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(Revised 6/1/07 ML #3078)
(N.D.A.C. 75-02-01.2-33)
Federal law requires that Child Support Enforcement be notified promptly of any child, including a child born out of wedlock, whose eligibility is based on the child's parent's continued absence from the home (i.e. abandoned, annulled, deceased, divorced, jail or imprisonment, legal separation, never married, or separated).
A custodian under age 18 caring for a deprived child, who resides outside the parental home and whose needs are included in the TANF benefit, assigns rights to support at the time of application against his or her parents and the parent or alleged father of the child. In this instance, a referral to Child Support Enforcement is required for each of his or her parents and the parent or alleged father of the child. When the custodian reaches age 18, the assignment of rights to support and referral against the 18-year olds parents ends, except for support rights already accrued.
When both parents are in the home and deprivation is based on incapacity, disability, or aged, no referral to Child Support Enforcement is required. However, if there is a child included in any of these cases whose deprivation is based on the absence of a parent, then a referral to Child Support Enforcement is required for that child. When a child's deprivation is changed from incapacity to absence of a parent, a referral to Child Support Enforcement is required for all children affected by the change in deprivation.
A referral to Child Support Enforcement is not required for SSI children or benefit cap children who reside in the household because children are not included in the TANF benefit.
Whenever a child is added to an existing case, a referral to Child Support Enforcement is required if deprivation exists.
The Department of Human Services utilizes automated computer systems to transmit and receive referral information for all children deprived of parental support and care due to continued absence. At the time a household requests TANF, or whenever a child is added to an existing case based on continued absence of one or both parents, the worker shall request the custodian to provide information regarding the absent parent(s) The information provided by the custodian must be entered by the worker into the automated computer system for transmittal to Child Support Enforcement as the automated referral. The automated referral is sent to Child Support Enforcement via the automated computer system the same evening TANF benefits are issued.
The referral information sent to Child Support Enforcement is used as a lead to establish paternity, locate the absent parent(s), and establish a support order, etc. Additionally, Child Support Enforcement will alert the TANF manager any time information is received that may affect eligibility (i.e. absent parent address the same as the child).
