BILL NUMBER: AB 196 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 478
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 27, 1999
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 24, 1999
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 1999
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 15, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 14, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 8, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 25, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Kuehl
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Aroner and Villaraigosa)
(Principal coauthors: Senators Burton and Schiff)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alquist, Calderon, Jackson,
Longville, Mazzoni, Romero, Shelley, and Washington)
(Coauthors: Senators Hayden and Ortiz)
JANUARY 21, 1999
An act to add Division 17 (commencing with Section 17000) to the
Family Code, to amend Section 12803 of the Government Code, to amend
Sections 19271, 19533, and 19548 of, and to repeal Section 19271.5
of, the Revenue and Taxation Code, to add Section 1088.8 to the
Unemployment Insurance Code, to amend Sections 11476.6, 11477,
11477.02, 11477.04, 11479, 11485, and 18205 of, to amend and renumber
Section 11479.7 of, to amend and repeal Section 11475.3 of, and to
repeal Sections 11350, 11350.1, 11350.2, 11350.3, 11350.4, 11350.5,
11350.6, 11350.7, 11350.8, 11350.9, 11351, 11352, 11354, 11355,
11356, 11357, 11475, 11475.1, 11475.15, 11475.4, 11475.5, 11475.8,
11476, 11476.1, 11478, 11478.2, 11478.5, 11478.51, 11478.6, 11478.7,
11478.8, 11478.9, 11479.5, 11479.6, 11479.7, 11488, 11489, 11490,
11491, 11492, 11492.1, 15200.6, 15200.75, 15200.81, 15200.92,
15200.95, 15200.96, 15200.97, 15200.98, of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to social services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 196, Kuehl. Child support enforcement.
Existing law designates the State Department of Social Services as
the single organizational unit to administer the state plan for
securing child and spousal support and determining paternity and sets
forth the department's duties and functions for this purpose.
This bill would recast those provisions. The bill would establish
a Department of Child Support Services to administer all services
and perform all functions necessary to establish, collect, and
distribute child support. The bill would designate the Department of
Child Support Services as the single organizational unit to
administer the state plan for securing child and spousal support,
medical support, and determining paternity.
The bill would require the Director of Child Support Services to
develop a plan for consolidating state and local child support
enforcement collection activities within the department and submit
the plan to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public by January
1, 2001.
The bill would require the director to convene a task force by
September 1, 2000, to evaluate the benefits of implementing an
administrative process in the state for handling child support
matters being enforced by a local child support agency pursuant to
the bill. The bill would require the task force to report its
findings and recommendations to the Legislature by July 1, 2001.
Existing law requires each county to maintain a single
organizational unit within the office of the district attorney to be
responsible for establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support
obligations and specifies various duties and the authority of the
district attorney for these purposes.
This bill, instead, would require each county to establish a
county department of child support services referred to as the local
child support agency, to which the Department of Child Support
Services has delegated or with which the department has contracted,
to secure child and spousal support, medical support, and determine
paternity in a county pursuant to these provisions. Because this
bill would impose new duties upon counties, it would impose a
state-mandated local program.
Existing law provides for the collection of child support
obligations by the Franchise Tax Board.
This bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to implement
augmented child support collection activities, and would revise child
support collection procedures.
Existing law requires each employer to file with the Director of
Employment Development a report of contributions and report of wages
paid to his or her workers as prescribed.
This bill would require, effective July 1, 2000, any
service-recipient, as defined, who makes or is required to file
designated tax returns with the federal Internal Revenue Service to
provide to the Employment Development Department certain information.
Existing law provides for the funding of various means of
providing incentives for county child support collection efforts and
limiting the use of excess incentive funds paid to counties.
This bill would repeal those provisions.
This bill would also make conforming changes and delete obsolete
provisions of law.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 17 (commencing with Section 17000) is added to
the Family Code, to read:
DIVISION 17. SUPPORT SERVICES
CHAPTER 1. DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES
Article 1. General
17000. The definitions contained in this section, and definitions
applicable to Division 9 (commencing with Section 3500), shall
govern the construction of this division, unless the context requires
otherwise.
(a) "Child support debt" means the amount of money owed as child
support pursuant to a court order.
(b) "Child support order" means any court order for the payment of
a set or determinable amount of support by a parent or a court order
requiring a parent to provide for health insurance coverage. "Child
support order" includes any court order for spousal support or for
medical support to the extent these obligations are to be enforced by
a single state agency for child support under Title IV-D.
(c) "Court" means any superior court of this state and any court
or tribunal of another state that has jurisdiction to determine the
liability of persons for the support of another person.
(d) "Court order" means any judgment, decree, or order of any
court of this state that orders the payment of a set or determinable
amount of support by a parent. It does not include any order or
decree of any proceeding in which a court did not order support.
(e) "Department" means the Department of Child Support Services.
(f) "Dependent child" means any of the following:
(1) Any person under 18 years of age who is not emancipated,
self-supporting, married, or a member of the armed forces of the
United States.
(2) Any unmarried person who is at least 18 years of age but who
has not reached his or her 19th birthday, is not emancipated, and is
a student regularly attending high school or a program of vocational
or technical training designed to train that person for gainful
employment.
(g) "Director" means the Director of Child Support Services or his
or her authorized representative.
(h) "Local child support agency" means the county department of
child support services created pursuant to this chapter and with
which the department has entered into a cooperative agreement, to
secure child and spousal support, medical support, and determine
paternity in a county.
(i) "Parent" means the natural or adoptive father or mother of a
dependent child, and includes any person who has an enforceable
obligation to support a dependent child.
(j) "Public assistance" includes any money payments made to or for
the benefit of any dependent child, including all payments paid for
food, shelter, medical care, clothing, transportation, or any other
goods or services.
(k) "Public assistance debt" means any amount paid under the
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act, contained
in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9
of the Welfare and Institutions Code, for the benefit of any
dependent child or the caretaker of a child for whom the department
is authorized to seek recoupment under this division, subject to
applicable federal law.
(l) "Title IV-D" or "IV-D" means Part D of Title IV of the federal
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).
Article 2. Organization
17200. The Department of Child Support Services is hereby created
within the California Health and Human Services Agency. The
department shall administer all services and perform all functions
necessary to establish, collect, and distribute child support.
17202. The department is hereby designated the single
organizational unit whose duty it shall be to administer the Title
IV-D state plan for securing child and spousal support, medical
support, and determining paternity. State plan functions shall be
performed by other agencies as required by law, by delegation of the
department, or by cooperative agreements.
17204. The department consists of the director and such division
or other administrative units as the director may find necessary.
17206. The department shall ensure that there is an adequate
organizational structure and sufficient staff to perform functions
delegated to any governmental unit relating to Part D (commencing
with Section 651) of Subchapter 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the
United States Code, including a sufficient number of attorneys to
ensure that all requirements of due process are satisfied in the
establishment and enforcement of child support orders.
17208. (a) The department shall reduce the cost of, and increase
the speed and efficiency of, child support enforcement operations.
It is the intent of the Legislature to operate the child support
enforcement program through local child support agencies without a
net increase in state General Fund or county general fund costs,
considering all increases to the General Fund as a result of
increased collections and welfare recoupment.
(b) The department shall maximize the use of federal funds
available for the costs of administering a child support services
department, and to the maximum extent feasible, obtain funds from
federal financial incentives for the efficient collection of child
support, to defray the remaining costs of administration of the
department consistent with effective and efficient support
enforcement.
17210. The department shall ensure that the local child support
agency offices and services are reasonably accessible throughout the
counties, and shall establish systems for informing the public,
including custodial and noncustodial parents of dependent children,
of its services and operations.
17211. The department shall administer the Child Support
Assurance Demonstration Project established by Article 5 (commencing
with Section 18241) of Chapter 3.3 of Part 6, and the county
demonstration projects to provide employment and training services to
nonsupporting noncustodial parents authorized by Section 18203.5.
17212. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect
individual rights of privacy, and to facilitate and enhance the
effectiveness of the child and spousal support enforcement program,
by ensuring the confidentiality of support enforcement and child
abduction records, and to thereby encourage the full and frank
disclosure of information relevant to all of the following:
(1) The establishment or maintenance of parent and child
relationships and support obligations.
(2) The enforcement of the child support liability of absent
parents.
(3) The enforcement of spousal support liability of the spouse or
former spouse to the extent required by the state plan under Section
17604 and Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 4900) of Part 5 of
Division 9.
(4) The location of absent parents.
(5) The location of parents and children abducted, concealed, or
detained by them.
(b) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (c), all files,
applications, papers, documents, and records established or
maintained by any public entity pursuant to the administration and
implementation of the child and spousal support enforcement program
established pursuant to Part D (commencing with Section 651) of
Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code and
this division, shall be confidential, and shall not be open to
examination or released for disclosure for any purpose not directly
connected with the administration of the child and spousal support
enforcement program. No public entity shall disclose any file,
application, paper, document, or record, or the information contained
therein, except as expressly authorized by this section.
(2) In no case shall information be released or the whereabouts of
one party or the child disclosed to another party, or to the
attorney of any other party, if a protective order has been issued by
a court or administrative agency with respect to the former party, a
good cause claim under Section 11477.04 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code has been approved or is pending, or the public
agency responsible for establishing paternity or enforcing support
has reason to believe that the release of the information may result
in physical or emotional harm to the former party or the child.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a proof of service
filed by the district attorney shall not disclose the address where
service of process was accomplished. Instead, the district attorney
shall keep the address in his or her own records. The proof of
service shall specify that the address is on record at the district
attorney's office and that the address may be released only upon an
order from the court pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (c).
(c) Disclosure of the information described in subdivision (b) is
authorized as follows:
(1) All files, applications, papers, documents, and records as
described in subdivision (b) shall be available and may be used by a
public entity for all administrative, civil, or criminal
investigations, actions, proceedings, or prosecutions conducted in
connection with the administration of the child and spousal support
enforcement program approved under Part D (commencing with Section
651) of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States
Code, and any other plan or program described in Section 303.21 of
Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations and to the county welfare
department responsible for administering a program operated under a
state plan pursuant to Subpart 1 or 2 or Part B or Part E of
Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(2) A document requested by a person who wrote, prepared, or
furnished the document may be examined by or disclosed to that person
or his or her designee.
(3) The payment history of an obligor pursuant to a support order
may be examined by or released to the court, the obligor, or the
person on whose behalf enforcement actions are being taken or that
person's designee.
(4) Income and expense information of either parent may be
released to the other parent for the purpose of establishing or
modifying a support order.
(5) Public records subject to disclosure under the Public Records
Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of the
Government Code) may be released.
(6) After a noticed motion and a finding by the court, in a case
in which establishment or enforcement actions are being taken, that
release or disclosure to the obligor or obligee is required by due
process of law, the court may order a public entity that possesses an
application, paper, document, or record as described in subdivision
(b) to make that item available to the obligor or obligee for
examination or copying, or to disclose to the obligor or obligee the
contents of that item. Article 9 (commencing with Section 1040) of
Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Evidence Code shall not be applicable
to proceedings under this part. At any hearing of a motion filed
pursuant to this section, the court shall inquire of the local child
support agency and the parties appearing at the hearing if there is
reason to believe that release of the requested information may
result in physical or emotional harm to a party. If the court
determines that harm may occur, the court shall issue any protective
orders or injunctive orders restricting the use and disclosure of the
information as are necessary to protect the individuals.
(7) To the extent not prohibited by federal law or regulation,
information indicating the existence or imminent threat of a crime
against a child, or location of a concealed, detained, or abducted
child or the location of the concealing, detaining, or abducting
person, may be disclosed to any district attorney, any appropriate
law enforcement agency, or to any state or county child protective
agency, or may be used in any judicial proceedings to prosecute that
crime or to protect the child.
(8) The social security number, most recent address, and the place
of employment of the absent parent may be released to an authorized
person as defined in Section 653(c) of Title 42 of the United States
Code, only if the authorized person has filed a request for the
information, and only if the information has been provided to the
California Parent Locator Service by the federal Parent Locator
Service pursuant to Section 653 of Title 42 of the United States
Code.
(d) (1) "Administration and implementation of the child and
spousal support enforcement program," as used in this section, means
the carrying out of the state and local plans for establishing,
modifying, and enforcing child support obligations, enforcing spousal
support orders, and determining paternity pursuant to Part D
(commencing with Section 651) of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title
42 of the United States Code and this article.
(2) For purposes of this section, "obligor" means any person owing
a duty of support.
(3) As used in this chapter, "putative parent" shall refer to any
person reasonably believed to be the parent of a child for whom the
local child support agency is attempting to establish paternity or
establish, modify, or enforce support pursuant to Section 17400.
(e) Any person who willfully, knowingly, and intentionally
violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to compel the
disclosure of information relating to a deserting parent who is a
recipient of aid under a public assistance program for which federal
aid is paid to this state, if that information is required to be kept
confidential by the federal law or regulations relating to the
program.
Article 3. Director of Child Support Services
17300. With the consent of the Senate, the Governor shall
appoint, to serve at his or her pleasure, an executive officer who
shall be director of the department. The director shall be appointed
wholly on the basis of training, demonstrated ability, experience,
and leadership in organized child support enforcement administration.
The director shall receive the salary provided for by Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 11550), Part 1, Division 3, Title 2 of the
Government Code.
The Governor also may appoint, to serve at his or her pleasure,
not to exceed two chief deputy directors of the department, and one
deputy director of the department. The salaries of the chief deputy
directors and the deputy director shall be fixed in accordance with
law.
17302. The director shall do all of the following:
(a) Be responsible for the management of the department.
(b) Administer all federal and state laws and regulations
pertaining to the administration of child support enforcement
obligations.
(c) Perform all duties as may be prescribed by law, and any other
administrative and executive duties imposed by law.
(d) Observe, and report to the Governor, the Legislature, and the
public on, the conditions of child support enforcement activities
throughout the state pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 17602.
17303. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act, contained in
Part D (commencing with Section 651) of Subchapter 4 of Chapter 7 of
Title 42 of the United States Code, requires that there be a single
state agency for child support enforcement. California's child
support enforcement system is extremely complex, involving numerous
state and local agencies. The state's system was divided between the
State Department of Social Services, the Attorney General's office,
the Franchise Tax Board, the Employment Development Department, the
Department of Motor Vehicles, and the 58 county district attorneys'
offices.
(b) The lack of coordination and integration between state and
local child support agencies has been a major impediment to getting
support to the children of this state. An effective child support
enforcement program must have strong leadership and effective state
oversight and management to best serve the needs of the children of
the state.
(c) The state would benefit by centralizing its obligation to hold
counties responsible for collecting support. Oversight would be
best accomplished by direct management by the state.
(d) A single state agency for child support enforcement with
strong leadership and direct accountability for local child support
agencies will benefit the taxpayers of the state by reducing the
inefficiencies introduced by involving multiple layers of government
in child support enforcement operations.
17304. To address the concerns stated by the Legislature in
Section 17303, each county shall establish a new county department of
child support services. Each department is also referred to in this
division as the local child support agency. The local child support
agency shall be separate and independent from any other county
department and shall be responsible for promptly and effectively
establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support obligations,
including medical support, enforcing spousal support orders
established by a court of competent jurisdiction, and determining
paternity in the case of a child born out of wedlock. The local
child support agency shall refer all cases requiring criminal
enforcement services to the district attorney and the district
attorney shall prosecute those cases, as appropriate. If a district
attorney fails to comply with this section, the director shall notify
the Attorney General and the Attorney General shall take appropriate
action to secure compliance. The director shall be responsible for
implementing and administering all aspects of the state plan that
direct the functions to be performed by the local child support
agencies relating to their Title IV-D operations. In developing the
new system, all of the following shall apply:
(a) The director shall negotiate and enter into cooperative
agreements with county and state agencies to carry out the
requirements of the state plan and provide services relating to the
establishment of paternity or the establishment, modification, or
enforcement of child support obligations as required pursuant to
Section 654 of Title 42 of the United States Code. The cooperative
agreements shall require that the local child support agencies are
reasonably accessible to the citizens of each county and are visible
and accountable to the public for their activities. The director, in
consultation with the impacted counties, may consolidate the local
child support agencies, or any function of the agencies, in more than
one county into a single local child support agency, if the director
determines that the consolidation will increase the efficiency of
the state Title IV-D program and each county has at least one local
child support office accessible to the public.
(b) The director shall have direct oversight, management and
control of the local child support agency, and no other local or
state agency shall have any authority over the local child support
agency as to any function relating to its Title IV-D operations. The
local child support agency shall be responsible for the performance
of child support enforcement activities required by law and
regulation in a manner prescribed by the department. The
administrator of the local child support agency shall be responsible
for reporting to and responding to the director on all aspects of the
child support program. Nothing in this section prohibits the local
child support agency, with the prior approval of the director, from
entering into cooperative arrangements with other county departments,
as necessary to carry out the responsibilities imposed by this
section pursuant to plans of cooperation submitted to the department,
approved by the director. Within 60 days of receipt of a plan of
cooperation from the local child support agency, the department shall
either approve the plan of cooperation or notify the agency that the
plan is denied. If an agency is notified that the plan is denied,
the agency shall have the opportunity to resubmit a revised plan of
cooperation. If the director fails to respond in writing within 60
days of receipt, the plan shall otherwise be deemed approved.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed an approval of program costs
relative to the cooperative arrangements entered into by the counties
with other county departments.
(c) In order to minimize the disruption of services provided and
to capitalize on the expertise of employees, the director shall
create a program that builds on existing staff and facilities to the
fullest extent possible. All assets of the family support division
in the district attorney's office shall become assets of the local
child support agency.
(d) (1) All employees and other personnel who serve the office of
the district attorney and perform child support collection and
enforcement activities shall become the employees and other personnel
of the county child support agency at their existing or equivalent
classifications, and at their existing salaries and benefits that
include, but are not limited to, accrued and unused vacation, sick
leave, personal leave, and health and pension plans.
(2) Permanent employees of the office of the district attorney on
the effective date of this chapter shall be deemed qualified, and no
other qualifications shall be required for employment or retention in
the county child support agency. Probationary employees on the
effective date of this chapter shall retain their probationary status
and rights, and shall not be deemed to have transferred, so as to
require serving a new probationary period.
(3) Employment seniority of an employee of the office of the
district attorney on the effective date of this chapter shall be
counted toward seniority in the county child support agency and all
time spent in the same, equivalent, or higher classification shall be
counted toward classification seniority.
(4) An employee organization that has been recognized as the
representative or exclusive representative of an established
appropriate bargaining unit of employees who perform child support
collection and enforcement activities shall continue to be recognized
as the representative or exclusive representative of the same
employees of the county.
(5) An existing memorandum of understanding or agreement between
the county or the office of the district attorney and the employee
organization shall remain in effect and be fully binding on the
parties involved for the term of the agreement.
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the rights
of employees or employee organizations to bargain in good faith on
matters of wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment,
including the negotiation of workplace standards within the scope of
bargaining as authorized by state and federal law.
(7) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a public agency
shall, in implementing programs affected by the act of addition or
amendment of this chapter to this code, perform program functions
exclusively through the use of civil service employees of the public
agency.
(B) Prior to transition from the district attorney to the local
child support agency under Section 17305, the district attorney may
continue existing contracts and their renewals, as appropriate.
After the transition under Section 17305, any contracting out of
program functions shall be approved by the director. The director
shall approve or disapprove a proposal to contract out within 60
days. Failure of the director to respond to a request to contract
out within 60 days after receipt of the request shall be deemed
approval, unless the director submits an extension to respond, which
in no event shall be longer than 30 days.
(e) The administrator of the local child support agency shall be
an employee of the county selected by the board of supervisors
pursuant to the qualifications established by the department. The
administrator may hire staff, including attorneys, to fulfill the
functions required by the agency and in conformity with any staffing
requirements adopted by the department, including all those set forth
in Section 17306. All staff shall be employees of the county and
shall be directly responsible to the department for the
administration of the child support enforcement program.
17305. (a) In order to achieve an orderly and timely transition
to the new system with minimal disruption of services, the director
shall begin the transition from the office of the district attorney
to the local child support agencies pursuant to Section 17304,
commencing January 1, 2001. The director shall transfer at least 50
percent of the state cases into the new system each year. The
transition shall be completed by January 1, 2003. In determining the
order in which counties will be transferred from the office of the
district attorney to the local child support agencies, the director
shall do all of the following:
(1) Consider the performance of the counties in establishing and
collecting child support.
(2) Minimize the disruption of the services provided by the
counties.
(3) Optimize the chances of a successful transition.
(b) The director shall consult with the district attorney to
achieve an orderly transition and to minimize the disruption of
services. Each district attorney shall cooperate in the transition
as requested by the director.
(c) To minimize any disruption of services provided under the
child support enforcement program during the transition, each
district attorney shall:
(1) Continue to be designated the single organizational unit whose
duty it shall be to administer the Title IV-D state plan for
securing child and spousal support, medical support, and determining
paternity for that county until such time as the county is notified
by the director that the county has been transferred pursuant to
subdivision (a) or sooner under Section 17602.
(2) At a minimum, maintain all levels of funding, staffing, and
services as of January 1, 1999, to administer the Title IV-D state
plan for securing child and spousal support, medical support, and
determining paternity. If the director determines that a district
attorney has lowered the funding, staffing, or services of the child
support enforcement program, the director may withhold part or all
state and federal funds, including incentive funds, from the district
attorney or may assess a portion of any penalty against the county
that the federal government imposes on California's child support
program for its failure to implement by October 1, 1997, an automated
child support system.
17306. (a) The
Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) While the State Department of Social Services has had
statutory authority over the child support system, the locally
elected district attorneys have operated their county programs with a
great deal of autonomy.
(2) District attorneys have operated the child support programs
with different forms, procedures and priorities, making it difficult
to adequately evaluate and modify performance statewide.
(3) Problems collecting child support reflect a fundamental lack
of leadership and accountability in the collection program. These
management problems have cost California taxpayers and families
billions of dollars.
(b) The director shall develop uniform forms, policies and
procedures to be employed statewide by all local child support
agencies. Pursuant to this subdivision, the director shall:
(1) Adopt uniform procedures and forms.
(2) Establish standard caseworker to case staffing ratios.
(3) Establish standard attorney to caseworker ratios.
(4) Institute a consistent statewide policy on the appropriateness
of closing cases to ensure that, without relying solely on federal
minimum requirements, all cases are fully and pragmatically pursued
for collections prior to closing.
(5) Evaluate the best practices for the establishment,
enforcement, and collection of child support, for the purpose of
determining which practices should be implemented statewide in an
effort to improve performance by local child support agencies. In
evaluating the best practices, the director shall review existing
practices in better performing counties within California, as well as
practices implemented by other state Title IV-D programs nationwide.
(6) Evaluate the best practices for the management of effective
child support enforcement operations for the purpose of determining
what management structure should be implemented statewide in an
effort to improve the establishment, enforcement, and collection of
child support by local child support agencies, including an
examination of the need for attorneys in management level positions.
In evaluating the best practices, the director shall review existing
practices in better performing counties within California, as well
as practices implemented by other state Title IV-D programs
nationwide.
(7) Set priorities for the use of specific enforcement mechanisms
for use by both the local child support agency and the Franchise Tax
Board. As part of establishing these priorities, the director shall
set forth caseload processing priorities in an effort to better
understand the makeup of the child support caseload and to target
enforcement efforts and services in a way that will maximize
collections and avoid welfare dependency.
(8) Develop uniform training protocols, require periodic training
of all child support staff, and conduct training as appropriate.
(9) Review and approve annual budgets submitted by the local child
support agencies to ensure each local child support agency operates
an effective and efficient program that complies with all federal and
state laws, regulations, and directives, including the directive to
hire sufficient staff.
(c) The director shall submit any forms intended for use in court
proceedings to the Judicial Council for approval at least six months
prior to the implementation of the use of the forms.
(d) In adopting the forms, policies, and procedures, the director
shall consult with the California Family Support Council, the
California State Association of Counties, labor organizations,
custodial and noncustodial parent advocates, and the appropriate
committees of the Legislature.
(e) The director shall adopt regulations implementing the forms,
policies, and procedures established pursuant to this section not
later than January 1, 2001.
17308. The director shall assume responsibility for implementing
and managing all aspects of a single statewide automated child
support system that will comply with state and federal requirements.
The director may delegate responsibility to, or enter into an
agreement with, any agency or entity that it deems necessary to
satisfy this requirement.
17309. Effective October 1, 1998, the state shall operate a Child
Support Centralized Collection and Distribution Unit as required by
federal law (42 U.S.C. Secs. 654 (27), 654a(g), and 654b).
17310. (a) The director shall formulate, adopt, amend, or repeal
regulations and general policies affecting the purposes,
responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the department that are
consistent with law and necessary for the administration of the state
plan for securing child support and enforcing spousal support orders
and determining paternity.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all regulations,
including, but not limited to, regulations of the State Department of
Social Services and the State Department of Health Services,
relating to child support enforcement shall remain in effect and
shall be fully enforceable unless and until readopted, amended, or
repealed by the agency that originally enacted the regulation. The
director shall request the repeal or amendment of regulations
relating to child support or the child support program that will be
superseded or in conflict with regulations that the department has or
will adopt as the single state agency responsible for the Title IV-D
child support program. All regulations relating to child support
may be enforced by the department or by the agency that originally
enacted the regulations as shall be agreed upon between the director
and the agency that originally enacted the regulation. These
agreements shall be in writing and notice of each agreement shall be
published in the California Administrative Register.
17312. (a) The director is the only person authorized to adopt
regulations, orders, or standards of general application to
implement, interpret, or make specific the law enforced by the
department. Regulations, orders, and standards shall be adopted,
amended, or repealed by the director only in accordance with Chapter
3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2 of the Government Code.
(b) In adopting regulations, the director shall strive for clarity
of language that may be readily understood by those administering
public social services or subject to those regulations.
(c) The rules of the department need not specify or include the
detail of forms, reports, or records, but shall include the essential
authority by which any person, agency, organization, association, or
institution subject to the supervision or investigation of the
department is required to use, submit, or maintain the forms,
reports, or records.
(d) The department's regulations and other materials shall be made
available pursuant to the California Code of Regulations and in the
same manner as are materials of the State Department of Social
Services under the provisions of Section 205.70 of Title 45 of the
Code of Federal Regulations.
17314. (a) Subject to the State Civil Service Act (Part 2
(commencing with Section 18500) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the
Government Code), the director shall appoint any assistants and other
employees that are necessary for the administration of the affairs
of the department and shall prescribe their duties and, subject to
the approval of the Department of Finance, fix their salaries.
(b) As the director adopts a plan for a local child support agency
to assume responsibility for child support enforcement activities in
any county served by a district attorney pursuant to Section 17304,
the director shall hire a sufficient number of regional state
administrators to oversee the local child support agencies to ensure
compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations. The
regions shall be divided based on the total caseload of each local
child support agency. The responsibilities of the regional state
administrators shall include all of the following:
(1) Conducting regular and comprehensive site visits to the local
child support agencies assigned to their region and preparing
quarterly reports to be submitted to the department. The local child
support agencies shall fully cooperate with all reasonable requests
made by the regional state administrators, including providing all
requested data on the local child support agency's program.
(2) Notifying a local child support agency of any potential or
actual noncompliance with any state or federal law or regulation by
the agency and working with the local child support agency to develop
an immediate plan to ensure compliance.
(3) Participating in program monitoring teams as set forth in
subdivision (c) of Section 17602.
(4) Participating in meetings with all regional state
administrators and the director on at least a monthly basis to
promote statewide uniformity as to the functions and structure of the
local child support agencies. The regional state administrators may
recommend proposals for approval and adoption by the director to
achieve this goal.
(5) Responding to requests for management or technical assistance
regarding program operations by local child support agencies.
17316. No person, while holding the office of director, shall be
a trustee, manager, director, or other officer or employee of any
agency performing any function supervised by the department or any
institution that is subject to examination, inspection, or
supervision by the department.
17318. Except as otherwise expressly provided, Part 1 (commencing
with Section 11000) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code,
as it may be added to or amended from time to time, shall apply to
the conduct of the department.
17320. The department shall coordinate with the State Department
of Social Services to avoid the imposition of any federal penalties
that cause a reduction in the state's Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families grant, payable pursuant to Section 603(a)(1) of Title 42 of
the United States Code.
CHAPTER 2. CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
Article 1. Support Obligations
17400. (a) (1) Each county shall maintain a local child support
agency, as specified in Section 17304, that shall have the
responsibility for promptly and effectively establishing, modifying,
and enforcing child support obligations, including medical support,
enforcing spousal support orders established by a court of competent
jurisdiction, and determining paternity in the case of a child born
out of wedlock. The local child support agency shall take
appropriate action, including criminal action in cooperation with the
district attorneys, to establish, modify, and enforce child support
and, when appropriate, enforce spousal support orders when the child
is receiving public assistance, including Medi-Cal, and, when
requested, shall take the same actions on behalf of a child who is
not receiving public assistance, including Medi-Cal.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and after
January 1, 2000, the Franchise Tax Board shall have responsibility
and authority for the enforcement and collection of child support
delinquencies in support of the child support activities of the
Department of Child Support Services, local child support agencies,
and subject to all federal and state laws, regulations, and
directives relating to Title IV-D child support programs.
(3) (A) For purposes of paragraph (2), "child support delinquency"
means any of the following:
(i) (I) An arrearage or otherwise past due amount that exists when
an obligor fails to make any court-ordered support payment when due.
(II) The unpaid amount is more than 60 days past due.
(III) The aggregate of all amounts described in subclauses (I) and
(II) exceeds one hundred dollars ($100).
(ii) As otherwise defined by guidelines prescribed by the
Department of Child Support Services in consultation with the
Franchise Tax Board and may include or be limited to interest, fees,
penalties, spousal support, or medical support.
(B) The local child support agency shall transfer child support
delinquencies to the Franchise Tax Board in the form and manner and
at the time prescribed by the Franchise Tax Board pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 19271 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code.
(C) After a local child support agency transfers a delinquent
child support obligation to the Franchise Tax Board pursuant to this
section, the local child support agency shall continue to facilitate
resolution of the child support obligation in coordination with the
Franchise Tax Board.
(b) If a child support delinquency exists at the time a case is
opened by the local child support agency, the responsibility for the
enforcement and collection of the delinquency shall be transferred to
the Franchise Tax Board no later than 30 days after receipt of the
case by the local child support agency. Any reference to the local
child support agency in connection with the enforcement and
collection of child support delinquencies shall be deemed a reference
to the Franchise Tax Board. This transfer of responsibility and
authority is in support of the local child support agency solely for
the administration of the enforcement and collection of child support
delinquencies and shall not in any manner transfer any
responsibilities the local child support agency may have and any
responsibilities the Department of Child Support Services may have as
the Title IV-D agency. A child support delinquency, as specified in
this section, shall be enforced and collected by the Franchise Tax
Board pursuant to Section 19271 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(c) Actions brought by the local child support agency to establish
paternity or child support or to enforce child support obligations
shall be completed within the time limits set forth by federal law.
The local child support agency's responsibility applies to spousal
support only where the spousal support obligation has been reduced to
an order of a court of competent jurisdiction. In any action
brought for modification or revocation of an order that is being
enforced under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.
651 et seq.), the effective date of the modification or revocation
shall be as prescribed by federal law (42 U.S.C. Sec. 666(a)(9)), or
any subsequent date.
(d) (1) The Judicial Council, in consultation with the department
and representatives of the California Family Support Council, the
Senate Committee on Judiciary, the Assembly Committee on Judiciary,
and a legal services organization providing representation on child
support matters, shall develop simplified summons, complaint, and
answer forms for any action for support brought pursuant to this
section or Section 17404. The Judicial Council may combine the
summons and complaint in a single form.
(2) The simplified complaint form shall provide the defendant with
notice of the amount of child support that is sought pursuant to the
guidelines set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 4050) of
Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 9 based upon the income or income
history of the defendant as known to the local child support agency.
If the defendant's income or income history is unknown to the local
child support agency, the complaint shall inform the defendant that
income shall be presumed in an amount that results in a court order
equal to the minimum basic standard of adequate care provided in
Section 11452 of the Welfare and Institutions Code unless information
concerning the defendant's income is provided to the court. The
complaint form shall be accompanied by a proposed judgment. The
complaint form shall include a notice to the defendant that the
proposed judgment will become effective if he or she fails to file an
answer with the court within 30 days of service.
(3) (A) The simplified answer form shall be written in simple
English and shall permit a defendant to answer and raise defenses by
checking applicable boxes. The answer form shall include
instructions for completion of the form and instructions for proper
filing of the answer.
(B) The answer form shall be accompanied by a blank income and
expense declaration or simplified financial statement and
instructions on how to complete the financial forms. The answer form
shall direct the defendant to file the completed income and expense
declaration or simplified financial statement with the answer, but
shall state that the answer will be accepted by a court without the
income and expense declaration or simplified financial statement.
(C) The clerk of the court shall accept and file answers, income
and expense declarations, and simplified financial statements that
are completed by hand provided they are legible.
(4) (A) The simplified complaint form prepared pursuant to this
subdivision shall be used by the local child support agency or the
Attorney General in all cases brought under this section or Section
17404.
(B) The simplified answer form prepared pursuant to this
subdivision shall be served on all defendants with the simplified
complaint. Failure to serve the simplified answer form on all
defendants shall not invalidate any judgment obtained. However,
failure to serve the answer form may be used as evidence in any
proceeding under Section 17432 of this code or Section 473 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(C) The Judicial Council shall add language to the governmental
summons, for use by the local child support agency with the
governmental complaint to establish parental relationship and child
support, informing defendants that a blank answer form should have
been received with the summons and additional copies may be obtained
from either the local child support agency or the superior court
clerk.
(e) In any action brought or enforcement proceedings instituted by
the local child support agency pursuant to this section for payment
of child or spousal support, an action to recover an arrearage in
support payments may be maintained by the local child support agency
at any time within the period otherwise specified for the enforcement
of a support judgment, notwithstanding the fact that the child has
attained the age of majority.
(f) The county shall undertake an outreach program to inform the
public that the services described in subdivisions (a) to (c),
inclusive, are available to persons not receiving public assistance.
There shall be prominently displayed in every public area of every
office of the agencies established by this section a notice, in clear
and simple language prescribed by the Director of Child Support
Services, that the services provided in subdivisions (a) to (c),
inclusive, are provided to all individuals, whether or not they are
recipients of public assistance.
(g) (1) In any action to establish a child support order brought
by the local child support agency in the performance of duties under
this section, the local child support agency may make a motion for an
order effective during the pendency of that action, for the support,
maintenance, and education of the child or children that are the
subject of the action. This order shall be referred to as an order
for temporary support. This order shall have the same force and
effect as a like or similar order under this code.
(2) The local child support agency shall file a motion for an
order for temporary support within the following time limits:
(A) If the defendant is the mother, a presumed father under
Section 7611, or any father where the child is at least six months
old when the defendant files his answer, the time limit is 90 days
after the defendant files an answer.
(B) In any other case where the defendant has filed an answer
prior to the birth of the child or not more than six months after the
birth of the child, then the time limit is nine months after the
birth of the child.
(3) If more than one child is the subject of the action, the
limitation on reimbursement shall apply only as to those children
whose parental relationship and age would bar recovery were a
separate action brought for support of that child or those children.
(4) If the local child support agency fails to file a motion for
an order for temporary support within time limits specified in this
section, the local child support agency shall be barred from
obtaining a judgment of reimbursement for any support provided for
that child during the period between the date the time limit expired
and the motion was filed, or, if no such motion is filed, when a
final judgment is entered.
(5) Nothing in this section prohibits the local child support
agency from entering into cooperative arrangements with other county
departments as necessary to carry out the responsibilities imposed by
this section pursuant to plans of cooperation with the departments
approved by the Department of Child Support Services.
(6) Nothing in this section shall otherwise limit the ability of
the local child support agency from securing and enforcing orders for
support of a spouse or former spouse as authorized under any other
provision of law.
(h) As used in this article, "enforcing obligations" includes, but
is not limited to, (1) the use of all interception and notification
systems operated by the department for the purposes of aiding in the
enforcement of support obligations, (2) the obtaining by the local
child support agency of an initial order for child support that may
include medical support or that is for medical support only, by civil
or criminal process, (3) the initiation of a motion or order to show
cause to increase an existing child support order, and the response
to a motion or order to show cause brought by an obligor parent to
decrease an existing child support order, or the initiation of a
motion or order to show cause to obtain an order for medical support,
and the response to a motion or order to show cause brought by an
obligor parent to decrease or terminate an existing medical support
order, without regard to whether the child is receiving public
assistance, (4) the response to a notice of motion or order to show
cause brought by an obligor parent to decrease an existing spousal
support order when the child or children are residing with the
obligee parent and the local child support agency is also enforcing a
related child support obligation owed to the obligee parent by the
same obligor, and (5) the transfer of the enforcement and collection
of child support delinquencies to the Franchise Tax Board under
Section 19271 of the Revenue and Taxation Code in support of the
local child support agency.
(i) As used in this section, "out of wedlock" means that the
biological parents of the child were not married to each other at the
time of the child's conception.
(j) (1) The local child support agency is the public agency
responsible for administering wage withholding for current support
the purposes of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.
651 et seq.).
(2) Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the local
child support agency granted by other sections of this code or
otherwise granted by law, except to the extent that the law is
inconsistent with the transfer of the responsibility and authority
for enforcement and collection of delinquent child support to the
Franchise Tax Board.
(k) In the exercise of the authority granted under this article,
the local child support agency may intervene, pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 387 of the Code of Civil Procedure, by ex parte
application, in any action under this code, or other proceeding in
which child support is an issue or a reduction in spousal support is
sought. By notice of motion, order to show cause, or responsive
pleading served upon all parties to the action, the local child
support agency may request any relief that is appropriate that the
local child support agency is authorized to seek.
(l) The local child support agency shall comply with any
guidelines established by the department that set time standards for
responding to requests for assistance in locating noncustodial
parents, establishing paternity, establishing child support awards,
and collecting child support payments.
(m) As used in this article, medical support activities that the
local child support agency is authorized to perform are limited to
the following:
(1) The obtaining and enforcing of court orders for health
insurance coverage.
(2) Any other medical support activity mandated by federal law or
regulation.
(n) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, venue for an action or
proceeding under this division shall be determined as follows:
(A) Venue shall be in the superior court in the county that is
currently expending public assistance.
(B) If public assistance is not currently being expended, venue
shall be in the superior court in the county where the child who is
entitled to current support resides or is domiciled.
(C) If current support is no longer payable through, or
enforceable by, the local child support agency, venue shall be in the
superior court in the county that last provided public assistance
for actions to enforce arrearages assigned pursuant to Section 11477
of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(D) If subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) do not apply, venue shall
be in the superior court in the county of residence of the support
obligee.
(E) If the support obligee does not reside in California, and
subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) do not apply, venue shall be in
the superior court of the county of residence of the obligor.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the child becomes a resident
of another county after an action under this part has been filed,
venue may remain in the county where the action was filed until the
action is completed.
(o) The local child support agency of one county may appear on
behalf of the local child support agency of any other county in an
action or proceeding under this part.
17402. (a) In any case of separation or desertion of a parent or
parents from a child or children which results in aid under Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code being granted to that family, the
noncustodial parent or parents shall be obligated to the county for
an amount equal to the following:
(1) The amount specified in an order for the support and
maintenance of the family issued by a court of competent
jurisdiction; or in the absence of the court order, the amount
specified in paragraph (2).
(2) The amount
of support that would have been specified in an order for the
support and maintenance of the family during the period of separation
or desertion. However, the amount in excess of the aid paid to the
family shall not be retained by the county, but disbursed to the
family.
(3) The obligation shall be reduced by any amount actually paid by
the parent directly to the custodian of the child or to the local
child support agency of the county in which the child is receiving
aid during the period of separation or desertion for the support and
maintenance of the family.
(b) The local child support agency shall take appropriate action
pursuant to this section as provided in subdivision (l) of Section
17400. The local child support agency may establish liability for
child support as provided in subdivision (a) when public assistance
was provided by another county or by other counties.
(c) The amount of the obligation established under paragraph (2)
of subdivision (a) shall be determined by using the appropriate child
support guidelines currently in effect. If one parent remains as a
custodial parent, the guideline support shall be computed in the
normal manner. If neither parent remains as a custodial parent, the
support shall be computed by combining the noncustodial parents'
incomes and placing the figure obtained in the column for
noncustodial parent. A zero shall be placed in the column for the
custodial parent and the amount of guideline support resulting shall
be proportionately shared between the parents as directed by the
court. The parents shall pay the amount of support specified in the
support order to the local child support agency.
17404. (a) Notwithstanding any other statute, in any action
brought by the local child support agency for the support of a minor
child or children, the action may be prosecuted in the name of the
county on behalf of the child, children, or a parent of the child or
children. The parent who has requested or is receiving support
enforcement services of the local child support agency shall not be a
necessary party to the action but may be subpoenaed as a witness.
Except as provided in subdivision (e), in an action under this
section there shall be no joinder of actions, or coordination of
actions, or cross-complaints, and the issues shall be limited
strictly to the question of parentage, if applicable, and child
support, including an order for medical support. A final
determination of parentage may be made in any action under this
section as an incident to obtaining an order for support. An action
for support or parentage pursuant to this section shall not be
delayed or stayed because of the pendency of any other action between
the parties.
(b) Judgment in an action brought pursuant to this section, and in
an action brought pursuant to Section 17402, if at issue, may be
rendered pursuant to a noticed motion, that shall inform the
defendant that in order to exercise his or her right to trial, he or
she must appear at the hearing on the motion.
If the defendant appears at the hearing on the motion, the court
shall inquire of the defendant if he or she desires to subpoena
evidence and witnesses, if parentage is at issue and genetic tests
have not already been conducted whether he or she desires genetic
tests, and if he or she desires a trial. If the defendant's answer
is in the affirmative, a continuance shall be granted to allow the
defendant to exercise those rights. A continuance shall not postpone
the hearing to more than 90 days from the date of service of the
motion. If a continuance is granted, the court may make an order for
temporary support without prejudice to the right of the court to
make an order for temporary support as otherwise allowed by law.
(c) In any action to enforce a spousal support order the action
may be pled in the name of the county in the same manner as an action
to establish a child support obligation. The same restrictions on
joinder of actions, coordination of actions, cross-complaints, and
delay because of the pendency of any other action as relates to
actions to establish a child support obligation shall also apply to
actions to enforce a spousal support order.
(d) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to
prevent the parties from bringing an independent action under other
provisions of this code and litigating the issues of support,
custody, visitation, or protective orders. In that event, any
support, custody, visitation, or protective order issued by the court
in an action pursuant to this section shall be filed in the action
commenced under the other provisions of this code and shall continue
in effect until modified by a subsequent order of the court. To the
extent that the orders conflict, the court order last issued shall
supersede all other orders and be binding upon all parties in that
action.
(e) (1) After a support order, including a temporary support order
and an order for medical support only, has been entered in an action
brought pursuant to this section, the parent who has requested or is
receiving support enforcement services of the local child support
agency shall become a party to the action brought pursuant to this
section, only in the manner and to the extent provided by this
section, and only for the purposes allowed by this section.
(2) Notice of the parent's status as a party shall be given to the
parent by the local child support agency in conjunction with the
notice required by subdivision (e) of Section 17406. The complaint
shall contain this notice. Service of the complaint on the parent in
compliance with Section 1013 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or as
otherwise provided by law, shall constitute compliance with this
section. In all actions commenced under the procedures and forms in
effect on or before December 31, 1996, the parent who has requested
or is receiving support enforcement services of the local child
support agency shall not become a party to the action until he or she
is joined as a party pursuant to an ex parte application or noticed
motion for joinder filed by the local child support agency or a
noticed motion filed by either parent. The local child support
agency shall serve a copy of any order for joinder of a parent
obtained by the local child support agency's application on both
parents in compliance with Section 1013 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(3) The parent who has requested or is receiving support
enforcement services of the local child support agency is a party to
an action brought under this section for issues relating to the
support, custody, and visitation of a child, and for restraining
orders, and for no other purpose. The local child support agency
shall not be required to serve or receive service of papers,
pleadings, or documents, or participate in, or attend any hearing or
proceeding relating to issues of custody or visitation, except as
otherwise required by law. Orders concerning custody and visitation
may be made in an action pursuant to this subdivision only if orders
concerning custody and visitation have not been previously made by a
court of competent jurisdiction in this state or another state and
the court has jurisdiction and is the proper venue for custody and
visitation determinations. All issues regarding custody and
visitation shall be heard and resolved in the manner provided by this
code. Except as otherwise provided by law, the local child support
agency shall control support and parentage litigation brought
pursuant to this section, and the manner, method, and procedures used
in establishing parentage and in establishing and enforcing support
obligations unless and until the parent who requested or is receiving
support enforcement services has requested in writing that the local
child support agency close his or her case and the case has been
closed in accordance with federal regulation or policy.
(f) (1) A parent who has requested or is receiving support
enforcement services of the local child support agency may take
independent action to modify a support order made pursuant to this
section while support enforcement services are being provided by the
local child support agency. The parent shall serve the local child
support agency with notice of any action filed to modify the support
order and provide the local child support agency with a copy of the
modified order within 15 calendar days after the date the order is
issued.
(2) A parent who has requested or is receiving support enforcement
services of the local child support agency may take independent
action to enforce a support order made pursuant to this section while
support enforcement services are being provided by the local child
support agency with the written consent of the local child support
agency. At least 30 days prior to filing an independent enforcement
action, the parent shall provide the local child support agency with
written notice of the parent's intent to file an enforcement action
that includes a description of the type of enforcement action the
parent intends to file. Within 30 days of receiving the notice, the
local child support agency shall either provide written consent for
the parent to proceed with the independent enforcement action or
notify the parent that the local child support agency objects to the
parent filing the proposed independent enforcement action. The local
child support agency may object only if the local child support
agency is currently using an administrative or judicial method to
enforce the support obligation or if the proposed independent
enforcement action would interfere with an investigation being
conducted by the local child support agency. If the local child
support agency does not respond to the parent's written notice within
30 days, the local child support agency shall be deemed to have
given consent.
(3) The court shall order that all payments of support shall be
made to the local child support agency in any action filed under this
section by the parent who has requested, or is receiving, support
enforcement services of the local child support agency unless support
enforcement services have been terminated by the local child support
agency by case closure as provided by federal law. Any order
obtained by a parent prior to support enforcement services being
terminated in which the local child support agency did not receive
proper notice pursuant to this section shall be voidable upon the
motion of the local child support agency.
(g) Any notice from the local child support agency requesting a
meeting with the support obligor for any purpose authorized under
this section shall contain a statement advising the support obligor
of his or her right to have an attorney present at the meeting.
(h) For the purpose of this section, "a parent who is receiving
support enforcement services" includes a parent who has assigned his
or her rights to support pursuant to Section 11477 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(i) The Judicial Council shall develop forms to implement this
section.
17406. (a) In all actions involving paternity or support,
including, but not limited to, other proceedings under this code, and
under Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, the local child support agency and the Attorney
General represent the public interest in establishing, modifying, and
enforcing support obligations. No attorney-client relationship
shall be deemed to have been created between the local child support
agency or Attorney General and any person by virtue of the action of
the local child support agency or the Attorney General in carrying
out these statutory duties.
(b) Subdivision (a) is declaratory of existing law.
(c) In all requests for services of the local child support agency
or Attorney General pursuant to Section 17400 relating to actions
involving paternity or support, not later than the same day an
individual makes a request for these services in person, and not
later than five working days after either (1) a case is referred for
services from the county welfare department, (2) receipt of a request
by mail for an application for services, or (3) an individual makes
a request for services by telephone, the local child support agency
or Attorney General shall give notice to the individual requesting
services or on whose behalf services have been requested that the
local child support agency or Attorney General does not represent the
individual or the children who are the subject of the case, that no
attorney-client relationship exists between the local child support
agency or Attorney General and those persons, and that no such
representation or relationship shall arise if the local child support
agency or Attorney General provides the services requested. Notice
shall be in bold print and in plain English and shall be translated
into the language understandable by the recipient when reasonable.
The notice shall include the advice that the absence of an
attorney-client relationship means that communications from the
recipient are not privileged and that the local child support agency
or Attorney General may provide support enforcement services to the
other parent in the future.
(d) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall give
the notice required pursuant to subdivision (c) to all recipients of
services under Section 17400 who have not otherwise been provided
that notice, not later than the date of the next annual notice
required under Section 11476.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
This notice shall include notification to the recipient of services
under Section 17400 that the recipient may inspect the clerk's file
at the county clerk's office, and that, upon request, the local child
support agency, or, if appropriate, the Attorney General, will
furnish a copy of the most recent order entered in the case.
(e) The local child support agency or, if appropriate, the
Attorney General shall serve a copy of the complaint for paternity or
support, or both, on recipients of support services under Section
17400, as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section
17404. A notice shall accompany the complaint that informs the
recipient that the local child support agency or Attorney General may
enter into a stipulated order resolving the complaint, and that if
the recipient wishes to assist the prosecuting attorney, he or she
should send all information on the noncustodial parent's earnings and
assets to the prosecuting attorney.
(f) (1) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall
provide written notice to recipients of services under Section 17400
of the initial date and time, and purpose of every hearing in a civil
action for paternity or support. The notice shall include the
following language:
IMPORTANT NOTICE
It may be important that you attend the hearing. The local child
support agency does not represent you or your children. You may
have information about the noncustodial parent, such as information
about his or her income or assets, or your need for support that will
not be presented to the court unless you attend the hearing. You
have the right to be heard in court and tell the court what you think
the court should do with the child support order.
If you have a court order for support that arose as part of your
divorce, this hearing could change your rights or your children's
rights to support. You have the right to attend the hearing and, the
right, to be heard.
If you would like to attend the hearing and be told about any changes
to the hearing date or time, notify this office by ____. The local
child support agency or Attorney General will then have to tell you
about any changes to the hearing date or time.
(2) The notice shall state the purpose of the hearing or be
attached to the motion or other pleading which caused the hearing to
be scheduled.
(3) The notice shall be provided separate from all other material
and shall be in at least 14-point type. The failure of the local
child support agency or Attorney General to comply with this
subdivision shall not affect the validity of any order.
(4) The notice shall be provided not later than seven calendar
days prior to the hearing, or, if the local child support agency or
Attorney General receives notice of the hearing less than seven days
prior to the hearing, within two days of the receipt by the local
child support agency or Attorney General of the notice of the
hearing.
(5) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall, in
order to implement this subdivision, make reasonable efforts to
ensure that the local child support agency or Attorney General has
current addresses for recipients of support enforcement services.
(g) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall give
notice to recipients of services under Section 17400 of every order
obtained by the local child support agency or Attorney General that
establishes or modifies the support obligation for the recipient or
the children who are the subject of the order, by sending a copy of
the order to the recipient. The notice shall be made within the time
specified by federal law after the order has been filed. The local
child support agency or Attorney General shall also give notice to
these recipients of every order obtained in any other jurisdiction,
that establishes or modifies the support obligation for the recipient
or the children who are the subject of the order, and which is
received by the local child support agency or Attorney General, by
sending a copy of the order to the recipient within the timeframe
specified by federal law after the local child support agency or
Attorney General has received a copy of the order. In any action
enforced under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 4900) of Part 5 of
Division 9, the notice shall be made in compliance with the
requirements of that chapter. The failure of the local child support
agency or Attorney General to comply with this subdivision shall not
affect the validity of any order.
(h) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall give
notice to the noncustodial parent against whom a civil action is
filed that the local child support agency or Attorney General is not
the attorney representing any individual, including, but not limited
to, the custodial parent, the child, or the noncustodial parent.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude any
person who is receiving services under Section 17400 from filing and
prosecuting an independent action to establish, modify, and enforce
an order for current support on behalf of himself or herself or a
child if that person is not receiving public assistance.
(j) A person who is receiving services under Section 17400 but who
is not currently receiving public assistance on his or her own
behalf or on behalf of a child shall be asked to execute, or consent
to, any stipulation establishing or modifying a support order in any
action in which that person is named as a party, before the
stipulation is filed. The local child support agency or Attorney
General shall not submit to the court for approval a stipulation to
establish or modify a support order in the action without first
obtaining the signatures of all parties to the action, their
attorneys of record, or persons authorized to act on their behalf.
(k) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall not
enter into a stipulation that reduces the amount of past due support,
including interest and penalties accrued pursuant to an order of
current support, on behalf of a person who is receiving support
enforcement services under Section 17400 and who is owed support
arrearages that exceed unreimbursed public assistance paid to the
recipient of the support enforcement services, without first
obtaining the consent of the person who is receiving services under
Section 17400 on his or her own behalf or on behalf of the child.
(l) The notices required in this section shall be provided in the
following manner:
(1) In all cases in which the person receiving services under
Section 17400 resides in California, notice shall be provided by
mailing the item by first-class mail to the last known address of, or
personally delivering the item to, that person.
(2) In all actions enforced under Chapter 6 (commencing with
Section 4900) of Part 5 of Division 9, unless otherwise specified,
notice shall be provided by mailing the item by first-class mail to
the initiating court.
(m) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
notices provided for pursuant to subdivisions (c) to (g), inclusive,
shall not be required in foster care cases.
17408. (a) Notwithstanding Section 17404, upon noticed motion of
the local child support agency, the superior court may consolidate or
combine support or reimbursement arrearages owed by one obligor to
one obligee in two or more court files into a single court file, or
combine or consolidate two or more orders for current child support
into a single court file. A motion to consolidate may be made by a
local child support agency only if it is seeking to enforce the
orders being consolidated. The motion shall be filed only in the
court file the local child support agency is seeking to have
designated as the primary file.
(b) Orders may be consolidated regardless of the nature of the
underlying action, whether initiated under the Welfare and
Institutions Code, this code, or another law. Orders for support
shall not be consolidated unless the children involved have the same
mother and father and venue is proper pursuant to Section 17400.
(c) Upon consolidation of orders, the court shall designate which
court file the support orders are being consolidated into the primary
file, and which court files are subordinate. Upon consolidation,
the court shall order the local child support agency to file a notice
in the subordinate court actions indicating the support orders in
those actions were consolidated into the primary file. The notice
shall state the date of the consolidation, the name of the court, and
the primary file number.
(d) Upon consolidation of orders, the superior court shall not
issue further orders pertaining to support in a subordinate court
file; and all enforcement and modification of support orders shall
occur in the primary court action.
(e) After consolidation of court orders, a single wage assignment
for current support and arrearages may be issued when possible.
17410. In any action filed by the local child support agency
pursuant to Section 17402 or 17404, the local child support agency
shall provide the mother and the alleged father the opportunity to
voluntarily acknowledge paternity by signing a paternity declaration
as described in Section 7574 prior to a hearing or trial where the
paternity of a minor child is at issue. The opportunity to
voluntarily acknowledge paternity may be provided either before or
after an action pursuant to Section 17402 or 17404 is filed and
served upon the alleged father. For the purpose of meeting the
requirements of this section, the local child support agency may
afford the defendant an opportunity to enter into a stipulation for
judgment of paternity after an action for paternity has been filed in
lieu of the voluntary declaration of paternity.
17412. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, an action for child
support may be brought by the local child support agency on behalf of
a minor child or caretaker parent based upon a voluntary declaration
of paternity as provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 7570)
of Part 2 of Division 12.
(b) Except as provided in Sections 7576 and 7577, the voluntary
declaration of paternity shall be given the same force and effect as
a judgment for paternity entered by a court of competent
jurisdiction. The court shall make appropriate orders for support of
the minor child based upon the voluntary declaration of paternity
unless evidence is presented that the voluntary declaration of
paternity has been rescinded by the parties or set aside by a court
as provided in Section 7575.
(c) The Judicial Council shall develop the forms and procedures
necessary to implement this section.
17414. In any action or proceeding brought by the local child
support agency to establish parentage pursuant to Section 17400, the
court shall enter a judgment establishing parentage upon the filing
of a written stipulation between the parties provided that the
stipulation is accompanied by a written advisement and waiver of
rights which is signed by the defendant. The written advisement and
waiver of rights shall be developed by the Judicial Council.
17415. (a) It shall be the duty of the county welfare department
to refer all cases where a parent is absent from the home, or where
the parents are unmarried and parentage has not been established by
the completion and filing of a voluntary declaration of paternity
pursuant to Section 7573 or a court of competent jurisdiction, to the
local child support agency immediately at the time the application
for public assistance, except as provided in Section 11477.04 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, including Medi-Cal benefits, or
certificate of eligibility, is signed by the applicant or recipient.
If an applicant is found to be ineligible, the applicant shall be
notified in writing that the referral of the case to the local child
support agency may be terminated at the applicant's request. The
county department shall cooperate with the local child support agency
and shall make available to him or her all pertinent information as
provided in Section 17505.
(b) Upon referral from the county welfare department, the local
child support agency shall investigate the question of nonsupport or
paternity and shall take all steps necessary to obtain child support
for the needy child, enforce spousal support as part of the state
plan under Section 17604, and determine paternity in the case of a
child born out of wedlock. Upon the advice of the county welfare
department that a child is being considered for adoption, the local
child support agency shall delay the investigation and other actions
with respect to the case until advised that the adoption is no longer
under consideration. The granting of public assistance or Medi-Cal
benefits to an applicant shall not be delayed or contingent upon
investigation by the local child support agency.
(c) In cases where Medi-Cal benefits are the only assistance
provided, the local child support agency shall provide child and
spousal support services unless the recipient of the services
notifies the local child support agency that only
services related to securing Medi-Cal
benefits are requested.
(d) Where a court order has been obtained, any contractual
agreement for support between the local child support agency or the
county welfare department and the noncustodial parent shall be deemed
null and void to the extent that it is not consistent with the court
order.
(e) Whenever a family which has been receiving public assistance,
including Medi-Cal, ceases to receive assistance, including Medi-Cal,
the local child support agency shall, to the extent required by
federal regulations, continue to enforce support payments from the
noncustodial parent until such time as the individual on whose behalf
the enforcement efforts are made sends written notice to the local
child support agency requesting that enforcement services be
discontinued.
(f) The local child support agency shall, where appropriate,
utilize reciprocal arrangements adopted with other states in securing
support from an absent parent. In individual cases where
utilization of reciprocal arrangements has proven ineffective, the
local child support agency may forward to the Attorney General a
request to utilize federal courts in order to obtain or enforce
orders for child or spousal support. If reasonable efforts to
collect amounts assigned pursuant to Section 11477 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code have failed, the local child support agency may
request that the case be forwarded to the Treasury Department for
collection in accordance with federal regulations. The Attorney
General, where appropriate, shall forward these requests to the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, or a designated
representative.
17416. (a) In any case where the local child support agency has
undertaken enforcement of support, the local child support agency may
enter into an agreement with the noncustodial parent, on behalf of a
minor child or children, a spouse, or former spouse for the entry of
a judgment without action determining paternity, if applicable, and
for periodic child and spousal support payments based on the
noncustodial parent's reasonable ability to pay or, if for spousal
support, an amount previously ordered by a court of competent
jurisdiction. An agreement for entry of a judgment under this
section may be executed prior to the birth of the child and may
include a provision that the judgment is not to be entered until
after the birth of the child.
(b) A judgment based on the agreement shall be entered only if one
of the following requirements is satisfied:
(1) The noncustodial parent is represented by legal counsel and
the attorney signs a certificate stating: "I have examined the
proposed judgment and have advised my client concerning his or her
rights in connection with this matter and the consequences of signing
or not signing the agreement for the entry of the judgment and my
client, after being so advised, has agreed to the entry of the
judgment."
(2) A judge of the court in which the judgment is to be entered,
after advising the noncustodial parent concerning his or her rights
in connection with the matter and the consequences of agreeing or not
agreeing to the entry of the judgment, makes a finding that the
noncustodial parent has appeared before the judge and the judge has
determined that under the circumstances of the particular case the
noncustodial parent has willingly, knowingly, and intelligently
waived his or her due process rights in agreeing to the entry of the
judgment.
(c) The clerk shall file the agreement, together with any
certificate of the attorney or finding of the court, without the
payment of any fees or charges. If the requirements of this section
are satisfied, the court shall enter judgment thereon without action.
The provisions of Article 4 (commencing with Section 4200) of
Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 9 or Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 4350) of Part 3 of Division 9 shall apply to the judgment. A
judgment for support so entered may be enforced by any means by
which any other judgment for support may be enforced.
(d) Upon request of the local child support agency in any case
under this section, the clerk shall set the matter for hearing by the
court. The hearing shall be held within 10 days after the clerk
receives the request. The local child support agency may require the
person who signed the agreement for the entry of judgment to attend
the hearing by process of subpoena in the same manner as the
attendance of a witness in a civil action may be required. The
presence of the person who signed the agreement for entry of
judgment at the hearing shall constitute the presence of the person
in court at the time the order is pronounced for the purposes of
Section 1209.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure if the court makes the
findings required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(e) The local child support agency shall cause the following to be
served, in the manner specified in Section 415.10, 415.20, 415.30,
or 415.40 of the Code of Civil Procedure, upon the person who signed
the agreement for entry of the judgment and shall file proof of
service thereof with the court:
(1) A copy of the judgment as entered.
(2) If the judgment includes an order for child or spousal support
payments, a notice stating the substance of the following: "The
court has continuing authority to make an order increasing or
decreasing the amount of the child or spousal support payments. You
have the right to request that the court order the child and spousal
support payments be decreased or eliminated entirely."
(f) An order for child and spousal support included in a judgment
entered under this section may be modified or revoked as provided in
Article 1 (commencing with Section 3650) of Chapter 6 of Part 1 of
Division 9 and in (1) Article 1 (commencing with Section 4000) of
Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 9 or (2) Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 4320) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 4330) of Part 3
of Division 9. The court may modify the order to make the support
payments payable to a different person.
(g) For the purposes of this section, in making a determination of
the noncustodial parent's reasonable ability to pay, any relevant
circumstances set out in Section 4005 shall be considered.
(h) After arrest and before plea or trial, or after conviction or
plea of guilty, under Section 270 of the Penal Code, if the defendant
appears before the court in which the criminal action is pending and
the requirements of paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (b) have
been satisfied, the court may suspend proceedings or sentence in the
criminal action, but this does not limit the later institution of a
civil or criminal action or limit the use of any other procedures
available to enforce the judgment entered pursuant to this section.
(i) Nothing in this section applies to a case where a civil action
has been commenced.
17418. In enforcing the provisions of this division, the local
child support agency shall inquire of both the custodial and
noncustodial parent as to the number of minor children each is
legally obligated to support. The local child support agency shall
consider the needs of all of these children in computing the level of
support requested to be ordered by the court.
17420. After judgment in any court action brought to enforce the
support obligation of a noncustodial parent pursuant to the
provisions of this division, the court shall issue an earnings
assignment order for support pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with
Section 5200) of Part 5 of Division 9.
17422. (a) The state medical insurance form required in Article 1
(commencing with Section 3750) of Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 9
shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The parent or parents' names, addresses, and social security
numbers.
(2) The name and address of each parent's place of employment.
(3) The name or names, addresses, policy number or numbers, and
coverage type of the medical insurance policy or policies of the
parents, if any.
(4) The name, CalWORKs case number, social security number, and
Title IV-E foster care case number or Medi-Cal case numbers of the
parents and children covered by the medical insurance policy or
policies.
(b) (1) In any action brought or enforcement proceeding instituted
by the local child support agency under this division for payment of
child or spousal support, a completed state medical insurance form
shall be obtained and sent by the local child support agency to the
Department of Child Support Services in the manner prescribed by the
Department of Child Support Services.
(2) Where it has been determined under Section 3751 that health
insurance coverage is not available at no or reasonable cost, the
local child support agency shall seek a provision in the support
order that provides for health insurance coverage should it become
available at no or reasonable cost.
(3) Health insurance coverage shall be considered reasonable in
cost if it is employment-related group health insurance or other
group health insurance, regardless of the service delivery mechanism.
As used in this section, "health insurance coverage" also includes
providing for the delivery of health care services by a fee for
service, health maintenance organization, preferred provider
organization, or any other type of health care delivery system under
which medical services could be provided to the dependent child or
children of an absent parent.
(c) (1) The local child support agency shall request employers and
other groups offering health insurance coverage that is being
enforced under this division to notify the local child support agency
if there has been a lapse in insurance coverage. The local child
support agency shall be responsible for forwarding information
pertaining to the health insurance policy secured for the dependent
children for whom the local child support agency is enforcing the
court ordered medical support to the custodial parent.
(2) The local child support agency shall periodically communicate
with the department to determine if there have been lapses in health
insurance coverage for public assistance applicants and recipients.
The department shall notify the local child support agency when there
has been a lapse in court-ordered insurance coverage.
(3) The local child support agency shall take appropriate action,
civil or criminal, to enforce the obligation to obtain health
insurance when there has been a lapse in insurance coverage or
failure by the responsible parent to obtain insurance as ordered by
the court.
(4) (A) The local child support agency shall inform all
individuals upon their application for child support enforcement
services that medical support enforcement services are available.
(B) If the spouse or child does not receive public assistance or
aid and is not a Medi-Cal applicant or recipient, the local child
support agency shall obtain the applicant's consent prior to
providing medical support enforcement services.
17424. (a) A parent who has been served with a medical insurance
form shall complete and return the form to the local child support
agency's office within 20 calendar days of the date the form was
served.
(b) The local child support agency shall send the completed
medical insurance form to the department in the manner prescribed by
the department.
17428. In any action or judgment brought or obtained pursuant to
Section 17400, 17402, 17404, or 17416, a supplemental complaint may
be filed, pursuant to Section 464 of the Code of Civil Procedure and
Section 2330.1, either before or after a final judgment, seeking a
judgment or order of paternity or support for a child of the mother
and father of the child whose paternity and support are already in
issue before the court. A supplemental judgment entered in the
proceedings shall include, when appropriate and requested in the
supplemental complaint, an order establishing or modifying support
for all children named in the original or supplemental actions in
conformity with the statewide uniform guideline for child support. A
supplemental complaint for paternity or support of children may be
filed without leave of court either before or after final judgment in
the underlying action. Service of the supplemental summons and
complaint shall be made in the manner provided for the initial
service of a summons by the Code of Civil Procedure.
17430. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any
action filed by the local child support agency pursuant to Section
17400, 17402, or 17404, a judgment shall be entered if the defendant
fails to file an answer or otherwise appear in the action within 30
days of service of process upon the defendant.
(b) If the defendant fails to file an answer with the court within
30 days of having been served as specified in subdivision (c) of
Section 17400, the proposed judgment shall become effective unless
the local child support agency has filed a declaration and amended
proposed judgment pursuant to subdivision (c).
(c) If the local child support agency receives additional
financial information within 30 days of service of the complaint and
proposed judgment on the defendant and the additional information
would result in a support order that is different from the amount in
the proposed judgment, the local child support agency shall file a
declaration setting forth the additional information and an amended
proposed judgment. The declaration and amended proposed judgment
shall be served on the defendant in compliance with Section 1013 of
the Code of Civil Procedure or otherwise as provided by law. The
defendant's time to answer or otherwise appear shall be extended to
30 days from the date of service of the declaration and amended
proposed judgment.
(d) Upon entry of the judgment, the clerk of the court shall mail
by first-class mail, postage prepaid, a notice to the defendant that
his or her default has been taken and that the proposed judgment has
been entered.
17432. (a) In any action filed by the local child support agency
pursuant to Section 17400, 17402, or 17404, the court may, on any
terms that may be just, relieve the defendant from that part of the
judgment or order concerning the amount of child support to be paid.
This relief may be granted after the six-month time limit of Section
473 of the Code of Civil Procedure has elapsed, based on the
grounds, and within the time limits, specified in this section.
(b) This section shall apply only to judgments or orders for
support that were based upon presumed income as specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 17400 and that were entered after the
entry of the default of the defendant under Section 17430. This
section shall apply only to the amount of support ordered and not
that portion of the judgment or order concerning the determination of
parentage.
(c) The court may set aside the child support order contained in a
judgment described in subdivision (b) if the defendant's income was
substantially different for the period of time during which the
judgment was effective compared with the income defendant was
presumed to have. A "substantial difference" means that amount of
income that would result in an order for support that deviates from
the order entered by default by 20 percent or more. If the
difference between the defendant's actual income and the presumed
income would result in an order for support that deviates from the
order entered by default by less than 20 percent, the court may set
aside the child support order only if the court states in writing or
on the record that the defendant is experiencing an extreme financial
hardship due to the circumstances enumerated in Section 4071 and
that a set aside of the default judgment is necessary to accommodate
those circumstances.
(d) Application for relief under this section shall be accompanied
by a copy of the answer or other pleading proposed to be filed
together with an income and expense declaration or simplified
financial statement and tax returns for any relevant years. The
Judicial Council may combine the application for relief under this
section and the proposed answer into a single form.
(e) The burden of proving that the actual income of the defendant
deviated substantially from the presumed income shall be on the
defendant.
(f) A motion for relief under this section shall be filed within
90 days of the first collection of money by the local child support
agency or the obligee. The 90-day time period shall run from the
date that the local child support agency receives the first
collection or from the date that the defendant is served with notice
of the collection, whichever date occurs first. If service of the
notice is by mail, the date of service shall be as specified in
Section 1013 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(g) In all proceedings under this section, before granting relief,
the court shall consider the amount of time that has passed since
the entry of the order, the circumstances surrounding the defendant's
default, the relative hardship on the child or children to whom the
duty of support is owed, the caretaker parent, and the defendant, and
other equitable factors that the court deems appropriate.
(h) If the court grants the relief requested, the court shall
issue a new child support order using the appropriate child support
guidelines currently in effect. The new order shall have the same
commencement date as the order set aside.
17434. (a) The department shall publish a booklet describing the
proper procedures and processes for the collection and payment of
child and spousal support. The booklet shall be written in language
understandable to the lay person and shall direct the reader to
obtain the assistance of the local child support agency, the family
law facilitator, or legal counsel where appropriate. The department
may contract on a competitive basis with an organization or
individual to write the booklet.
(b) The department shall have primary responsibility for the
design and development of the contents of the booklet. The
department shall solicit comment regarding the content of the booklet
from the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. The
department shall verify the appropriateness and accuracy of the
contents of the booklet with at least one representative of each of
the following organizations:
(1) A local child support agency.
(2) The State Attorney General's office.
(3) The California Family Support Council.
(4) A community organization that advocates for the rights of
custodial parents.
(5) A community organization that advocates for the rights of
supporting parents.
(c) Upon receipt of booklets on support collection, each county
welfare department shall provide a copy to each head of household
whose application for public assistance under this division has been
approved and for whom support rights have been assigned pursuant to
Section 11477 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The department
shall provide copies of the booklet to local child support agencies
for distribution, and to any person upon request. The department
shall also distribute the booklets to all superior courts. Upon
receipt of those booklets, each clerk of the court shall provide two
copies of the booklet to the petitioner or plaintiff in any action
involving the support of a minor child. The moving party shall serve
a copy of the booklet on the responding party.
(d) The department shall expand the information provided under its
toll-free information hotline in response to inquiries regarding the
process and procedures for collection and payment of child and
spousal support. This toll-free number shall be advertised as
providing information on child and spousal support. The hotline
personnel shall not provide legal consultation or advice, but shall
provide only referral services.
(e) The department shall maintain a file of referral sources to
provide callers to the telephone hotline with the following
information specific to the county in which the caller resides:
(1) The location and telephone number of the local child support
agency, the county welfare office, the family law facilitator, and
any other government agency that handles child and spousal support
matters.
(2) The telephone number of the local bar association for referral
to attorneys in family law practice.
(3) The name and telephone number of at least one organization
that advocates the payment of child and spousal support or the name
and telephone number of at least one organization that advocates the
rights of supporting parents, if these organizations exist in the
county.
Article 2. Collections and Enforcement
17500. (a) The local child support agency may refer child support
obligations that are not delinquent, or past due amounts, to the
Franchise Tax Board pursuant to Section 19271.5 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code.
(b) The local child support agency is the public agency
responsible for administering wage withholding for the purposes of
Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).
To enhance child support enforcement, the local child support agency
may delegate this responsibility to the Franchise Tax Board for
purposes of collecting child support payments that are not
delinquent, or past due amounts, as authorized under subdivision (a)
of Section 19271.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the local
child support agency granted by other sections of this code or
otherwise granted by law, except to the extent that the law is
inconsistent with the authority to refer child support accounts to
the Franchise Tax Board for collection pursuant to Section 19271.5 of
the Revenue and Taxation Code.
17502. A local child support agency who is collecting child
support payments on behalf of a child and who is unable to deliver
the payments to the obligee because the local child support agency is
unable to locate the obligee shall make all reasonable efforts to
locate the obligee for a period of six months. If the local child
support agency is unable to locate the obligee within the six-month
period, he or she shall return the undeliverable payments to the
obligor, with written notice advising the obligor that (a) the return
of the funds does not relieve the obligor of the support order, and
(b) the obligor should consider placing the funds aside for purposes
of child support in case the obligee appears and seeks collection of
the undistributed amounts. No interest shall accrue on any past due
child support amount for which the obligor made payment to the local
child support agency for six consecutive months, or on any amounts
due thereafter until the obligee is located, provided that the local
child support agency returned the funds to the obligor because the
local child support agency was unable to locate the obligee and, when
the obligee was located, the obligor made full payment for all past
due child support amounts.
17504. The first fifty dollars ($50) of any amount of child
support collected in a month in payment of the required support
obligation for that month shall be paid to a recipient of aid under
this chapter, except recipients of foster care payments under Article
5 (commencing with Section 11400) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division
9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall not be considered
income or resources of the recipient family, and shall not be
deducted from the amount of aid to which the family would otherwise
be eligible. The local child support agency in each county shall
ensure that payments are made to recipients as required by this
section.
17505. (a) All state, county, and local agencies shall cooperate
with the local child support agency (1) in carrying out Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 3130) of Part 2 of Division 8 concerning the
location, seizure, and recovery of abducted, concealed, or detained
minor children, (2) in the enforcement of any child support
obligation or to the extent required under the state plan under
Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 4800) of Part 5 of Division 9,
Section 270 of the Penal Code, and Section 17604, and (3) the
enforcement of spousal support orders and in the location of parents
or putative parents. This subdivision applies irrespective of
whether the children are or are not receiving aid to families with
dependent children.
(b) On request, all state, county, and local agencies shall supply
the local child support agency of any county in this state or the
California Parent Locator Service with all information on hand
relative to the location, income, or property of any parents,
putative parents, spouses, or former spouses, notwithstanding any
other provision of law making the information confidential, and with
all information on hand relative to the location and prosecution of
any person who has, by means of false statement or representation or
by impersonation or other fraudulent device, obtained aid for a child
under this chapter.
(c) The State Department of Social Services' Statewide Automated
Child Support System, or its replacement, shall be entitled to the
same cooperation and information provided to the California Parent
Locator Service, to the extent allowed by law. The Statewide
Automated Child Support System, or its replacement, shall be allowed
access to criminal offender record information only to the extent
that access is allowed by law.
(d) Information exchanged between the California Parent Locator
Service or the Statewide Automated Child Support System, or its
replacement, and state, county, or local agencies as specified in
Section 666(c)(1)(D) of Title 42 of the United State Code shall be
through automated processes to the maximum extent feasible.
17506. (a) There is in the Department of Justice the California
Parent Locator Service and Central Registry that shall collect and
disseminate all of the following, with respect to any parent,
putative parent, spouse, or former spouse:
(1) The full and true name of the parent together with any known
aliases.
(2) Date and place of birth.
(3) Physical description.
(4) Social security number.
(5) Employment history and earnings.
(6) Military status and Veterans Administration or military
service serial number.
(7) Last known address, telephone number, and date thereof.
(8) Driver's license number, driving record, and vehicle
registration information.
(9) Criminal, licensing, and applicant records and information.
(10) (A) Any additional location, asset,
and income information, including income tax return information
obtained pursuant to Section 19285.1 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, and the address, telephone number, and social security
information obtained from a public utility or cable television
corporation that may be of assistance in locating the parent,
putative parent, abducting, concealing, or detaining parent, spouse,
or former spouse, in establishing a parent and child relationship, in
enforcing the child support liability of the absent parent, or
enforcing the spousal support liability of the spouse or former
spouse to the extent required by the state plan pursuant to Section
17604.
(B) For purposes of this subdivision, "income tax return
information" means all of the following regarding the taxpayer:
(i) Assets.
(ii) Credits.
(iii) Deductions.
(iv) Exemptions.
(v) Identity.
(vi) Liabilities.
(vii) Nature, source, and amount of income.
(viii) Net worth.
(ix) Payments.
(x) Receipts.
(xi) Address.
(xii) Social security number.
(b) To effectuate the purposes of this section, the Statewide
Automated Child Support System, or its replacement, the California
Parent Locator Service and Central Registry, and the Franchise Tax
Board shall utilize the federal Parent Locator Service to the extent
necessary, and may request and shall receive from all departments,
boards, bureaus, or other agencies of the state, or any of its
political subdivisions, and those entities shall provide, that
assistance and data that will enable the Department of Child Support
Services, the Department of Justice, and other public agencies to
carry out their powers and duties to locate parents, spouses, and
former spouses, and to identify their assets, to establish
parent-child relationships, and to enforce liability for child or
spousal support, and for any other obligations incurred on behalf of
children, and shall also provide that information to any district
attorney in fulfilling the duties prescribed in Section 270 of the
Penal Code, and in Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 3130) of Part 2
of Division 8 of this code, relating to abducted, concealed, or
detained children. The Statewide Automated Child Support System, or
its replacement, shall be entitled to the same cooperation and
information as the California Parent Locator Service, to the extent
allowed by law. The Statewide Automated Child Support System, or its
replacement, shall be allowed access to criminal record information
only to the extent that access is allowed by state and federal law.
(c) (1) To effectuate the purposes of this section, and
notwithstanding any other provision of California law, regulation, or
tariff, and to the extent permitted by federal law, the California
Parent Locator Service and Central Registry and the Statewide
Automated Child Support System, or its replacement, may request and
shall receive from public utilities, as defined in Section 216 of the
Public Utilities Code, and cable television corporations, as defined
in Section 215.5 of the Public Utilities Code, customer service
information, including the full name, address, telephone number, date
of birth, employer name and address, and social security number of
customers of the public utility or the cable television corporation,
to the extent that this information is stored within the computer
data base of the public utility or the cable television corporation.
(2) In order to protect the privacy of utility and cable
television customers, a request to a public utility or cable
television corporation for customer service information pursuant to
this section shall meet the following requirements:
(A) Be submitted to the public utility or cable television
corporation in writing, on a transmittal document prepared by the
California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry or the
Statewide Automated Child Support System, or its replacement, and
approved by all of the public utilities and cable television
corporations. The transmittal shall be deemed to be an
administrative subpoena for customer service information.
(B) Have the signature of a representative authorized by the
California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry or the
Statewide Automated Child Support System, or its replacement.
(C) Contain at least three of the following data elements
regarding the person sought:
(i) First and last name, and middle initial, if known.
(ii) Social security number.
(iii) Driver's license number.
(iv) Birth date.
(v) Last known address.
(vi) Spouse's name.
(D) The California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry and
the Statewide Automated Child Support System, or its replacement,
shall ensure that each public utility and cable television
corporation has at all times a current list of the names of persons
authorized to request customer service information.
(E) The California Statewide Automated Child Support System, or
its replacement, and the California Parent Locator Service and
Central Registry shall ensure that customer service information
supplied by a public utility or cable television corporation is
applicable to the person who is being sought before releasing the
information pursuant to subdivision (d).
(3) The public utility or cable television corporation may charge
a fee to the California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry
or the Statewide Automated Child Support System, or its replacement,
for each search performed pursuant to this subdivision to cover the
actual costs to the public utility or cable television corporation
for providing this information.
(4) No public utility or cable television corporation, or official
or employee thereof, shall be subject to criminal or civil liability
for the release of customer service information as authorized by
this subdivision.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 14202 of the Penal Code, any records
established pursuant to this section shall be disseminated only to
the Department of Justice, the Statewide Automated Child Support
System or its replacement, the California Parent Locator Service and
Central Registry, the parent locator services and central registries
of other states as defined by federal statutes and regulations, a
district attorney of any county in this state, the federal Parent
Locator Service, the Department of Child Support Services, and local
child support agencies. The Statewide Automated Child Support
Enforcement System, or its replacement, shall be allowed access to
criminal offender record information only to the extent that access
is allowed by law.
(e) (1) At no time shall any information received by the
California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry or by the
Statewide Automated Child Support System, or its replacement, be
disclosed to any person, agency, or other entity, other than those
persons, agencies, and entities specified pursuant to Section 17505,
this section, or any other provision of law.
(2) This subdivision shall not otherwise affect discovery between
parties in any action to establish, modify, or enforce child, family,
or spousal support, that relates to custody or visitation.
(f) (1) The Department of Justice, in consultation with the
Department of Child Support Services, shall promulgate rules and
regulations to facilitate maximum and efficient use of the California
Parent Locator Service and Central Registry.
(2) The Department of Child Support Services, the Public Utilities
Commission, and the cable television corporations shall develop
procedures for obtaining the information described in subdivision (c)
from public utilities, and for compensating the public utilities and
cable television corporations for providing that information.
(g) The California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry may
charge a fee not to exceed eighteen dollars ($18) for any service it
provides pursuant to this section that is not performed or funded
pursuant to Part D (commencing with Section 651) of Subchapter IV of
Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(h) This section shall be construed in a manner consistent with
the other provisions of this article.
17508. The Employment Development Department shall, when
requested by the Department of Child Support Services, the Franchise
Tax Board for purposes of administering Article 5 (commencing with
Section 19271) of Chapter 5 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code, the federal Parent Locator Service, or the
California Parent Locator Service, provide access to information
collected pursuant to Section 1088.5 of the Unemployment Insurance
Code to the requesting department or agency for purposes of
administering the child support enforcement program, and for purposes
of verifying employment of applicants and recipients of aid under
this chapter or food stamps under Chapter 10 (commencing with Section
18900) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
17510. To assist local agencies in child support enforcement
activities, the department shall operate a workers' compensation
notification project based on information received pursuant to
Section 138.5 of the Labor Code or any other source of information.
17512. (a) Upon receipt of a written request from a local child
support agency enforcing the obligation of parents to support their
children pursuant to Section 17400, or from an agency of another
state enforcing support obligations pursuant to Section 654 of Title
42 of the United States Code, every employer, as specified in Section
5210, and every labor organization shall cooperate with and provide
relevant employment and income information that they have in their
possession to the local child support agency or other requesting
agency for the purpose of establishing, modifying, or enforcing the
support obligation. No employer or labor organization shall incur
any liability for providing this information to the local child
support agency or other requesting agency.
(b) Relevant employment and income information shall include, but
not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Whether a named person has or has not been employed by an
employer or whether a named person has or has not been employed to
the knowledge of the labor organization.
(2) The full name of the employee or member or the first and
middle initial and last name of the employee or member.
(3) The employee's or member's last known residence address.
(4) The employee's or member's date of birth.
(5) The employee's or member's social security number.
(6) The dates of employment.
(7) All earnings paid to the employee or member and reported as
W-2 compensation in the prior tax year and the employee's or member's
current basic rate of pay.
(8) Other earnings, as specified in Section 5206, paid to the
employee or member.
(9) Whether dependent health insurance coverage is available to
the employee through employment or membership in the labor
organization.
(c) The local child support agency or other agency shall notify
the employer and labor organization of the local child support agency
case file number in making a request pursuant to this section. The
written request shall include at least three of the following
elements regarding the person who is the subject of the inquiry: (A)
first and last name and middle initial, if known; (B) social
security number; (C) driver's license number; (D) birth date; (E)
last known address; or (F) spouse's name.
(d) The local child support agency or other requesting agency
shall send a notice that a request for this information has been made
to the last known address of the person who is the subject of the
inquiry.
(e) An employer or labor organization that fails to provide
relevant employment information to the local child support agency or
other requesting agency within 30 days of receiving a request
pursuant to subdivision (a) may be assessed a civil penalty of a
maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000), plus attorneys' fees and
costs. Proceedings to impose the civil penalty shall be commenced by
the filing and service of an order to show cause.
(f) "Labor organization," for the purposes of this section means a
labor organization as defined in Section 1117 of the Labor Code or
any related benefit trust fund covered under the federal Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (Chapter 18 (commencing with
Section 1001) of Title 29 of the United States Code).
(g) Any reference to the local child support agency in this
section shall apply only when the local child support agency is
otherwise ordered or required to act pursuant to existing law.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to mandate additional
enforcement or collection duties upon the local child support agency
beyond those imposed under existing law on the effective date of this
section.
17514. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect
individual rights of privacy, and to facilitate and enhance the
effectiveness of the child abduction and recovery programs, by
ensuring the confidentiality of child abduction records, and to
thereby encourage the full and frank disclosure of information
relevant to all of the following:
(1) The establishment or maintenance of parent and child
relationships and support obligations.
(2) The enforcement of the child support liability of absent
parents.
(3) The enforcement of spousal support liability of the spouse or
former spouse to the extent required by the state plan under Section
17400, and Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 4800) of Part 5 of
Division 9.
(4) The location of absent parents.
(5) The location of parents and children abducted, concealed, or
detained by them.
(b) (1) Except as provided in this subdivision, all files,
applications, papers, documents, and records, established or
maintained by any public entity for the purpose of locating an
abducted child, locating a person who has abducted a child, or
prosecution of a person who has abducted a child shall be
confidential, and shall not be open to examination or released for
disclosure for any purpose not directly connected with locating or
recovering the abducted child or abducting person or prosecution of
the abducting person.
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (c), no public entity shall
disclose any file, application, paper document, or record described
in this section, or the information contained therein.
(c) (1) All files, applications, papers, documents, and records as
described in subdivision (b) shall be available and may be used by a
public entity for all administrative, civil, or criminal
investigations, actions, proceedings, or prosecution conducted in
connection with the child abduction or prosecution of the abducting
person.
(2) A document requested by a person who wrote, prepared, or
furnished the document may be examined by or disclosed to that person
or his or her designee.
(3) Public records subject to disclosure under Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the
Government Code may be released.
(4) After a noticed motion and a finding by the court, in a case
in which child recovery or abduction prosecution actions are being
taken, that release or disclosure is required by due process of law,
the court may order a public entity that possesses an application,
paper, document, or record described in this subdivision to make that
item available to the defendant or other party for examination or
copying, or to disclose to an appropriate person the contents of that
item. Article 9 (commencing with Section 1040) of Chapter 4 of
Division 8 of the Evidence Code shall not be applicable to
proceedings under this part.
(5) To the extent not prohibited by federal law or regulation,
information indicating the existence or imminent threat of a crime
against a minor child, or location of a concealed or abducted child
or the location of the concealing or abducting person, may be
disclosed to any appropriate law enforcement agency, or to any state
or county child protective agency, or may be used in any judicial
proceedings to prosecute that crime or to protect the child.
(6) Information may be released to any state or local agency for
the purposes connected with establishing, modifying, and enforcing
child support obligations, enforcing spousal support orders, and
determining paternity as required by Part D (commencing with Section
651) of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States
Code and this article.
17516. In no event shall public social service benefits, as
defined in Section 10051 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or
benefits paid pursuant to Title XVI of the Social Security Act be
employed to satisfy a support obligation.
17518. (a) As authorized by subdivision (d) of Section 704.120 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, the following actions shall be taken in
order to enforce support obligations that are not being met.
Whenever a support judgment or order has been rendered by a court of
this state against an individual who is entitled to any unemployment
compensation benefits or unemployment compensation disability
benefits, the local child support agency may file a certification of
support judgment or support order with the Department of Child
Support Services, verifying under penalty of perjury that there is or
has been a judgment or an order for support with sums overdue
thereunder. The department shall periodically present and keep
current, by deletions and additions, a list of the certified support
judgments and orders and shall periodically notify the Employment
Development Department of individuals certified as owing support
obligations.
(b) If the Employment Development Department determines that an
individual who owes support may have a claim for unemployment
compensation disability insurance benefits under a voluntary plan
approved by the Employment Development Department in accordance with
Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 3251) of Part 2 of Division 1 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code, the Employment Development
Department shall immediately notify the voluntary plan payer. When
the department notifies the Employment Development Department of
changes in an individual's support obligations, the Employment
Development Department shall promptly notify the voluntary plan payer
of these changes. The Employment Development Department shall
maintain and keep current a record of individuals who owe support
obligations who may have claims for unemployment compensation or
unemployment compensation disability benefits.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, the Employment Development
Department shall withhold the amounts specified below from the
unemployment compensation benefits or unemployment compensation
disability benefits of individuals with unmet support obligations.
The Employment Development Department shall periodically forward the
amounts to the Department of Child Support Services for distribution
to the appropriate certifying county.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, during the payment of
unemployment compensation disability benefits to an individual, with
respect to whom the Employment Development Department has notified a
voluntary plan payer that the individual has a support obligation,
the voluntary plan payer shall withhold the amounts specified below
from the individual's unemployment compensation disability benefits
and shall periodically forward the amounts to the appropriate
certifying county.
(e) The amounts withheld in subdivisions (c) and (d) shall be
equal to 25 percent of each weekly unemployment compensation benefit
payment or periodic unemployment compensation disability benefit
payment, rounded down to the nearest whole dollar, which is due the
individual identified on the certified list. However, the amount
withheld may be reduced to a lower whole dollar amount through a
written agreement between the individual and the local child support
agency or through an order of the court.
(f) The department shall ensure that the appropriate certifying
county shall resolve any claims for refunds in the amounts
overwithheld by the Employment Development Department or voluntary
plan payer.
(g) No later than the time of the first withholding, the
individuals who are subject to the withholding shall be notified by
the payer of benefits of all of the following:
(1) That his or her unemployment compensation benefits or
unemployment compensation disability benefits have been reduced by a
court-ordered support judgment or order pursuant to this section.
(2) The address and telephone number of the local child support
agency that submitted the certificate of support judgment or order.
(3) That the support order remains in effect even though he or she
is unemployed or disabled unless it is modified by court order, and
that if the amount withheld is less than the monthly support
obligation, an arrearage will accrue.
(h) The individual may ask the appropriate court for an equitable
division of the individual's unemployment compensation or
unemployment compensation disability amounts withheld to take into
account the needs of all the persons the individual is required to
support.
(i) The Department of Child Support Services and the Employment
Development Department shall enter into any agreements necessary to
carry out this section.
(j) For purposes of this section, "support obligations" means the
child and related spousal support obligations that are being enforced
pursuant to a plan described in Section 454 of the Social Security
Act and as that section may hereafter be amended. However, to the
extent "related spousal support obligation" may not be collected from
unemployment compensation under federal law, those obligations shall
not be included in the definition of support obligations under this
section.
17520. (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Applicant" means any person applying for issuance or renewal
of a license.
(2) "Board" means any entity specified in Section 101 of the
Business and Professions Code, the entities referred to in Sections
1000 and 3600 of the Business and Professions Code, the State Bar,
the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the
Secretary of State, the Department of Fish and Game, and any other
state commission, department, committee, examiner, or agency that
issues a license, certificate, credential, permit, registration, or
any other authorization to engage in a business, occupation, or
profession, or to the extent required by federal law or regulations,
for recreational purposes. This term includes all boards,
commissions, departments, committees, examiners, entities, and
agencies that issue a license, certificate, credential, permit,
registration, or any other authorization to engage in a business,
occupation, or profession. The failure to specifically name a
particular board, commission, department, committee, examiner,
entity, or agency that issues a license, certificate, credential,
permit, registration, or any other authorization to engage in a
business, occupation, or profession does not exclude that board,
commission, department, committee, examiner, entity, or agency from
this term.
(3) "Certified list" means a list provided by the local child
support agency to the Department of Child Support Services in which
the local child support agency verifies, under penalty of perjury,
that the names contained therein are support obligors found to be out
of compliance with a judgment or order for support in a case being
enforced under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.
(4) "Compliance with a judgment or order for support" means that,
as set forth in a judgment or order for child or family support, the
obligor is no more than 30 calendar days in arrears in making
payments in full for current support, in making periodic payments in
full, whether court ordered or by agreement with the local child
support agency, on a support arrearage, or in making periodic
payments in full, whether court ordered or by agreement with the
local child support agency, on a judgment for reimbursement for
public assistance, or has obtained a judicial finding that equitable
estoppel as provided in statute or case law precludes enforcement of
the order. The local child support agency is authorized to use this
section to enforce orders for spousal support only when the local
child support agency is also enforcing a related child support
obligation owed to the obligee parent by the same obligor, pursuant
to Sections 17400 and 17604.
(5) "License" includes membership in the State Bar, and a
certificate, credential, permit, registration, or any other
authorization issued by a board that allows a person to engage in a
business, occupation, or profession, or to operate a commercial motor
vehicle, including appointment and commission by the Secretary of
State as a notary public. "License" also includes any driver's
license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, any commercial
fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Game, and to the
extent required by federal law or regulations, any license used for
recreational purposes. This term includes all licenses,
certificates, credentials, permits, registrations, or any other
authorization issued by a board that allows a person to engage in a
business, occupation, or profession. The failure to specifically
name a particular type of license, certificate, credential, permit,
registration, or other authorization issued by a board that allows a
person to engage in a business, occupation, or profession, does not
exclude that license, certificate, credential, permit, registration,
or other authorization from this term.
(6) "Licensee" means any person holding a license, certificate,
credential, permit, registration, or other authorization issued by a
board, to engage in a business, occupation, or profession, or a
commercial driver's license as defined in Section 15210 of the
Vehicle Code, including an appointment and commission by the
Secretary of State as a notary public. "Licensee" also means any
person holding a driver's license issued by the Department of Motor
Vehicles, any person holding a commercial fishing license issued by
the Department of Fish and Game, and to the extent required by
federal law or regulations, any person holding a license used for
recreational purposes. This term includes all persons holding a
license, certificate, credential, permit, registration, or any other
authorization to engage in a business, occupation, or profession, and
the failure to specifically name a particular type
of license, certificate, credential,
permit, registration, or other authorization issued by a board does
not exclude that person from this term.
(b) The local child support agency shall maintain a list of those
persons included in a case being enforced under Title IV-D of the
Social Security Act against whom a support order or judgment has been
rendered by, or registered in, a court of this state, and who are
not in compliance with that order or judgment. The local child
support agency shall submit a certified list with the names, social
security numbers, and last known addresses of these persons and the
name, address, and telephone number of the local child support agency
who certified the list to the department. The local child support
agency shall verify, under penalty of perjury, that the persons
listed are subject to an order or judgment for the payment of support
and that these persons are not in compliance with the order or
judgment. The local child support agency shall submit to the
department an updated certified list on a monthly basis.
(c) The department shall consolidate the certified lists received
from the local child support agencies and, within 30 calendar days of
receipt, shall provide a copy of the consolidated list to each board
that is responsible for the regulation of licenses, as specified in
this section.
(d) On or before November 1, 1992, or as soon thereafter as
economically feasible, as determined by the department, all boards
subject to this section shall implement procedures to accept and
process the list provided by the department, in accordance with this
section. Notwithstanding any other law, all boards shall collect
social security numbers from all applicants for the purposes of
matching the names of the certified list provided by the department
to applicants and licensees and of responding to requests for this
information made by child support agencies.
(e) (1) Promptly after receiving the certified consolidated list
from the department, and prior to the issuance or renewal of a
license, each board shall determine whether the applicant is on the
most recent certified consolidated list provided by the department.
The board shall have the authority to withhold issuance or renewal of
the license of any applicant on the list.
(2) If an applicant is on the list, the board shall immediately
serve notice as specified in subdivision (f) on the applicant of the
board's intent to withhold issuance or renewal of the license. The
notice shall be made personally or by mail to the applicant's last
known mailing address on file with the board. Service by mail shall
be complete in accordance with Section 1013 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(A) The board shall issue a temporary license valid for a period
of 150 days to any applicant whose name is on the certified list if
the applicant is otherwise eligible for a license.
(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), the 150-day time
period for a temporary license shall not be extended. Except as
provided in subparagraph (D), only one temporary license shall be
issued during a regular license term and it shall coincide with the
first 150 days of that license term. As this paragraph applies to
commercial driver's licenses, "license term" shall be deemed to be 12
months from the date the application fee is received by the
Department of Motor Vehicles. A license for the full or remainder of
the license term shall be issued or renewed only upon compliance
with this section.
(C) In the event that a license or application for a license or
the renewal of a license is denied pursuant to this section, any
funds paid by the applicant or licensee shall not be refunded by the
board.
(D) This paragraph shall apply only in the case of a driver's
license, other than a commercial driver's license. Upon the request
of the local child support agency or by order of the court upon a
showing of good cause, the board shall extend a 150-day temporary
license for a period not to exceed 150 extra days.
(3) (A) The department may, when it is economically feasible for
the department and the boards to do so as determined by the
department, in cases where the department is aware that certain child
support obligors listed on the certified lists have been out of
compliance with a judgment or order for support for more than four
months, provide a supplemental list of these obligors to each board
with which the department has an interagency agreement to implement
this paragraph. Upon request by the department, the licenses of
these obligors shall be subject to suspension, provided that the
licenses would not otherwise be eligible for renewal within six
months from the date of the request by the department. The board
shall have the authority to suspend the license of any licensee on
this supplemental list.
(B) If a licensee is on a supplemental list, the board shall
immediately serve notice as specified in subdivision (f) on the
licensee that his or her license will be automatically suspended 150
days after notice is served, unless compliance with this section is
achieved. The notice shall be made personally or by mail to the
licensee's last known mailing address on file with the board.
Service by mail shall be complete in accordance with Section 1013 of
the Code of Civil Procedure.
(C) The 150-day notice period shall not be extended.
(D) In the event that any license is suspended pursuant to this
section, any funds paid by the licensee shall not be refunded by the
board.
(E) This paragraph shall not apply to licenses subject to annual
renewal or annual fee.
(f) Notices shall be developed by each board in accordance with
guidelines provided by the department and subject to approval by the
department. The notice shall include the address and telephone
number of the local child support agency that submitted the name on
the certified list, and shall emphasize the necessity of obtaining a
release from that local child support agency as a condition for the
issuance, renewal, or continued valid status of a license or
licenses.
(1) In the case of applicants not subject to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (e), the notice shall inform the applicant that the board
shall issue a temporary license, as provided in subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (e), for 150 calendar days if the
applicant is otherwise eligible and that upon expiration of that time
period the license will be denied unless the board has received a
release from the local child support agency that submitted the name
on the certified list.
(2) In the case of licensees named on a supplemental list, the
notice shall inform the licensee that his or her license will
continue in its existing status for no more than 150 calendar days
from the date of mailing or service of the notice and thereafter will
be suspended indefinitely unless, during the 150-day notice period,
the board has received a release from the local child support agency
that submitted the name on the certified list. Additionally, the
notice shall inform the licensee that any license suspended under
this section will remain so until the expiration of the remaining
license term, unless the board receives a release along with
applications and fees, if applicable, to reinstate the license during
the license term.
(3) The notice shall also inform the applicant or licensee that if
an application is denied or a license is suspended pursuant to this
section, any funds paid by the applicant or licensee shall not be
refunded by the board. The Department of Child Support Services
shall also develop a form that the applicant shall use to request a
review by the local child support agency. A copy of this form shall
be included with every notice sent pursuant to this subdivision.
(g) (1) Each local child support agency shall maintain review
procedures consistent with this section to allow an applicant to have
the underlying arrearage and any relevant defenses investigated, to
provide an applicant information on the process of obtaining a
modification of a support order, or to provide an applicant
assistance in the establishment of a payment schedule on arrearages
if the circumstances so warrant.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that a court or local
child support agency, when determining an appropriate payment
schedule for arrearages, base its decision on the facts of the
particular case and the priority of payment of child support over
other debts. The payment schedule shall also recognize that certain
expenses may be essential to enable an obligor to be employed.
Therefore, in reaching its decision, the court or the local child
support agency shall consider both of these goals in setting a
payment schedule for arrearages.
(h) If the applicant wishes to challenge the submission of his or
her name on the certified list, the applicant shall make a timely
written request for review on the form specified in subdivision (f)
to the local child support agency who certified the applicant's name.
The local child support agency shall, within 75 days of receipt of
the written request, inform the applicant in writing of his or her
findings upon completion of the review. The local child support
agency shall immediately send a release to the appropriate board and
the applicant, if any of the following conditions are met:
(1) The applicant is found to be in compliance or negotiates an
agreement with the local child support agency for a payment schedule
on arrearages or reimbursement.
(2) The applicant has submitted a request for review, but the
local child support agency will be unable to complete the review and
send notice of its findings to the applicant within 75 days. This
paragraph applies only if the delay in completing the review process
is not the result of the applicant's failure to act in a reasonable,
timely, and diligent manner upon receiving notice from the board that
his or her name is on the list.
(3) The applicant has filed and served a request for judicial
review pursuant to this section, but a resolution of that review will
not be made within 150 days of the date of service of notice
pursuant to subdivision (f). This paragraph applies only if the
delay in completing the judicial review process is not the result of
the applicant's failure to act in a reasonable, timely, and diligent
manner upon receiving the local child support agency's notice of
findings.
(4) The applicant has obtained a judicial finding of compliance as
defined in this section.
(i) An applicant is required to act with diligence in responding
to notices from the board and the local child support agency with the
recognition that the temporary license will lapse or the license
suspension will go into effect after 150 days and that the local
child support agency and, where appropriate, the court must have time
to act within that period. An applicant's delay in acting, without
good cause, which directly results in the inability of the local
child support agency to complete a review of the applicant's request
or the court to hear the request for judicial review within the
150-day period shall not constitute the diligence required under this
section which would justify the issuance of a release.
(j) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the local child
support agency shall not issue a release if the applicant is not in
compliance with the judgment or order for support. The local child
support agency shall notify the applicant in writing that the
applicant may, by filing an order to show cause or notice of motion,
request any or all of the following:
(1) Judicial review of the local child support agency's decision
not to issue a release.
(2) A judicial determination of compliance.
(3) A modification of the support judgment or order.
The notice shall also contain the name and address of the court in
which the applicant shall file the order to show cause or notice of
motion and inform the applicant that his or her name shall remain on
the certified list if the applicant does not timely request judicial
review. The applicant shall comply with all statutes and rules of
court regarding orders to show cause and notices of motion.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit an applicant from
filing an order to show cause or notice of motion to modify a
support judgment or order or to fix a payment schedule on arrearages
accruing under a support judgment or order or to obtain a court
finding of compliance with a judgment or order for support.
(k) The request for judicial review of the local child support
agency's decision shall state the grounds for which review is
requested and judicial review shall be limited to those stated
grounds. The court shall hold an evidentiary hearing within 20
calendar days of the filing of the request for review. Judicial
review of the local child support agency's decision shall be limited
to a determination of each of the following issues:
(1) Whether there is a support judgment, order, or payment
schedule on arrearages or reimbursement.
(2) Whether the petitioner is the obligor covered by the support
judgment or order.
(3) Whether the support obligor is or is not in compliance with
the judgment or order of support.
(4) (A) The extent to which the needs of the obligor, taking into
account the obligor's payment history and the current circumstances
of both the obligor and the obligee, warrant a conditional release as
described in this subdivision.
(B) The request for judicial review shall be served by the
applicant upon the local child support agency that submitted the
applicant's name on the certified list within seven calendar days of
the filing of the petition. The court has the authority to uphold
the action, unconditionally release the license, or conditionally
release the license.
(C) If the judicial review results in a finding by the court that
the obligor is in compliance with the judgment or order for support,
the local child support agency shall immediately send a release in
accordance with subdivision (h) to the appropriate board and the
applicant. If the judicial review results in a finding by the court
that the needs of the obligor warrant a conditional release, the
court shall make findings of fact stating the basis for the release
and the payment necessary to satisfy the unrestricted issuance or
renewal of the license without prejudice to a later judicial
determination of the amount of support arrearages, including
interest, and shall specify payment terms, compliance with which are
necessary to allow the release to remain in effect.
(l) The department shall prescribe release forms for use by local
child support agencies. When the obligor is in compliance, the local
child support agency shall mail to the applicant and the appropriate
board a release stating that the applicant is in compliance. The
receipt of a release shall serve to notify the applicant and the
board that, for the purposes of this section, the applicant is in
compliance with the judgment or order for support.
If the local child support agency determines subsequent to the
issuance of a release that the applicant is once again not in
compliance with a judgment or order for support, or with the terms of
repayment as described in this subdivision, the local child support
agency may notify the board, the obligor, and the department in a
format prescribed by the department that the obligor is not in
compliance.
The department may, when it is economically feasible for the
department and the boards to develop an automated process for
complying with this subdivision, notify the boards in a manner
prescribed by the department, that the obligor is once again not in
compliance. Upon receipt of this notice, the board shall immediately
notify the obligor on a form prescribed by the department that the
obligor's license will be suspended on a specific date, and this date
shall be no longer than 30 days from the date the form is mailed.
The obligor shall be further notified that the license will remain
suspended until a new release is issued in accordance with
subdivision (h). Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit
the obligor from seeking judicial review of suspension pursuant to
the procedures described in subdivision (k).
(m) The department may enter into interagency agreements with the
state agencies that have responsibility for the administration of
boards necessary to implement this section, to the extent that it is
cost-effective to implement this section. These agreements shall
provide for the receipt by the other state agencies and boards of
federal funds to cover that portion of costs allowable in federal law
and regulation and incurred by the state agencies and boards in
implementing this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, revenue generated by a board or state agency shall be used to
fund the nonfederal share of costs incurred pursuant to this section.
These agreements shall provide that boards shall reimburse the
department for the nonfederal share of costs incurred by the
department in implementing this section. The boards shall reimburse
the department for the nonfederal share of costs incurred pursuant to
this section from moneys collected from applicants and licensees.
(n) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order for the
boards subject to this section to be reimbursed for the costs
incurred in administering its provisions, the boards may, with the
approval of the appropriate department director, levy on all
licensees and applicants a surcharge on any fee or fees collected
pursuant to law, or, alternatively, with the approval of the
appropriate department director, levy on the applicants or licensees
named on a certified list or supplemental list, a special fee.
(o) The process described in subdivision (h) shall constitute the
sole administrative remedy for contesting the issuance of a temporary
license or the denial or suspension of a license under this section.
The procedures specified in the administrative adjudication
provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 11400) and Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code) shall not apply to the denial, suspension, or failure to issue
or renew a license or the issuance of a temporary license pursuant to
this section.
(p) In furtherance of the public policy of increasing child
support enforcement and collections, on or before November 1, 1995,
the State Department of Social Services shall make a report to the
Legislature and the Governor based on data collected by the boards
and the district attorneys in a format prescribed by the State
Department of Social Services. The report shall contain all of the
following:
(1) The number of delinquent obligors certified by district
attorneys under this section.
(2) The number of support obligors who also were applicants or
licensees subject to this section.
(3) The number of new licenses and renewals that were delayed,
temporary licenses issued, and licenses suspended subject to this
section and the number of new licenses and renewals granted and
licenses reinstated following board receipt of releases as provided
by subdivision (h) by May 1, 1995.
(4) The costs incurred in the implementation and enforcement of
this section.
(q) Any board receiving an inquiry as to the licensed status of an
applicant or licensee who has had a license denied or suspended
under this section or has been granted a temporary license under this
section shall respond only that the license was denied or suspended
or the temporary license was issued pursuant to this section.
Information collected pursuant to this section by any state agency,
board, or department shall be subject to the Information Practices
Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of
Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).
(r) Any rules and regulations issued pursuant to this section by
any state agency, board, or department may be adopted as emergency
regulations in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
The adoption of these regulations shall be deemed an emergency and
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health,
and safety, or general welfare. The regulations shall become
effective immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State.
(s) The department and boards, as appropriate, shall adopt
regulations necessary to implement this section.
(t) The Judicial Council shall develop the forms necessary to
implement this section, except as provided in subdivisions (f) and
(l).
(u) The release or other use of information received by a board
pursuant to this section, except as authorized by this section, is
punishable as a misdemeanor.
(v) The State Board of Equalization shall enter into interagency
agreements with the department and the Franchise Tax Board that will
require the department and the Franchise Tax Board to maximize the
use of information collected by the State Board of Equalization, for
child support enforcement purposes, to the extent it is
cost-effective and permitted by the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(w) The suspension or revocation of any driver's license,
including a commercial driver's license, under this section shall not
subject the licensee to vehicle impoundment pursuant to Section
14602.6 of the Vehicle Code.
(x) If any provision of this section or the application thereof to
any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications of this section which can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
this end the provisions of this section are severable.
(y) All rights to administrative and judicial review afforded by
this section to an applicant shall also be afforded to a licensee.
17522. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, if any support obligor
is delinquent in the payment of support for at least 30 days and the
local child support agency is enforcing the support obligation
pursuant to Section 17400, the local child support agency may collect
the delinquency or enforce any lien by levy served on all persons
having in their possession, or who will have in their possession or
under their control, any credits or personal property belonging to
the delinquent support obligor, or who owe any debt to the obligor at
the time they receive the notice of levy.
(b) A levy may be issued by a local child support agency for a
support obligation that accrued under a court order or judgment if
the obligor had notice of the accrued support arrearage as provided
in this section, and did not make a timely request for review.
(c) The notice requirement shall be satisfied by the local child
support agency sending a statement of support arrearages to the
obligor at the obligor's last known address by first-class mail,
postage prepaid. The notice shall advise the obligor of the amount
of the support arrearage. The notice shall advise the obligor that
the obligor may have the arrearage determination reviewed by
administrative procedures and state how the review may be obtained.
The notice shall also advise the obligor of his or her right to seek
a judicial determination of arrearages pursuant to Section 17526 and
shall include a form to be filed with the court to request a judicial
determination of arrearages. If the obligor requests an
administrative review of the arrearage determination within 20 days
from the date the notice was mailed to the obligor, the local child
support agency shall review the assessment or determination and shall
not issue the levy for a disputed amount of support until the
administrative review procedure is completed.
(d) If the obligor requests a judicial determination of the
arrearages within 20 days from the date the notice was mailed to the
obligor, the local child support agency shall not issue the levy for
a disputed amount of support until the judicial determination is
complete.
(e) Any person upon whom a levy has been served having in his or
her possession or under his or her control any credits or personal
property belonging to the delinquent support obligor or owing any
debts to the delinquent support obligor at the time of receipt of the
levy or coming into his or her possession or under his or her
control within one year of receipt of the notice of levy, shall
surrender the credits or personal property to the local child support
agency or pay to the local child support agency the amount of any
debt owing the delinquent support obligor within 10 days of service
of the levy, and shall surrender the credits or personal property, or
the amount of any debt owing to the delinquent support obligor
coming into his or her own possession or control within one year of
receipt of the notice of levy within 10 days of the date of coming
into possession or control of the credits or personal property or the
amount of any debt owing to the delinquent support obligor.
(f) Any person who surrenders any credits or personal property or
pays the debts owing the delinquent support obligor to the local
child support agency pursuant to this section shall be discharged
from any obligation or liability to the delinquent support obligor to
the extent of the amount paid to the local child support agency as a
result of the levy.
(g) If the levy is made on a deposit or credits or personal
property in the possession or under the control of a bank, savings
and loan association, or other financial institution as defined by
Section 669A(d)(1) of Title 42 of the United States Code, the notice
of levy may be delivered or mailed to a centralized location
designated by the bank, savings and loan association, or other
financial institution pursuant to Section 689.040 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
(h) Any person who is served with a levy pursuant to this section
and who fails or refuses to surrender any credits or other personal
property or pay any debts owing to the delinquent support obligor
shall be liable in his or her own person or estate to the local child
support agency in an amount equal to the value of the credits or
other personal property or in the amount of the levy, up to the
amount specified in the levy.
(i) If any amount required to be paid pursuant to a levy under
this section is not paid when due, the local child support agency may
issue a warrant for enforcement of any lien and for the collection
of any amount required to
be paid to the local child support agency under this section. The
warrant shall be directed to any sheriff, marshal, or the Department
of the California Highway Patrol and shall have the same force and
effect as a writ of execution. The warrant shall be levied and sale
made pursuant to it in the manner and with the same force and effect
as a levy and sale pursuant to a writ of execution. The local child
support agency may pay or advance to the levying officer the same
fees, commissions, and expenses for his or her services under this
section as are provided by law for similar services pursuant to a
writ of execution, except for those fees and expenses for which a
district attorney is exempt by law from paying. The local child
support agency, and not the court, shall approve the fees for
publication in a newspaper.
(j) The fees, commissions, expenses, and the reasonable costs
associated with the sale of property levied upon by warrant or levy
pursuant to this section, including, but not limited to, appraisers'
fees, auctioneers' fees, and advertising fees are an obligation of
the support obligor and may be collected from the obligor by virtue
of the warrant or levy or in any other manner as though these items
were support payments delinquent for at least 30 days.
17524. (a) Upon making application to the local child support
agency for child support enforcement services pursuant to Section
17400, every applicant shall be requested to give the local child
support agency a statement of arrearages stating whether any support
arrearages are owed. If the applicant alleges arrearages are owed,
the statement shall be signed under penalty of perjury.
(b) For all cases opened by the district attorney or local child
support agency after December 31, 1995, the local child support
agency shall enforce only arrearages declared under penalty of
perjury pursuant to subdivision (a), arrearages accrued after the
case was opened, or arrearages determined by the court in the child
support action. Arrearages may be determined by judgment, noticed
motion, renewal of judgment, or registration of the support order.
(c) For all cases opened by the district attorney on or before
December 31, 1995, the local child support agency shall enforce only
arrearages that have been based upon a statement of arrearages signed
under penalty of perjury or where the local child support agency has
some other reasonable basis for believing the amount of claimed
arrearages to be correct.
17526. (a) Upon request of an obligor or obligee, the local child
support agency shall, within 30 days, review the amount of
arrearages alleged in a statement of arrearages that may be submitted
to the local child support agency by an applicant for child support
enforcement services. In the review, the local child support agency
shall consider all evidence and defenses submitted by either parent
on the issues of the amount of support paid or owed. The local child
support agency may continue the administrative review as necessary
to obtain additional information.
(b) The local child support agency may, in its discretion, suspend
enforcement or distribution of arrearages if it believes there is a
substantial probability that the result of the administrative review
will result in a finding that there are no arrearages.
(c) Any party to an action involving child support enforcement
services of the local child support agency may request a judicial
determination of arrearages. The party may request an administrative
review of the alleged arrearages prior to requesting a judicial
determination of arrearages. Any motion to determine arrearages
filed with the court shall include a monthly breakdown showing
amounts ordered and amounts paid, in addition to any other relevant
information.
(d) A county that submits a claim for reimbursement as a
state-mandated local program of costs incurred with respect to the
administrative review of alleged child support arrearages under this
section shall be ineligible for state subventions or, to the extent
permitted by federal law, state-administered federal subventions, for
child support in the amount of any local costs under this section.
17528. (a) As authorized by subdivision (c) of Section 704.110 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, the following actions shall be taken in
order to enforce support obligations that are not being met:
(1) Within 18 months of implementation of the Statewide Automated
Child Support System (SACSS), or its replacement as prescribed by
former Section 10815 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and
certification of SACSS or its replacement by the United States
Department of Health and Human Services, the department shall compile
a file of all support judgments and orders that are being enforced
by local child support agencies pursuant to Section 17400 that have
sums overdue by at least 60 days or by an amount equal to 60 days of
support.
(2) The file shall contain the name and social security number of
the person who owes overdue support, the amount of overdue support as
of the date the file is created, the name of the county in which the
support obligation is being enforced by the local child support
agency, and any other information that is deemed necessary by the
department and the Public Employees' Retirement System.
(3) The department shall provide the certified file to the Public
Employees' Retirement System for the purpose of matching the names in
the file with members and beneficiaries of the Public Employees'
Retirement System that are entitled to receive Public Employees'
Retirement System benefits. The department and the Public Employees'
Retirement System shall work cooperatively to develop an interface
in order to match the names in their respective electronic data
processing systems. The interface required to intercept benefits
that are payable periodically shall be done as soon as it is
technically feasible.
(4) The department shall update the certified file no less than on
a monthly basis to add new cases within the local child support
agencies or existing cases that become delinquent and to delete
persons who are no longer delinquent. The department shall provide
the updated file no less than on a monthly basis to the Public
Employees' Retirement System.
(5) Information contained in the certified file provided to the
Public Employees' Retirement System by the department and the local
child support agencies and information provided by the Public
Employees' Retirement System to the department shall be used
exclusively for child support enforcement purposes and may not be
used for any other purpose.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Public
Employees' Retirement System shall withhold the amount certified from
the benefits and refunds to be distributed to members with overdue
support obligations or from benefits to be distributed to
beneficiaries with overdue support obligations. If the benefits are
payable periodically, the amount withheld pursuant to this section
shall not exceed the amount permitted to be withheld for an earnings
withholding order for support under Section 706.052 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
(c) The Public Employees' Retirement System shall forward the
amounts withheld pursuant to subdivision (b) within 10 days of
withholding to the department for distribution to the appropriate
county.
(d) On an annual basis, the department shall notify individuals
with overdue support obligations that PERS benefits or PERS
contribution refunds may be intercepted for the purpose of enforcing
family support obligations.
(e) No later than the time of the first withholding, the Public
Employees' Retirement System shall send those persons subject to
withholding the following:
(1) Notice that his or her benefits or retirement contribution
refund have been reduced by payment on a support judgment pursuant to
this section.
(2) A form developed by the department that the applicant shall
use to request either a review by the local child support agency or a
court hearing, as appropriate.
(f) The notice shall include the address and telephone number of
the local child support agency that is enforcing the support
obligation pursuant to Section 17400, and shall specify that the form
requesting either a review by the local child support agency or a
court hearing must be received by the local child support agency
within 20 days of the date of the notice.
(g) The form shall include instructions that are designed to
enable the member or beneficiary to obtain a review or a court
hearing as appropriate on his or her own behalf. The form shall
specify that if the member or beneficiary disputes the amount of
support arrearages certified by the local child support agency
pursuant to this section, he or she may request a review by the local
child support agency.
(h) The department shall develop procedures that are consistent
with this section to be used by each local child support agency in
conducting the requested review. The local child support agency
shall complete the review in accordance with the procedures developed
by the department and shall notify the member or beneficiary of the
result of the review within 20 days of receiving the request for
review. The notification of review results shall include a request
for hearing form and shall inform the member or beneficiary that if
he or she returns the completed request for hearing form within 20
days of the date of the notice of review results, the local child
support agency shall calendar the matter for court review. If the
local child support agency cannot complete the review within 20 days,
the local child support agency shall calendar the matter for hearing
as specified in subdivision (k).
(i) The form specified in subdivision (g) shall also notify the
member or beneficiary that he or she may request a court hearing to
claim an exemption of any benefit not payable periodically by
returning the completed form to the local child support agency within
20 days. If the local child support agency receives a timely
request for a hearing for a claim of exemption, the local child
support agency shall calendar a court hearing. The amount of the
exemption, if any, shall be determined by the court in accordance
with the procedures set forth in Section 703.070 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(j) If the local child support agency receives the form requesting
either a review by the local child support agency or a court hearing
within the 20 days specified in subdivision (f), the local child
support agency shall not distribute the amount intercepted until the
review by the local child support agency or the court hearing is
completed. If the local child support agency determines that all or
a portion of the member's or beneficiary's benefits were intercepted
in error, or if the court determines that any amount of the benefits
are exempt, the local child support agency shall refund any amount
determined to be exempt or intercepted in excess of the correct
amount to the member or beneficiary within 10 days of determination
that a refund is due.
(k) Any hearing properly requested pursuant to this section shall
be calendared by the local child support agency. The hearing shall
be held within 20 days from the date that the local child support
agency receives the request for hearing. The local child support
agency shall provide notice of the time and place for hearing by
first-class mail no later than five days prior to the hearing.
(l) Nothing in this section shall limit any existing rights of the
member or beneficiary, including, but not limited to, the right to
seek a determination of arrearages or other appropriate relief
directly from the court. However, if the procedures of this section
are not utilized by the member or beneficiary, the court may not
require the local child support agency to refund any money that was
distributed to the child support obligee prior to the local child
support agency receiving notice of a court determination that a
refund is due to the member or beneficiary.
(m) The Department of Child Support Services and the Public
Employees' Retirement System shall enter into any agreement necessary
to implement this section which shall include provisions for the
department to provide funding to the Public Employees' Retirement
System to develop, implement, and maintain the intercept process
described in this section.
(n) The Public Employees' Retirement System may not assess service
charges on members or beneficiaries in order to recover any
administrative costs resulting from complying with this section.
Article 3. Program Compliance
17600. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The Legislative Analyst has found that county child support
enforcement programs provide a net increase in revenues to the state.
(2) The state has a fiscal interest in ensuring that county child
support enforcement programs perform efficiently.
(3) The state does not provide information to counties on child
support enforcement programs, based on common denominators that would
facilitate comparison of program performance.
(4) Providing this information would allow county officials to
monitor program performance and to make appropriate modifications to
improve program efficiency.
(5) This information is required for effective management of the
child support program.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), commencing with the
1998-99 fiscal year, and for each fiscal year thereafter, each county
that is participating in the state incentive program described in
Section 17704 shall provide to the department, and the department
shall compile from this county child support information, quarterly
and annually, all of the following performance-based data, as
established by the federal incentive funding system, provided that
the department may revise the data required by this paragraph in
order to conform to the final federal incentive system data
definitions:
(A) One of the following data relating to paternity establishment,
as required by the department, provided that the department shall
require all counties to report on the same measurement:
(i) The total number of children in the caseload governed by
Subtitle D (commencing with Section 450) of Title IV of the federal
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 650 et seq.), as of the end of
the federal fiscal year, who were born to unmarried parents for whom
paternity was established or acknowledged, and the total number of
children in that caseload, as of the end of the preceding federal
fiscal year, who were born to unmarried parents.
(ii) The total number of minor children who were born in the state
to unmarried parents for whom paternity was established or
acknowledged during a federal fiscal year, and the total number of
children in the state born to unmarried parents during the preceding
federal fiscal year.
(B) The number of cases governed by Subtitle D (commencing with
Section 450) of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 650 et seq.) during the federal fiscal year and the total
number of those cases with support orders.
(C) The total dollars collected during the federal fiscal year for
current support in cases governed by Subtitle D (commencing with
Section 450) of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 650 et seq.) and the total number of dollars owing for
current support during that federal fiscal year in cases governed by
those provisions.
(D) The total number of cases for the federal fiscal year governed
by Subtitle D (commencing with Section 450) of Title IV of the
federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 650 et seq.) in which
payment was being made toward child support arrearages and the total
number of cases for that fiscal year governed by these federal
provisions that had child support arrearages.
(E) The total number of dollars collected and expended during a
federal fiscal year in cases governed by Subtitle D (commencing with
Section 450) of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 650 et seq.).
(F) The total amount of child support dollars collected during a
federal fiscal year, and, if and when required by federal law, the
amount of these collections broken down by collections distributed on
behalf of current recipients of federal Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families block grant funds or federal foster care funds, on
behalf of former recipients of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families block grant funds or federal foster care funds, or on
behalf of persons who have never been recipients of these federal
funds.
(2) A county may apply for an exemption from any or all of the
reporting requirements of paragraph (1) for the 1998-99 state fiscal
year or any quarter of that fiscal year, as well as for the first
quarter of the 1999-2000 fiscal year, by submitting an application
for the exemption to the department at least three months prior to
the commencement of the fiscal year or quarter for which the
exemption is sought. A county shall provide a separate justification
for each data element under paragraph (1) for which the county is
seeking an exemption and the cost to the county of providing the
data. The department may not grant an exemption for more than one
year. The department may grant a single exemption only if both of
the following conditions are met:
(A) The county cannot compile the data being sought through its
existing automated system or systems.
(B) The county cannot compile the data being sought through manual
means or through an enhanced automated system or systems without
significantly harming the child support collection efforts of the
county.
(c) Except as provided in paragraph (6), before implementation of
the statewide automated system, in addition to the information
required by subdivision (b), the department shall collect, on a
monthly basis, from each county that is participating in the state
incentive program described in Section 17704, information on the
local child support agency beginning with the 1998-99 fiscal year,
and for each subsequent fiscal year, and shall report quarterly and
annually on all of the following measurements:
(1) For each of the following support collection categories, the
number of cases with support collected shall include only the number
of cases actually receiving a collection, not the number of payments
received. For purposes of determining the number of cases with an
order of current support and the number of cases in which current
support is being collected, cases with a medical support order that
do not have an order for current support shall not be counted.
(A) The number of cases with an order for current support.
(B) The number of cases with collections of current support.
(C) The number of cases with an order for arrears.
(D) The number of cases with arrears collections.
(2) The number of alleged fathers or obligors who were served with
a summons and complaint to establish paternity or a support order.
In order to be counted under this paragraph, the alleged father or
obligor shall be successfully served with process. An alleged father
shall be counted under this paragraph only once if he is served with
process simultaneously for both a paternity and a support order
proceeding for the same child or children. For purposes of this
paragraph, a support order shall include a medical support order.
(3) The number of children requiring paternity establishment and
the number of children for whom paternity has been established during
the period. Paternity may only be established once for each child.
Any child for whom paternity is not at issue shall not be counted in
the number of children for whom paternity has been established. For
this purpose, paternity is not at issue if the parents were married
and neither parent challenges paternity or a voluntary paternity
declaration has been executed by the parents prior to the county
child support enforcement program obtaining the case and neither
parent challenges paternity.
(4) The number of cases requiring that a support order be
established and the number of cases that had a support order
established during the period. A support order shall be counted as
established only when the appropriate court has issued an order for
child support, including an order for temporary child support, or an
order for medical support.
(5) The total cost of administering the county child support
enforcement program, including the federal, state, and county share
of the costs, and the federal and state incentives received by each
county. The total cost of administering the program shall be broken
down by the following:
(A) The direct costs of the program, broken down further by total
employee salaries and benefits, a list of the number of employees
broken down into at least the following categories: attorneys,
administrators, caseworkers, investigators, and clerical support;
contractor costs; space charges; and payments to other county
agencies. Employee salaries and numbers need only be reported in the
annual report.
(B) The indirect costs, showing all overhead charges.
(6) A county may apply for an exemption from any or all of the
reporting requirements of this subdivision for a fiscal year by
submitting an application for the exemption to the department at
least three months prior to the commencement of the fiscal year or
quarter for which the exemption is sought. A county shall provide a
separate justification for each data element under this subdivision
for which the county is seeking an exemption and the cost to the
county of providing the data. The department may not grant an
exemption for more than one year. The department may grant a single
exemption only if both of the following conditions are met:
(A) The county cannot compile the data being sought through its
existing automated system or systems.
(B) The county cannot compile the data being sought through manual
means or through an enhanced automated system or systems without
significantly harming the child support collection efforts of the
county.
(d) After implementation of the statewide automated system, in
addition to the information required by subdivision (b), the
Department of Child Support Services shall collect, on a monthly
basis, from each county that is participating in the state incentive
program described in Section 17704, information on the county child
support enforcement program beginning with the 1998-99 fiscal year or
a later fiscal year, as appropriate, and for each subsequent fiscal
year, and shall report quarterly and annually on all of the following
measurements:
(1) For each of the following support collection categories, the
number of cases with support collected shall include only the number
of cases actually receiving a collection, not the number of payments
received.
(A) (i) The number of cases with collections for current support.
(ii) The number of cases with arrears collections only.
(iii) The number of cases with both current support and arrears
collections.
(B) For cases with current support only due.
(i) The number of cases in which the full amount of current
support owed was collected.
(ii) The number of cases in which some amount of current support,
but less than the full amount of support owed, was collected.
(iii) The number of cases in which no amount of support owed was
collected.
(C) For cases in which arrears only were owed:
(i) The number of cases in which all arrears owed were collected.
(ii) The number of cases in which some amount of arrears, but less
than the full amount of arrears owed, were collected.
(iii) The number of cases in which no amount of arrears owed were
collected.
(D) For cases in which both current support and arrears are owed:
(i) The number of cases in which the full amount of current
support and arrears owed were collected.
(ii) The number of cases in which some amount of current support
and arrears, but less than the full amount of support owed, were
collected.
(iii) The number of cases in which no amount of support owed was
collected.
(E) The total number of cases in which an amount was due for
current support only.
(F) The total number of cases in which an amount was due for both
current support and arrears.
(G) The total number of cases in which an amount was due for
arrears only.
(H) For cases with current support due, the number of cases
without orders for medical support and the number of cases with an
order for medical support.
(2) The number of alleged fathers or obligors who were served with
a summons and complaint to establish paternity or a support order,
and the number of alleged fathers or obligors for whom it is required
that paternity or a support order be established. In order to be
counted under this paragraph, the alleged father or obligor shall be
successfully served with process. An alleged father shall be counted
under this paragraph only once if he is served with process
simultaneously for both a paternity and a support order proceeding
for the same child or children. For purposes of this paragraph, a
support order shall include a medical support order.
(3) The number of new asset seizures or successful initial
collections on a wage assignment for purposes of child support
collection. For purposes of this paragraph, a collection made on a
wage assignment shall be counted only once for each wage assignment
issued.
(4) The number of children requiring paternity establishment and
the number of children for whom paternity has been established during
the period. Paternity may only be established once for each child.
Any child for whom paternity is not at issue shall not be counted in
the number of children for whom paternity has been established. For
this purpose, paternity is not at issue if the parents were married
and neither parent challenges paternity or a voluntary paternity
declaration has been executed by the parents prior to the local child
support agency obtaining the case and neither parent challenges
paternity.
(5) The number of cases requiring that a support order be
established and the number of cases that had a support order
established during the period. A support order shall be counted as
established only when the appropriate court has issued an order for
child support, including an order for temporary child support, or an
order for medical support.
(6) The total
cost of administering the county child support enforcement program,
including the federal, state, and county share of the costs and the
federal and state incentives received by each county. The total cost
of administering the program shall be broken down by the following:
(A) The direct costs of the program, broken down further by total
employee salaries and benefits, a list of the number of employees
broken down into at least the following categories: attorneys,
administrators, caseworkers, investigators, and clerical support;
contractor costs; space charges; and payments to other county
agencies. Employee salaries and numbers need only be reported in the
annual report.
(B) The indirect costs, showing all overhead charges.
(7) The total child support collections due, broken down by
current support, interest on arrears, and principal, and the total
child support collections that have been collected, broken down by
current support, interest on arrears, and principal.
(8) The actual case status for all cases in the county child
support enforcement program. Each case shall be reported in one case
status only. If a case falls within more than one status category,
it shall be counted in the first status category of the list set
forth below in which it qualifies. The following shall be the case
status choices:
(A) No support order, location of obligor parent required.
(B) No support order, alleged obligor parent located and paternity
required.
(C) No support order, location and paternity not at issue but
support order must be established.
(D) Support order established with current support obligation and
obligor is in compliance with support obligation.
(E) Support order established with current support obligation,
obligor is in arrears and location of obligor is necessary.
(F) Support order established with current support obligation,
obligor is in arrears, and location of obligor's assets is necessary.
(G) Support order established with current support obligation,
obligor is in arrears and no location of obligor or obligor's assets
is necessary.
(H) Support order established with current support obligation,
obligor is in arrears, the obligor is located, but the local child
support agency has established satisfactorily that the obligor has no
income or assets and no ability to earn.
(I) Support order established with current support obligation and
arrears, obligor is paying the current support and is paying some or
all of the interest on the arrears, but is paying no principal.
(J) Support order established for arrears only and obligor is
current in repayment obligation.
(K) Support order established for arrears only, obligor is not
current in arrears repayment schedule and location of obligor is
required.
(L) Support order established for arrears only, obligor is not
current in arrears repayment schedule and location of obligor's
assets is required.
(M) Support order established for arrears only, obligor is not
current in arrears repayment schedule, and no location of obligor or
obligor's assets is required.
(N) Support order established for arrears only, obligor is not
current in arrears repayment, and the obligor is located, but the
local child support agency has established satisfactorily that the
obligor has no income or assets and no ability to earn.
(O) Support order established for arrears only and obligor is
repaying some or all of the interest, but no principal.
(P) Other, if necessary, to be defined in the regulations
promulgated under subdivision (e).
(e) Upon implementation of the statewide automated system, or at
the time that the department determines that compliance with this
subdivision is possible, each county that is participating in the
state incentive program described in Section 17704 shall collect and
report, and the department shall compile for each participating
county, information on the county child support program in each
fiscal year, all of the following data, in a manner that facilitates
comparison of counties and the entire state, except that the
department may eliminate or modify the requirement to report any data
mandated to be reported pursuant to this subdivision if the
department determines that the local child support agencies are
unable to accurately collect and report the information or that
collecting and reporting of the data by the local child support
agencies will be onerous:
(1) The number of alleged obligors or fathers who receive CalWORKs
benefits, food stamp benefits, and Medi-Cal benefits.
(2) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who are in state
prison or county jail.
(3) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who do not have a
social security number.
(4) The number of obligors or alleged fathers whose address is
unknown.
(5) The number of obligors or alleged fathers whose complete name,
consisting of at least a first and last name, is not known by the
local child support agency.
(6) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who filed a tax
return with the Franchise Tax Board in the last year for which a data
match is available.
(7) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have no income
reported to the Employment Development Department during the third
quarter of the fiscal year.
(8) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between one dollar ($1) and five hundred dollars ($500) reported to
the Employment Development Department during the third quarter of the
fiscal year.
(9) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between five hundred one dollars ($501) and one thousand five hundred
dollars ($1,500) reported to the Employment Development Department
during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(10) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between one thousand five hundred one dollars ($1,501) and two
thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(11) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between two thousand five hundred one dollars ($2,501) and three
thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(12) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between three thousand five hundred one dollars ($3,501) and four
thousand five hundred dollars ($4,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(13) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between four thousand five hundred one dollars ($4,501) and five
thousand five hundred dollars ($5,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(14) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between five thousand five hundred one dollars ($5,501) and six
thousand five hundred dollars ($6,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(15) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between six thousand five hundred one dollars ($6,501) and seven
thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(16) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
between seven thousand five hundred one dollars ($7,501) and nine
thousand dollars ($9,000) reported to the Employment Development
Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(17) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have income
exceeding nine thousand dollars ($9,000) reported to the Employment
Development Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(18) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who have two or
more employers reporting earned income to the Employment Development
Department during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(19) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive
unemployment benefits during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(20) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive state
disability benefits during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(21) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive workers'
compensation benefits during the third quarter of the fiscal year.
(22) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive Social
Security Disability Insurance benefits during the third quarter of
the fiscal year.
(23) The number of obligors or alleged fathers who receive
Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program for the
Aged, Blind and Disabled benefits during the third quarter of the
fiscal year.
(f) The department, in consultation with the Legislative Analyst's
office, the Judicial Council, the California Family Support Council,
and child support advocates, shall develop regulations to ensure
that all local child support agencies report the data required by
this section uniformly and consistently throughout California.
(g) The department shall provide the information for all
participating counties for the 2000-01 fiscal year to each member of
a county board of supervisors, county executive officer, local child
support agency, and the appropriate policy committees and fiscal
committees of the Legislature by December 31, 2001. The department
shall provide the information for each subsequent fiscal quarter and
fiscal year no later than three months following the end of the
fiscal quarter and no later than nine months following the end of the
fiscal year. The department shall present the information in a
manner that facilitates comparison of county performance.
(h) For purposes of this section, "case" means a noncustodial
parent, whether mother, father, or putative father, who is, or
eventually may be, obligated under law for support of a child or
children. For purposes of this definition, a noncustodial parent
shall be counted once for each family that has a dependent child he
or she may be obligated to support.
(i) This section shall be operative only for as long as Section
17704 requires participating counties to report data to the
department.
17602. (a) Not later than January 1, 2001, the department shall
adopt performance standards that each local child support agency is
required to comply with on a quarterly basis. The performance
standards shall include, at a minimum, measurements for each of the
following:
(1) Percent of cases with a court order for current support.
(2) Percent of cases with collections of current support.
(3) Average amount collected per case for all cases with
collections.
(4) Percent of cases with an order for arrears.
(5) Percent of cases with arrears collections.
(6) Percent of alleged fathers or obligors who were served with a
summons and complaint to establish paternity or a support order
during the period.
(7) Percent of children for whom paternity has been established
during the period.
(8) Percent of cases that had a support order established during
the period.
(9) Total child support dollars collected per $1.00 of total
expenditure.
(10) Any other measurements that the director determines to be an
appropriate determination of a local child support agency's
performance.
(b) The department shall use the performance-based data, and the
criteria for that data, as set forth in Section 17600 to determine a
local child support agency's performance measures for the quarter.
(c) The director shall adopt a three phase process to be used
statewide when a local child support agency is out of compliance with
the performance standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a), or
the director determines that the local child support agency is
failing in a substantial manner to comply with any provision of the
state plan, the provisions of this code, the requirements of federal
law, the regulations of the department, or the cooperative agreement.
The director shall adopt policies as to the implementation and
duration of each phase, however, the total combined duration of
Phases I and II shall not exceed 12 months. The phases shall include
the following:
(1) Phase I: Development of a performance improvement plan that
is prepared jointly by the local child support agency and the
department, subject to the department's final approval. The plan
shall provide performance expectations and goals for achieving
compliance with the state plan and other state and federal laws and
regulations that must be obtained within specific timeframes in order
to avoid execution of Phase II.
(2) Phase II: Onsite investigation, evaluation and oversight of
the local child support agency by the department. The director shall
appoint program monitoring teams to make site visits, conduct
educational and training sessions, and help the local child support
agency identify and attack problem areas. The program monitoring
teams shall evaluate all aspects of the functions and performance of
the local child support agency, including compliance with state and
federal laws and regulations. Based on these investigations and
evaluations, the program monitoring team shall develop a final
performance improvement plan and shall oversee implementation of all
recommendations made in the plan. The local child support agency
shall adhere to all recommendations made by the program monitoring
team. The plan shall provide performance expectations and compliance
goals that must be obtained within specific timeframes in order to
avoid execution of Phase III.
(3) Phase III: The director shall assume, either directly or
through agreement with another entity, responsibility for the
management of the child and spousal support enforcement program in
the county until such time as the local child support agency provides
reasonable assurances to the director of its intention and ability
to comply. During the period of state management responsibility, the
director or his or her authorized representative shall have all of
the powers and responsibilities of the local child support agency
concerning the administration of the program. The local child
support agency shall be responsible for providing any funds as may be
necessary for the continued operation of the program. If the local
child support agency fails or refuses to provide these funds,
including a sufficient amount to reimburse any and all costs incurred
by the department in managing the program, the Controller may deduct
an amount certified by the director as necessary for the continued
operation of the program by the department from any state or federal
funds payable to the county for any purpose.
(c) The director shall report in writing to the Legislature
semiannually, beginning July 1, 2001, on the status of the state
child support enforcement program. The director shall submit
quarterly reports to the Legislature, Governor and public on progress
of all local child support agencies in each performance measure,
including identification of the local child support agencies that are
out of compliance, the performances measures that they have failed
to satisfy, and the corrective action plan that is being taken for
each.
17604. (a) (1) If at any time the director considers any public
agency, that is required by law, by delegation of the department, or
by cooperative agreement to perform functions relating to the state
plan for securing child and spousal support and determining
paternity, to be failing in a substantial manner to comply with any
provision of the state plan, the director shall put that agency on
written notice to that effect.
(2) The state plan concerning spousal support shall apply only to
spousal support included in a child support order.
(3) In this chapter the term spousal support shall include support
for a former spouse.
(b) After receiving notice, the public agency shall have 45 days
to make a showing to the director of full compliance or set forth a
compliance plan that the director finds to be satisfactory.
(c) If the director determines that there is a failure on the part
of that public agency to comply with the provisions of the state
plan, or to set forth a compliance plan that the director finds to be
satisfactory, or if the State Personnel Board certifies to the
director that that public agency is not in conformity with applicable
merit system standards under Part 2.5 (commencing with Section
19800) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and that
sanctions are necessary to secure compliance, the director shall
withhold part or all of state and federal funds, including incentive
funds, from that public agency until the public agency shall make a
showing to the director of full compliance.
(d) After sanctions have been invoked pursuant to subdivision (c),
if the director determines that there remains a failure on the part
of the public agency to comply with the provisions of the state plan,
the director may remove that public agency from performing any part
or all of the functions relating to the state plan.
(e) Notwithstanding Sections 15200 and 15204.2 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, in the event of a federal statewide child support
program audit, review, or other measure of program compliance or
performance which results in the reduction of federal funding for the
Title IV-A program, the state shall fund 100 percent of the federal
reduction to ensure the continuation of funding for allowable aid
payments and related administrative costs associated with the
CalWORKs program.
(f) In the event of a federal determination to reduce or modify
federal funding for the Title IV-A program as a result of improper or
inadequate county administration of the child and spousal support
enforcement program, the department shall pass on to the counties
any federal sanction levied on or after January 1, 1991, regardless
of the date of the underlying federal audit, except for any sanctions
resulting from the 1986 audit or federal followup. For the purposes
of this section, the date of levy is the date the federal government
actually reduces, withholds, or otherwise modifies the state's
funding.
(g) The sanction shall be assessed as follows:
(1) The state shall assume responsibility for 50 percent of the
total federal sanction.
(2) Each county shall be assessed an amount equal to the amount of
increased county costs which would occur based on application of
Sections 15200 and 15204.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(3) For each county found to be out of compliance based on the
reviews conducted pursuant to Section 17702, the county shall be
assessed an amount equal to one-half the rate of the federal sanction
multiplied by the county's total federal Title IV-A program funding.
(4) For each county found to be marginally in compliance based on
the reviews conducted pursuant to Section 17702, the county shall be
assessed an amount equal to one-quarter the rate of the federal
sanction multiplied by the county's total federal Title IV-A program
funding.
(5) In the event the amount of the federal sanction is less than
the amount required to apply paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4),
county liability under paragraph (4) shall be reduced accordingly.
In the event county liability under paragraph (4) is eliminated and
the amount of the federal sanction is less than the amount required
to apply paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), county liability under
paragraph (3) shall be reduced accordingly.
(6) The review pursuant to Section 17702 which was conducted
closest to the date the federal sanction was levied shall be used to
determine which counties are out of compliance and marginally in
compliance.
(h) There shall be established a sanction credit which shall
consist of any net increase in state revenue resulting from any
increase of more than 9 3/4 percent in distributed collections on
behalf of families receiving CalWORKs for each of the previous three
state fiscal years.
(1) The balance of the sanction after application of subdivision
(g) shall be reduced by the amount of the sanction credit.
(2) In the event the sanction credit exceeds the balance of the
sanction after application of paragraph (1), the amount exceeding the
balance shall be used to reduce the liability of marginally
compliant counties under paragraph (4) of subdivision (g). Any
further balance shall be used to reduce the liability of
out-of-compliance counties under paragraph (3) of subdivision (g).
(3) In the event the sanction credit does not fully offset the
balance of the sanction after application of paragraph (1), the state
shall be responsible for 50 percent of the unmet balance, and the
remaining 50 percent shall be distributed to all counties in
proportion to their total Title IV-A program funding.
(i) The sanction assessed a county pursuant to this section shall
be levied as a general assessment against the county.
Notwithstanding Section 17714, a county may use any funds paid to
that county pursuant to Sections 17700 and 17710, over and above the
county's cost of administering the child support program to supplant
any county funds reduced under this section.
(j) In the event of any other audit or review that results in the
reduction or modification of federal funding for the program under
Part D (commencing with Section 652) of Subchapter IV of Title 42 of
the United States Code, the sanction shall be assessed against those
counties specifically cited in the federal findings in the amount
cited in those findings.
(k) The department shall establish a process whereby any county
assessed a portion of any sanction may appeal the department's
decision.
(l) Nothing in this section shall be construed as relieving the
board of supervisors of the responsibility to provide funds necessary
for the continued operation of the state plan as required by law.
Article 4. Program Costs
17702. (a) The department shall assess on at least an annual
basis each county's compliance with federal and state child support
laws and regulations in effect for the time period being reviewed,
using a statistically valid sample of cases. The information for the
assessment shall be based on reviews conducted by either state or
county staff, as determined by the department.
(1) A county shall be eligible for the state incentives under
Section 17704 only if the department determines that the county is in
compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations or if the
county has a corrective action plan in place that has been certified
by the department pursuant to this subdivision. If a county is
determined not to be in compliance in any compliance issue reviewed,
or, after December 31, 1998, if a county fails to have a
statistically valid sample of cases for any compliance issue
reviewed, and fails to achieve substantial compliance with the cases
actually reviewed in that compliance issue, the county may develop
and submit a corrective action plan to the department. The
department shall certify a corrective action plan if the department
determines that the plan will put the county into compliance with
federal and state laws and regulations and the county remains in
compliance with the corrective action plan. A county shall be
eligible for state incentives under Section 17704 only for any
quarter the county remains in compliance with a corrective action
plan that has been certified by the department.
(2) Counties under a corrective action plan shall be assessed on a
quarterly basis until the department determines that they are in
compliance with federal and state child support program requirements.
(b) The department shall collect information regarding whether
cases on behalf of families receiving CalWORKs are disproportionately
represented in the portion of each county's case sample that is not
in compliance. In the event disproportionate representation is found
in a county's pool of noncompliant cases, the department shall
require corrective action from that county. However, this corrective
action may not affect the county's right to incentives.
(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 1998.
17704. (a) For the 1998-99 fiscal year the department shall pay
to each county a child support incentive payment. Every county shall
receive the federal child support incentive. A county shall receive
the state child support incentive if it elects to do both of the
following:
(1) Comply with the reporting requirements of Section 17600 while
federal financial participation is available for collecting and
reporting data.
(2) Comply with federal and state child support laws and
regulations, or has a corrective action plan certified by the
department pursuant to Section 17702. The combined federal and state
incentive payment shall be 13.6 percent of distributed collections.
If the amount appropriated by the Legislature for the state
incentives is less than the amount necessary to satisfy each county's
actual incentives pursuant to this section, each county shall
receive its proportional share of incentives.
(b) (1) Beginning July 1, 1999, the department shall pay to each
county a child support incentive for child support collections.
Every county shall receive the federal child support incentive. The
combined federal and state incentive payments shall be 13.6 percent
of distributed collections. In addition to the federal child support
incentive, each county may also receive a state child support
incentive. Subject to subdivision (c), a county shall receive the
state child support incentive if it elects to do both of the
following:
(A) Comply with the reporting requirements of Section 17600 while
federal financial participation is available for collecting and
reporting data.
(B) Be in compliance with federal and state child support laws and
regulations, or have a performance improvement plan certified by the
department pursuant to Section 17702.
(2) (A) For purposes of paragraph (1), the federal incentive
component shall be each county's share of the child support incentive
payments that the state receives from the federal government, based
on the county's collections.
(B) (i) Effective July 1, 1999, and annually thereafter, state
funds appropriated for child support incentives shall first be used
to fund the administrative costs incurred by local child support
agencies in administering the child support program, after
subtracting all federal financial participation for administrative
costs and all federal child support incentives received by the state
and passed on to the
local child support agencies. The department shall allocate
sufficient resources to each local child support agency to fully fund
the remaining administrative costs of its budget as approved by the
director pursuant to paragraph (9) of subdivision (b) of Section
17306, subject to the appropriation of funding in the annual Budget
Act. No later than January 1, 2000, the department shall identify
allowable administrative costs that may be claimed for reimbursement
from the state, which shall be limited to reasonable amounts in
relation to the scope of services and the total funds available. If
the total amount of administrative costs claimed in any year exceeds
the amount appropriated in the Budget Act, the amount provided to
local child support agencies shall be reduced by the percentage
necessary to ensure that projected General Fund expenditures do not
exceed the amount authorized in the Budget Act.
(ii) Effective July 1, 2000, and annually thereafter, after
allowable administrative costs are funded under clause (i), the
department shall use any remaining incentive funds appropriated from
the prior fiscal year which are hereby reappropriated to implement an
incentive program that rewards up to 10 local child support agencies
in each year, based on either their welfare and postwelfare
collections or their increase in performance over the prior year.
The welfare and postwelfare collections standard shall be based on
the following for each local child support agency: (I) collections
on behalf of previously aided families that received CalWORKs
benefits after December 31, 1997, and are no longer receiving
benefits divided by the total number of those families; and (II)
collections that are used to reduce or repay aid that is paid
pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 11450) of Chapter 2 of
Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, divided
by the total aid paid out by the county under that article. The
performance improvement standard shall measure the percent
improvement for each local child support agency in the two categories
of collections over the prior year. The department shall determine
the number of local agencies that receive state incentive funds under
this program, subject to a maximum of five agencies under the
welfare and postwelfare standard and five agencies under the increase
in performance over the prior year standard, and shall determine the
amount received by each local agency based on the availability of
funds and each local child support agency's proportional share of
distributed collections.
(iii) Any funds received pursuant to this subdivision shall be
used only for child support enforcement activities.
(c) (1) Beginning October 1, 1999, any county whose welfare
performance score is in the bottom quartile of all counties and whose
rate of improvement over the prior year is less than the rate of
improvement of the top quartile counties shall receive its state
incentive only upon accepting technical assistance from the
department, as set forth in paragraph (3).
(2) The welfare performance score for each county is calculated by
dividing the county's collections on behalf of children receiving
CalWORKs benefits pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section
11450) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code by the county's average CalWORKs caseload.
(3) The department, in consultation with experts from other
counties, as appropriate, shall conduct a program review of the
county's child support program, which shall include a review of the
county's management practices, and provide technical assistance. If
the county chooses to receive its state incentives under this
section, the county shall comply with the recommendations of this
review.
(d) Each county shall continue to receive its federal child
support incentive funding whether or not it elects to participate in
the state child support incentive funding program.
(e) The department shall provide incentive funds pursuant to this
section only during any fiscal year in which funding is provided for
that purpose in the Budget Act.
17706. It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage counties
to elevate the visibility and significance of the child support
enforcement program in the county. To advance this goal the counties
with the 10 highest welfare and postwelfare collections standards
pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 17704 shall receive an additional 5
percent of the state's share of collections that are used to reduce
or repay aid that is paid pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with
Section 11450) or Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code. The counties are encouraged to use the
increased recoupment to continue to increase child support
collections in the county.
17708. (a) This section shall apply to any county that elects to
participate in the state incentive program described in Section
17704.
(b) Each participating county child support enforcement program
shall provide the data required by Section 17600 to the department on
a quarterly basis. The data shall be provided no later than 30 days
after the end of each quarter.
(c) On and after July 1, 1998, a county shall be required to
comply with the provisions of this section only during fiscal years
in which funding is provided for that purpose in the Budget Act.
17710. (a) Each county shall be responsible for any
administrative expenditures for administering the child support
program not covered by federal and state funds.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), effective July 1, 1991, to
June 30, 1992, inclusive, counties shall pay the nonfederal share of
the administrative costs of conducting the reviews required under
Section 15200.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code from the savings
counties will obtain as a result of the reduction in the maximum aid
payments specified in Section 11450. Effective July 1, 1992, to
June 30, 1993, inclusive, the state shall pay the nonfederal share of
administrative costs of conducting the reviews required under
Section 15200.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Funding for
county costs after June 30, 1993, shall be subject to the
availability of funds in the annual Budget Act.
(c) If the federal government imposes a penalty on California's
child support program for the failure to meet the October 1, 1997,
deadline for the implementation of an automated child support
enforcement system required by the federal Family Support Act of 1988
(P.L. 100-485), no portion of any penalty imposed by the federal
government from October 1, 1997, to the date of enactment of the act
adding this subdivision shall be assessed against Los Angeles County.
Pursuant to this subdivision, any portion of the penalties not
allocated to Los Angeles County shall be paid from the General Fund,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, and shall not be allocated to
any other county.
17712. Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 17708, and to
the extent funds are appropriated by the annual Budget Act, funds
shall be provided to the Judicial Council for the nonfederal share of
costs for the costs of child support commissioners pursuant to
Section 4251 and family law facilitators pursuant to Division 14
(commencing with Section 10000). The Judicial Council shall
distribute the funds to the counties for the purpose of matching
federal funds for the costs of child support commissioners and family
law facilitators and related costs. Funds distributed pursuant to
this section may also be used to offset the nonfederal share of costs
incurred by the Judicial Council for performing the duties specified
in Sections 4252 and 10010.
17714. (a) Any funds paid to a county pursuant to this chapter
which exceed the county's cost of administering the child support
program of the local child support agency pursuant to Section 17400
(hereafter called excess funds) shall be expended by the county only
upon that program. All these excess funds shall be deposited by the
county into a special fund established by the county for this
purpose. Funds to be deposited shall include, but not be limited to,
excess incentive funds paid pursuant to Section 17704, but shall not
include funds paid pursuant to Section 17706 and all interest earned
on deposits in the special fund.
(b) (1) By March 1, 1993, the department shall provide the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature with
information on the amount of excess funds, if any, accumulated by
each county.
(2) Commencing July 1, 1993, all excess funds shall be expended by
the county on the support enforcement program of the local child
support agency within two fiscal years following the fiscal year of
receipt of the funds by the county. Except as provided in
subdivision (c), any excess funds paid pursuant to this chapter since
July 1, 1992, that the department determines have not been spent
within the required two-year period shall revert to the General Fund,
and shall be distributed by the department only to counties that
have complied with this section. The formula for distribution shall
be based on the number of CalWORKs cases within each county.
(3) Not later than June 30, 1994, each county shall expend on the
support enforcement program any excess funds accrued from July 1,
1989, to June 30, 1992, inclusive, that have not been expended on the
support enforcement program. The funds expended shall be in an
amount that is greater than the county's 1991-92 expenditures for the
program.
(c) A county that submits to the department a written plan
approved by that county's local child support agency for the
expenditure of excess funds shall be exempted from the requirements
of subdivision (b), if the department determines that the expenditure
will be cost-effective and the expenditure plan will require more
than the time provided for in subdivision (b) to expend or encumber
the funds, or both. Once the department approves a plan pursuant to
this subdivision, funds received by a county and designated for an
expenditure in the plan shall not be expended by the county for any
other purpose without the prior approval of the department.
SEC. 2. Section 12803 of the Government Code is amended to read:
12803. (a) The California Health and Human Services Agency
consists of the following departments: Health Services; Mental
Health; Developmental Services; Social Services; Alcohol and Drug
Abuse; Aging; Employment Development; Rehabilitation; and Community
Services and Development.
(b) The agency also includes the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development and the State Council on Developmental
Disabilities.
(c) The Department of Child Support Services is hereby created
within the agency commencing January 1, 2000, and shall be the single
organizational unit designated as the state's Title IV-D agency with
the responsibility for administering the state plan and providing
services relating to the establishment of paternity or the
establishment, modification, or enforcement of child support
obligations as required by Section 654 of Title 42 of the United
States Code. State plan functions shall be performed by other
agencies as required by law, by delegation of the department, or by
cooperative agreements.
SEC. 3. Section 19271 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended
to read:
19271. (a) (1) For purposes of this article:
(A) "Child support delinquency" means a delinquency defined in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 17400 of the Family Code.
(B) "Earnings" may include the items described in Section 5206 of
the Family Code.
(2) In order to manage the growth in the number of delinquencies
transferred, the Franchise Tax Board may phase in the transfers over
a period of 36 months ending on December 31, 2002. The Legislature
anticipates that the Franchise Tax Board's systems necessary to
accommodate the augmented collection activities will be operational
by July 1, 2001.
(3) At least 20 days prior to the date that the Franchise Tax
Board commences collection action under this article, the Franchise
Tax Board shall mail notice of the amount due to the obligated parent
at the last known address and advise the obligated parent that
failure to pay will result in collection action. If the obligated
parent disagrees with the amount due, the obligated parent shall be
instructed to contact the local child support agency to resolve the
disagreement.
(b) (1) (A) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (B), when
a delinquency is transferred to the Franchise Tax Board pursuant to
Section 17400 of the Family Code, the amount of the child support
delinquency shall be collected by the Franchise Tax Board in any
manner authorized under the law for collection of a delinquent
personal income tax liability, including, but not limited to,
issuance of an order and levy under Article 4 (commencing with
Section 706.070) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2 of
the Code of Civil Procedure in the manner provided for earnings
withholding orders for taxes. Any law providing for the collection
of a delinquent personal income tax liability shall apply to any
delinquency transferred under Section 17400 of the Family Code in the
same manner and with the same force and effect and to the full
extent as if the language of those laws had been incorporated in full
into this article, except to the extent that any provision is either
inconsistent with a provision of this article or is not relevant to
this article.
(B) When a delinquency is transferred to the Franchise Tax Board
pursuant to Section 17400 of the Family Code, or at any time
thereafter, if the obligated parent owes a delinquent personal income
tax liability, the Franchise Tax Board shall not engage in, or shall
cease, any involuntary collection action to collect the delinquent
personal income tax liability, until the child support delinquency is
paid in full. At any time , however, the Franchise Tax Board may
mail any other notice to the taxpayer for voluntary payment of the
delinquent personal income tax liability if the Franchise Tax Board
determines that collection of the delinquent personal income tax
liability will not jeopardize collection of the child support
delinquency. However, the Franchise Tax Board may engage in the
collection of a delinquent personal income tax liability if the
obligor has entered into a payment agreement for the child support
delinquency and is in compliance with that agreement, and the
Franchise Tax Board determines that collection of the delinquent
personal income tax liability would not jeopardize payments under the
child support payment agreement.
(C) For purposes of subparagraph (B):
(i) "Involuntary collection action" includes those actions
authorized by Section 18670, 18670.5, 18671, or 19264, by Article 3
(commencing with Section 19231), or by Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 706.010) of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
(ii) "Delinquent personal income tax liability" means any taxes,
additions to tax, penalties, interest, fees, or other related amounts
due and payable under Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) or
this part.
(iii) "Voluntary payment" means any payment made by obligated
parents in response to any notice for voluntary payment mailed by the
Franchise Tax Board.
(2) Any compensation, fee, commission, expense, or any other fee
for service incurred by the Franchise Tax Board in the collection of
a child support delinquency authorized under this article shall not
be an obligation of, or collected from, the obligated parent. A
transferred child support delinquency shall be final and due and
payable to the State of California upon written notice to the
obligated parent by the Franchise Tax Board.
(3) For purposes of administering this article:
(A) This chapter and Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 19501)
shall apply, except as otherwise provided by this article.
(B) Any services, information, or enforcement remedies available
to a local child support agency or the Title IV-D agency in
collecting child support delinquencies or locating absent or
noncustodial parents shall be available to the Franchise Tax Board
for purposes of collecting child support delinquencies under this
article, including, but not limited to, any information that may be
disclosed by the Franchise Tax Board to the California Parent Locator
Service under Section 19548. However, in no event shall the
Franchise Tax Board take any additional enforcement remedies if a
court has ordered an obligor to make scheduled payments on a child
support arrearages obligation and the parent is in compliance with
that order.
(C) A request by the Franchise Tax Board for information from a
financial institution shall be treated in the same manner and to the
same extent as a request for information from a local child support
agency referring to a support order pursuant to Section 17400 of the
Family Code for purposes of Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 7460)
of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code (relating to
governmental access to financial records), notwithstanding any other
provision of law which is inconsistent or contrary to this paragraph.
(D) The amount to be withheld in an order and levy to collect
child support delinquencies under Article 4 (commencing with Section
706.070) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2 of the Code
of Civil Procedure is the amount required to be withheld pursuant to
an earnings withholding order for support under Section 706.052 of
the Code of Civil Procedure.
(E) Nothing in this article shall be construed to modify the tax
intercept provisions of Article 8 (commencing with Section 708.710)
of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(c) Interest on the delinquency shall be computed pursuant to
Section 685.010 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(d) All questions regarding collection actions shall be referred
to the Franchise Tax Board, including, but not limited to, situations
in which collection action would cause undue financial hardship to
the obligated parent, would threaten the health or welfare of the
obligated parent or his or her family, or would cause undue
irreparable loss to the obligated parent.
(e) (1) In no event shall a collection under this article be
construed to be a payment of income taxes imposed under this part.
(2) In the event an obligated parent overpays a liability imposed
under this part, the overpayment shall not be credited against any
delinquency collected pursuant to this article. In the event an
overpayment of a liability imposed under this part is offset and
distributed to a local child support agency pursuant to Sections
12419.3 and 12419.5 of the Government Code or Section 708.740 of the
Code of Civil Procedure, and thereby reduces the amount of the
referred delinquency, the local child support agency shall
immediately notify the Franchise Tax Board of that reduction, unless
the Franchise Tax Board directs otherwise.
(f) (1) The Franchise Tax Board shall administer this article, in
conjunction with guidelines prescribed by the Department of Child
Support Services in consultation with the Franchise Tax Board,
including those set forth in Section 17306 of the Family Code.
(2) The Franchise Tax Board may transfer to or allow a local child
support agency to retain a child support delinquency for enforcement
and collection where the Franchise Tax Board determines that the
transfer or retention of the delinquency will enhance the
collectibility of the delinquency.
(3) The Franchise Tax Board, in coordination with the local child
support agency, shall seek full compliance by the obligor with the
child support order. The Franchise Tax Board, in coordination with
the local child support agency and the Department of Child Support
Services, shall pursue resolution of any issues regarding wage
assignments and shall modify or replace as necessary any
administratively county-issued wage assignments to achieve total
resolution of the child support obligation.
(g) Except as otherwise provided in this article, any child
support delinquency transferred to the Franchise Tax Board pursuant
to this article shall be treated as a child support delinquency for
all other purposes, and any collection action by the local child
support agency or the Franchise Tax Board with respect to any
delinquency referred pursuant to this article shall have the same
priority against attachment, execution, assignment, or other
collection action as is provided by any other provision of state law.
(h) Except as otherwise specifically provided in subparagraph (B)
of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the child support collection
activities authorized by this article shall not interfere with the
primary mission of the Franchise Tax Board to fairly and efficiently
administer the Revenue and Taxation Code for which it is responsible.
(i) Information disclosed to the Franchise Tax Board shall be
considered information that may be disclosed by the Franchise Tax
Board under the authority of Section 19548 and may be disseminated by
the Franchise Tax Board accordingly for the purposes specified in
Sections 17505 and 17506 of the Family Code (in accordance with, and
to the extent permitted by, Section 17514 of the Family Code and any
other state or federal law).
(j) A local child support agency may not apply to the Department
of Child Support Services for an exemption from the transfer of
responsibilities and authorities to the Franchise Tax Board under the
Family Code or participation under Section 19271.6.
(k) In no event shall a local child support agency withdraw or
rescind the transfer of a child support delinquency transferred to
the Franchise Tax Board.
SEC. 4. Section 19271.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is
repealed.
SEC. 5. Section 19533 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended
to read:
19533. In the event the debtor has more than one debt being
collected by the Franchise Tax Board and the amount collected by the
Franchise Tax Board is insufficient to satisfy the total amount
owing, the amount collected shall be applied in the following
priority:
(a) Payment of any delinquencies transferred for collection under
Article 5 (commencing with Section 19270) of Chapter 5.
(b) Payment of any taxes, additions to tax, penalties, interest,
fees, or other amounts due and payable under Part 7.5 (commencing
with Section 13201), Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001), Part 11
(commencing with Section 23001), or this part.
(c) Payment of delinquent wages collected pursuant to the Labor
Code.
(d) Payment of delinquencies collected under Section 10878.
(e) Payment of any amounts due that are referred for collection
under Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 19280) of Chapter 5.
(f) Payment of any amounts that are referred for collection
pursuant to Section 62.9 of the Labor Code.
(g) Payment of delinquent penalties collected for the Department
of Industrial Relations pursuant to the Labor Code.
(h) Payment of delinquent fees collected for the Department of
Industrial Relations pursuant to the Labor Code.
(i) Payment of delinquencies referred by the Student Aid
Commission pursuant to Section 16583.5 of the Government Code.
(j) Notwithstanding the payment priority established by this
section, voluntary payments made by a taxpayer designated by the
taxpayer as payment for a personal income tax liability, shall not be
applied pursuant to this priority, but shall instead be applied
solely to the personal income tax liability for which the voluntary
payment was made.
SEC. 6. Section 19548 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended
to read:
19548. (a) The Franchise Tax Board, upon request by the
California Parent Locator Service, may disclose to the California
Parent Locator Service, pursuant to Section 17505 or 17506 of the
Family Code, any taxpayer return information that may be of
assistance in locating alleged abducting or absent parents, spouses,
or former spouses, in enforcing their liability for child support or
the liability for spousal support, in establishing a parent and child
relationship, and in locating and returning abducted children to
their parents.
(b) Information disclosed to the California Parent Locator Service
pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be disseminated by the California
Parent Locator Service only as provided for by, and only for the
purposes specified in, Section 17505 or 17506 of the Family Code.
SEC. 7. Section 1088.8 is added to the Unemployment Insurance
Code, to read:
1088.8. (a) Effective July 1, 2000, any service-recipient, as
defined in subdivision (b), who makes or is required to make a return
to the Internal Revenue Service, in accordance with paragraph (A) of
subdivision (a) of Section 6041 of the Internal Revenue Code
(relating to payments made to a service-provider as compensation for
services) shall file with the department information as required
under subdivision (c).
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Service-recipient" means any individual, person, corporation,
association, or partnership, or agent thereof, doing business in
this state, deriving trade or business income from sources within
this state, or in any manner in the course of a trade or business
subject to the laws of this state. "Service-recipient" also includes
the State of California or any political subdivision thereof,
including the Regents of the University of California, any charter
city, or any political body not a subdivision or agency of the state,
and any person, employee, department, or agent thereof.
(2) "Service-provider" means an individual who is not an employee
of the service-recipient for California purposes and who received
compensation or executes a contract for services performed for that
service-recipient within or without the state.
(c) Each service-recipient shall report all of the following
information to the department, within 20 days of the earlier of first
making payments that in the aggregate equal or exceed six hundred
dollars ($600) in any year to a service-provider, or entering into a
contract or contracts with a service-provider providing for payments
that in the aggregate equal or exceed six hundred dollars ($600) in
any year:
(1) The full name and social security number of the
service-provider.
(2) The service-recipient's name, business name, address, and
telephone number.
(3) The service-recipient's federal employer
identification number, California state employer account number,
social security number, or other identifying number as required by
the Employment Development Department in consultation with the
Franchise Tax Board.
(4) The date the contract is executed, or if no contract, the date
payments in the aggregate first equal or exceed six hundred dollars
($600).
(5) The total dollar amount of the contract, if any, and the
contract expiration date.
(d) The department shall retain information collected pursuant to
this section until November 1 following the tax year in which the
contract is executed, or if no contract, the tax year in which the
aggregate payments first equal or exceed six hundred dollars ($600).
(e) Information obtained by the department pursuant to this
section may be released only for purposes of establishing, modifying,
or enforcing child support obligations under Section 17400 of the
Family Code and for child support collection purposes authorized
under Article 5 (commencing with Section 19271) of Chapter 5 of Part
10.2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, or to the Franchise Tax Board
for tax enforcement purposes or for administering the provisions of
the Family Code.
(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2000.
SEC. 8. Section 11350 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 9. Section 11350.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 10. Section 11350.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 11. Section 11350.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 12. Section 11350.4 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 13. Section 11350.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 14. Section 11350.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 15. Section 11350.7 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 16. Section 11350.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 17. Section 11350.9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 18. Section 11351 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 19. Section 11352 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 20. Section 11354 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 21. Section 11355 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 22. Section 11356 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 23. Section 11357 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 24. Section 11475 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 25. Section 11475.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 26. Section 11475.15 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 27. Section 11475.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as
added by Chapter 270 of the Statutes of 1997, is amended to read:
11475.3. The first fifty dollars ($50) of any amount of child
support collected in a month in payment of the required support
obligation for that month shall be paid to a recipient of aid under
this chapter, except recipients of foster care payments under Article
5 (commencing with Section 11400) shall not be considered income or
resources of the recipient family, and shall not be deducted from the
amount of aid to which the family would otherwise be eligible. The
local child support agency in each county shall ensure that payments
are made to recipients as required by this section.
SEC. 28. Section 11475.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as
added by Chapter 906 of the Statutes of 1994, is repealed.
SEC. 29. Section 11475.4 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 30. Section 11475.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 31. Section 11475.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 32. Section 11476 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 33. Section 11476.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 34. Section 11476.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11476.6. Each local child support agency shall submit to the
department data revealing the range and median time periods by which
notification of the receipt of child support payments collected on
behalf of a family receiving aid under this chapter is made to the
local welfare department. The data shall contain the number and
percentage of cases in which the payments described herein are
conveyed within the time period prescribed by federal law. By April
1, 1987, the department shall submit to the appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of each house of the Legislature a report detailing
and analyzing the data received from the local child support
agencies and explaining whatever failure to satisfy the time limits
imposed by the federal law is revealed by the data. The report shall
also include an estimate of the time by which an accounting of the
amounts of child support received and paid to families pursuant to
this section can be provided on a monthly basis to those families.
SEC. 35. Section 11477 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11477. As a condition of eligibility for aid paid under this
chapter, each applicant or recipient shall do all of the following:
(a) (1) Assign to the county any rights to support from any other
person the applicant or recipient may have in his or her own behalf
or in behalf of any other family member for whom the applicant or
recipient is applying for or receiving aid, not exceeding the total
amount of cash assistance provided to the family under this chapter.
Receipt of public assistance under this chapter shall operate as an
assignment by operation of law. An assignment of support rights to
the county shall also constitute an assignment to the state. If
support rights are assigned pursuant to this subdivision, the
assignee may become an assignee of record by the local child support
agency or other public official filing with the court clerk an
affidavit showing that an assignment has been made or that there has
been an assignment by operation of law. This procedure does not
limit any other means by which the assignee may become an assignee of
record.
(2) Support that has been assigned pursuant to paragraph (1) and
that accrues while the family is receiving aid under this chapter
shall be permanently assigned until the entire amount of aid paid has
been reimbursed.
(3) If the federal government does not permit states to adopt the
same order of distribution for preassistance and postassistance child
support arrears that are assigned on or after October 1, 1998,
support arrears that accrue before the family receives aid under this
chapter that are assigned pursuant to this subdivision shall be
assigned as follows:
(A) Child support assigned prior to January 1, 1998, shall be
permanently assigned until aid is no longer received and the entire
amount of aid has been reimbursed.
(B) Child support assigned on or after January 1, 1998, but prior
to October 1, 2000, shall be temporarily assigned until aid under
this chapter is no longer received and the entire amount of aid paid
has been reimbursed or until October 1, 2000, whichever comes first.
(C) On or after October 1, 2000, support assigned pursuant to this
subdivision that was not otherwise permanently assigned shall be
temporarily assigned to the county until aid is no longer received.
(D) On or after October 1, 2000, support that was temporarily
assigned pursuant to this subdivision shall, when a payment is
received from the federal tax intercept program, be temporarily
assigned until the entire amount of aid paid has been reimbursed.
(4) If the federal government permits states to adopt the same
order of distribution for preassistance and postassistance child
support arrears, child support arrears shall be assigned, as follows:
(A) Child support assigned pursuant to this subdivision prior to
October 1, 1998, shall be assigned until aid under this chapter is no
longer received and the entire amount has been reimbursed.
(B) On or after October 1, 1998, child support assigned pursuant
to this subdivision that accrued before the family receives aid under
this chapter and that was not otherwise permanently assigned, shall
be temporarily assigned until aid under this chapter is no longer
received.
(C) On or after October 1, 1998, support that was temporarily
assigned pursuant to this subdivision shall, when a payment is
received from the federal tax intercept program, be temporarily
assigned until the entire amount of aid paid has been reimbursed.
(b) (1) Cooperate with the county welfare department and local
child support agency in establishing the paternity of a child of the
applicant or recipient born out of wedlock with respect to whom aid
is claimed, and in establishing, modifying, or enforcing a support
order with respect to a child of the individual for whom aid is
requested or obtained, unless the applicant or recipient qualifies
for a good cause exception as provided in Section 11477.04. The
granting of aid shall not be delayed or denied if the applicant is
otherwise eligible, if the applicant completes the necessary forms
and agrees to cooperate with the district attorney in securing
support and determining paternity, where applicable. The district
attorney shall have staff available, in person or by telephone, at
all county welfare offices and shall conduct an interview with each
applicant to obtain information necessary to establish paternity and
establish, modify, or enforce a support order at the time of the
initial interview with the welfare office. The district attorney
shall make the determination of cooperation. If the applicant or
recipient attests under penalty of perjury that he or she cannot
provide the information required by this subdivision, the district
attorney shall make a finding regarding whether the individual could
reasonably be expected to provide the information, before the
district attorney determines whether the individual is cooperating.
In making the finding, the district attorney shall consider all of
the following:
(A) The age of the child for whom support is sought.
(B) The circumstances surrounding the conception of the child.
(C) The age or mental capacity of the parent or caretaker of the
child for whom aid is being sought.
(D) The time that has elapsed since the parent or caretaker last
had contact with the alleged father or obligor.
(2) Cooperation includes the following:
(A) Providing the name of the alleged parent or obligor and other
information about that person if known to the applicant or recipient,
such as address, social security number, telephone number, place of
employment or school, and the names and addresses of relatives or
associates.
(B) Appearing at interviews, hearings, and legal proceedings
provided the applicant or recipient is provided with reasonable
advance notice of the interview, hearing, or legal proceeding and
does not have good cause not to appear.
(C) If paternity is at issue, submitting to genetic tests,
including genetic testing of the child, if necessary.
(D) Providing any additional information known to or reasonably
obtainable by the applicant or recipient necessary to establish
paternity or to establish, modify, or enforce a child support order.
(3) A recipient or applicant shall not be required to sign a
voluntary declaration of paternity, as set forth in Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 7570) of Part 2 of Division 12 of the Family
Code, as a condition of cooperation.
SEC. 36. Section 11477.02 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11477.02. Prior to referral of any individual or recipient, or
that person's case, to the local child support agency for child
support services under Section 11350.1 or 11475.1, the county welfare
department shall determine if an applicant or recipient has good
cause for noncooperation, as set forth in Section 11477.04. If the
applicant or recipient claims a good cause exception at any
subsequent time to the county welfare department or the district
attorney, the district attorney shall suspend child support services
until the county welfare department determines the good cause claim,
as set forth in Section 11477.04. If good cause is determined to
exist, the district attorney shall suspend child support services
until the applicant or recipient requests their resumption, and shall
take such other measures as are necessary to protect the applicant
or recipient and the children. If the applicant or recipient is the
parent of the child for whom aid is sought and the parent is found to
have not cooperated without good cause as provided in Section
11477.04, the applicant's or recipient's family grant shall be
reduced by 25 percent for such time as the failure to cooperate
lasts.
SEC. 37. Section 11477.04 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11477.04. (a) An applicant or a recipient shall be considered to
be cooperating in good faith with the county welfare department or
the local child support agency for purposes of Section 11477 and
shall be eligible for aid, if otherwise eligible, if he or she
cooperates or has good cause for noncooperation. The county welfare
department shall make the good cause determination.
(b) Good cause shall be found if any of the following conditions
exist:
(1) Efforts to establish paternity or establish, modify, or
enforce a support obligation would increase the risk of physical,
sexual, or emotional harm to the child for whom support is being
sought.
(2) Efforts to establish paternity or establish, modify, or
enforce a support obligation would increase the risk of abuse, as
defined in Section 11495.1, to the parent or caretaker with whom the
child is living.
(3) The child for whom support is sought was conceived as a result
of incest or rape. A conviction for incest or rape is not necessary
for this paragraph to apply.
(4) Legal proceedings for the adoption of the child are pending
before a court of competent jurisdiction.
(5) The applicant or recipient is currently being assisted by a
public or licensed private adoption agency to resolve the issue of
whether to keep the child or relinquish the child for adoption.
(6) The applicant or recipient is cooperating in good faith but is
unable to identify or assist in locating the alleged father or
obligor.
(7) Any other reason that would make efforts to establish
paternity or establish, modify, or enforce a support obligation
contrary to the best interests of the child.
(c) Evidence supporting a claim for good cause includes, but is
not limited to, the following:
(1) Police, governmental agency, or court records, documentation
from a domestic violence program or a legal, clerical, medical,
mental health, or other professional from whom the applicant or
recipient has sought assistance in dealing with abuse, physical
evidence of abuse, or any other evidence that supports the claim of
good cause.
(2) Statements under penalty of perjury from individuals,
including the applicant or recipient, with knowledge of the
circumstances that provide the basis for the good cause claim.
(3) Birth certificates or medical, mental health, rape crisis,
domestic violence program, or law enforcement records that indicate
that the child was conceived as the result of incest or rape.
(4) Court documents or other records that indicate that legal
proceedings for adoption are pending before a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(5) A written statement from a public or licensed private adoption
agency that the applicant or recipient is being assisted by the
agency to resolve the issue of whether to keep the child or
relinquish the child for adoption.
(d) A sworn statement by a victim shall be sufficient to establish
abuse unless the agency documents in writing an independent,
reasonable basis to find the recipient not credible.
(e) Applicants or recipients who inquire about or claim good
cause, or otherwise indicate that they or their children are at risk
of abuse, shall be given referrals by the county welfare department
to appropriate community, legal, medical, and support services.
Followup by the applicant or recipient on those referrals shall not
affect eligibility for assistance under this chapter or the
determination of cooperation.
SEC. 38. Section 11478 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 39. Section 11478.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 40. Section 11478.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 41. Section 11478.51 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 42. Section 11478.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 43. Section 11478.7 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 44. Section 11478.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 45. Section 11478.9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 46. Section 11479 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11479. In all cases in which the paternity of the child has not
been established to the satisfaction of the county department, the
county department shall refer the applicant to local child support
agency at the time the application is signed. Upon the advice of a
county department that a child is being considered for adoption, and
regardless of whether or not the whereabouts of the parent is known,
the local child support agency shall delay the investigation and
other action with respect to the case until advised that the adoption
is no longer under consideration. The local child support agency
shall conduct such investigation as the agency considers necessary,
and where he or she deems it appropriate, the agency may bring an
action under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 7630) of Part 3 of
Division 12 of the Family Code. When the cause is at issue, it shall
be set for trial at the earliest possible date and shall take
precedence over all other cases except older matters of the same
character and matters to which precedence may be given by law.
SEC. 47. Section 11479.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 48. Section 11479.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 49. Section 11485 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
11485. If, to the knowledge of the court, aid has been applied
for or granted to a child of parents who are engaged in a divorce or
separate maintenance action which is pending, or if the court at any
stage of the litigation believes that within the near future there is
a likelihood that aid will be applied for on behalf of the child,
the court shall direct the clerk to notify the local child support
agency and the county department of the pending action.
In any case in which aid has been applied for on behalf of the
child, and the county department has knowledge that an action for
divorce or separate maintenance has been filed, it shall be the duty
of the county director to notify the court that aid is being paid or
has been applied for, and to furnish to it such information as is
available to the county department as to the financial resources of
the parents which might be applied to child support.
The enforcement remedies provided the local child support agency
under this article shall not preclude the use of any other remedy
which he has under the law to enforce this article.
SEC. 50. Section 11488 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 51. Section 11489 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 52. Section 11490 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 53. Section 11491 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 54. Section 11492 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 55. Section 11492.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 56. Section 15200.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 57. Section 15200.75 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 58. Section 15200.81 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 59. Section 15200.92 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 60. Section 15200.95 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 61. Section 15200.96 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 62. Section 15200.97 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 63. Section 15200.98 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 64. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.