child support that a TANF recipient does not turn over to DHS are: Not eligible for disregard. Considered countable unearned income and an overpayment may be established against the client.

Direct payments that the TANF recipient does turn over to DHS: ☞ Are to be receipted by DHS and sent to DCS. DCS will forward the appropriate amount of pass-through to the TANF recipient. ☞ For more information on direct payments, including instructions on receipting and forwarding to DCS, see Family Services Manual, Child Support, Chapter B.5, and Field Business Procedures Manual, VII. Receipting.

Caretaker Relatives Some caretaker relatives who are getting TANF will receive a pass-through and disregard only when a voluntary redirect or a joinder is in place.

What is a Joinder? It is a legal action to: ✓ Add the caretaker (needy or non-needy) to the child support case as the person to whom the child support is to be sent (a “pay-to”) and ✓ Connect the children to the child support account.

What is a Voluntary Redirect? It is a voluntary action by the obligee to: ✓ Add the caretaker (needy or non-needy) to the child support case as the person to whom the child support is to be sent (a “pay-to”) and ✓ Connect the children to the child support account.

Voluntary Redirect or Joinder A voluntary redirect or a joinder must be in place for pass-through to be sent to a: ☞ Non-needy caretaker relative. ☞ Needy caretaker relative other than the obligee on a child support case where the child named in the child support order or award does not reside in the obligee’s home.

For example… A voluntary redirect or joinder is required for the pass-through to be sent to: ✓ Aunt Betty, who is a non-needy caretaker relative with whom the children are living. ✓ Granny Smith, who is a needy caretaker taking care of little Larry but Granny Smith is not the obligee on the child support order for little Larry.

Voluntary Redirect or Joinder: Math Time! Voluntary redirect or joinder already in place + Child support payment received by DCS on behalf of a child = Pass-through sent to the caretaker relative

Voluntary Redirect or Joinder: More Math Time! Voluntary redirect or joinder not in place + Child support payment received by DCS on behalf of a child = Pass-through CANNOT be sent to caretaker relative (and that amount will be retained by the State) The DCS worker will be alerted to review the case to determine if it is a caretaker relative case that requires a voluntary redirect or joinder.

Voluntary Redirect or Joinder ✓ May take up to 90 days to get in place. ✓ Pass-through will be made from the date the voluntary acknowledgement or joinder is in place. ✓ Prior to the date the voluntary redirect or joinder is in place, pass-through will be retained by the state.

Question! Dad lives with his child, Tommy. Tommy gets $40 per month in child support from his Mom. Before $40 per month can be passed through to Tommy, DCS must initiate a voluntary redirect or a joinder. True or False? submit

Answer! Dad lives with his child, Tommy. Tommy gets $40 per month in child support from his Mom. Before $40 per month can be passed through to Tommy, DCS must initiate a voluntary redirect or a joinder. False. A voluntary redirect or joinder is needed only for a non-needy caretaker relative or a caretaker relative other than the obligee on a child support case where the child named in the child support order or award does not reside in the obligee’s home.

Coding #1 When there is BOTH a pass-through and disregard, the following coding is applicable: CSP – The amount of child support passed through to a TANF client and disregarded. (CSP includes current support only. CSP coding will appear only on on-going TANF cases not coded as Pre-TANF or SFP.) PSP – The amount of child support after CSP is applied. (The amount of PSP includes arrears. PSP coding will appear only on on-going TANF cases not coded as Pre-TANF or SFP.)

Coding #2 For example: Jacob gets TANF for himself and his two kids who have the same Mom. Mom sends DCS $125 in child support per month for both kids. Based on this: ✍ CSP = $100 ✍ PSP = $25

Coding #3 When there is a disregard only, the following coding is applicable: DSP – The amount of child support that is disregarded. SUP – The amount of child support after DSP is applied. (SUP is the amount of child support that counts against the grant. Code support that is not disregarded as SUP.)

Coding #4 For example: Maxie, Mark and Maxie’s child Minnie are receiving TANF based on the unemployment of Mark (PWE). Maxie receives $80 in child support each month from Minnie’s Dad. UCMS coding, under Minnie, should be: ✍ N/R = PSP, C, $30 ✍ N/R = CSP, C, $50

Remember! Pass-through and disregard amount (coded CSP) is for: ✓ Families who get TANF but are not in one of the programs below. Disregard only amount (coded as DSP) is for: ✓ TANF applicants ✓ Families in SFPSS

Worker Action Needed? ✎ The CSP and PSP need/resource codes will be added by the system and no worker action is needed. ✎ Remember: When child support is paid directly to the client for an on-going TANF case (not SFP), the branch will receipt the direct payment and forward to DCS. DCS will forward the pass- through to the TANF client and CSP and PSP will be added by the system.

Worker Action Needed? ✎ On UCMS, the SUP and DSP need/resource codes and dollar amounts must be manually added by the worker, to the respective person (child) for which the support is intended.

For example… Tina is receiving TANF for herself and children Tommy and Timmy. Tina is in the SFPSS program. Tommy’s father does not pay any child support. Timmy’s father pays $ per month in support. UCMS (under person Timmy) should be coded: N/R=SUP, C, $ N/R=DSP, C, $50.00

Budgeting & Notices Budgeting Is the income (child support) reasonably anticipated to continue? Prospective or retrospective budgeting? Actual or average? Refer to the Family Services Manual on how to calculate income received. Notices In general, a Timely Continuing Benefit Notice must be given to a client anytime benefits are reduced or ended. Refer to the Family Services Manual for notice requirements and deadlines.

DCS Screens Showing Pass-Through Amounts SPTH (State Pass-Through History) SPTD (State Pass-Through Detail)

For More Information OAR Family Services Manual, 10. Child Support Program, H. Child Support Pass-through and Disregard DCS – http//

For Even More Information Amy Sevdy – or (503) Lisa Buss – or (503) Medical-only cases:  SSP-POLICY, Medical  Joyce Clarkson –  Michelle Mack –  Carol Berg – For questions about a voluntary redirect or joinder for a particular case or if it appears that pass-through should be made but appears not to be, please contact the DCS worker.

You have completed the Child Support Pass-Through & Disregard Training! CLOSE WINDOW