CHILD SUPPORT HANDBOOK - New York City

1 CHILD SUPPORT HANDBOOKfor Noncustodial ParentsBill de BlasioSteven BanksNYCHRAHRA NYCNYCHRAW-549c (E)Rev. 07/16 Copyright 2016. The city of New york , Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services. For permission to reproduce all or part of this material contact theNew york city Human Resources Reserve |Factor incalculating CHILD SUPPORT in New YorkState when either parent is at or nearthe poverty level; the self-supportreserve is 135% of the federal povertylevel. The self- SUPPORT reserve for2016 is $16, ( SUPPORT Through EmploymentProgram) |Provides job training andplacement for noncustodial parentswho are unable to pay CHILD supportbecause they are unemployed or havelow paying jobs. Referrals to STEP maybe made at the CHILD SUPPORT |Written agreement byparties on opposite sides of a |Notice stating that anaction against the recipient has beenstarted. A summons for a childsupport hearing will tell the parentwhere and when to show up, andwhat information to Collection Unit (SCU) |Division of the Office of ChildSupport Enforcement responsible forthe collection, monitoring anddisbursement of CHILD Magistrate |Attorney,appointed by the local Family Court,who can hear testimony and makedecisions in CHILD SUPPORT cases.

2 SUPPORT Order |Court-issued orderestablishing CHILD SUPPORT orders may be temporary orfinal and subject to orders may include monetaryand medical SUPPORT , CHILD care,education expenses, and payment ofarrearages, interest, penalties, andother forms of Refund Offset |Process bywhich a noncustodial parent s federalor state tax refunds are taken to satis-fy a CHILD SUPPORT debt. Terminate an Order |End currentobligation; provided effective end dateof a CHILD SUPPORT order. Arrears muststill be (Uniform Interstate FamilySupport Act)|Federal law enacted in 1996 to ease the process of receiv-ing CHILD SUPPORT payments acrossstate lines. It requires states tocooperate with each other to get andenforce CHILD SUPPORT orders; permitsstates to enact direct incomewithholding with employers in otherstates; prevents multiple childsupport orders being issued for thesame case in different an Order |Set aside aprevious order, as if it never Withholding |Automaticdeduction from income that starts assoon as an IEX (Income Execution)

3 Notice is sent to the Non-Payment |Thenoncustodial parent deliberately failsto pay court-ordered CHILD supporteven though he/she can afford OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 CHILD SUPPORT & FAMILY COURT 3 PATERNITY 3 GOING TO COURT 5 PAYING YOUR CHILD SUPPORT ORDER 10 WHERE THE PAYMENTS GO 14 CUSTODY & VISITATION 15 NONCUSTODIAL PARENT EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT 15 CHANGING YOUR CHILD SUPPORT ORDER & DEBT OWED 16 FALLING BEHIND ON PAYMENTS 19 TERMINATING THE CHILD SUPPORT ORDER 22 INFORMATION & RESOURCES FOR NONCUSTODIAL PARENTS 24 ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PATERNITY FORM 27 SAMPLE CHILD SUPPORT ORDER 28 GLOSSARY OF CHILD SUPPORT TERMS 3036 INTRODUCTIONE very CHILD should be able to count on both parents for love and SUPPORT . That strue even when both parents do not live together or were never married to eachother. It s best to be involved with your CHILD from birth, but it s never too late tobecome a responsible and caring parent.

4 Part of being a responsible parent isproviding financial SUPPORT for your Office of CHILD SUPPORT Enforcement (OCSE) puts children first by helpingparents assume responsibility for the economic and social well-being and healthand stability of their children. We recognize the value of improved relationshipswith both parents. Services to custodial parents (parents living with and caring for their children)include locating the noncustodial parent (parent living outside the household),establishing paternity, serving the summons, helping to establish court-orderedchild SUPPORT and medical SUPPORT , and collecting and enforcing those assists noncustodial parents by offering programs to help them meet theirchild SUPPORT obligations and manage their CHILD SUPPORT cases. Services areprovided to all parents regardless of income or immigration most noncustodial parents are fathers, it is not always the case.

5 Insome families, the father is the custodial parent and the mother is the noncusto-dial parent. In other families the grandparents, or other relatives, are the primarycaretakers and both the mother and father are considered noncustodial parents. The information in this HANDBOOK is for all noncustodial parents. We encourageyou to read this HANDBOOK and learn about your rights and responsibilitiesthroughout the CHILD SUPPORT process. This knowledge will help you makeinformed decisions and manage your CHILD SUPPORT case to achieve the bestoutcomes for your children. Paternity Petition |Formal writtenapplication to a court requestingjudicial action to determine legalfatherhood of a specific man for aspecific |Person or organization inwhose name CHILD SUPPORT money ispaid, , the CHILD s |Person who makes apayment, usually a noncustodialparent or someone acting on his/herbehalf. Also known as the |Formal written request toa court to initiate a court |Person or organizationthat files a formal request to initiate acourt (Personal Identification Number) |Unique identification number assignedto clients in order to access their childsupport account information from theNew york State CHILD SUPPORT website( ) andhelpline (888-208-4485).

6 Poverty Level |Level of incomeconsidered too low to purchase life snecessities according to the federalgovernment. The 2016 poverty levelfor a single person is $11,880. Foreach additional person in the family,$4,160 is Execution (PEX) |Administrative process by which theOffice of CHILD SUPPORT Enforcement(OCSE) seizes the financial assets,usually bank accounts, of a noncusto-dial parent who is delinquent in payingchild SUPPORT . Pro Rata Share |The portion of thetotal amount that each parent mustpay for items included in the childsupport order like CHILD care or unreim-bursed medical Se |Latin meaning for oneself ;someone who represents him/herselfin court without an attorney. Putative Father Registry (PFR) |Record of fathers kept by New YorkState. Examples of documents that arestored at the PFR are Acknowledg-ments of Paternity (AOP), court ordersestablishing paternity, and non-legally-binding statements regarding paterni-ty.

7 The PFR may be consulted on issuesof inheritance, adoption and any otherlegal issues that require notifying achild s |Person or organizationthat receives SUPPORT funds and/orpublic assistance benefits, includingcash assistance, Food Stamps,Medicaid, |Relationship in whichone state or country grants certainprivileges to other states or countrieson the condition that they receive thesame |Legal |Person who respondsto the petition. This is whichever partyis filed against for SUPPORT |Childsupport that is ordered to be paid backto a past date, usually the date thatthe petition was filed. Retroactivesupport creates an immediate |Penalty for violation orlack of cooperation. At OCSE, refers toa reduction of benefits imposed on acash assistance client for not cooperat-ing with CHILD SUPPORT requirements. 235 Modification Petition |Formalwritten application to a court request-ing a change in an existing childsupport Judgment |Specific amountof arrears set by the SUPPORT Magistrate,in a formal judgment, which accrues 9%interest annually.

8 A money judgmentmay be filed with the County Clerk sOffice. NNational Medical SUPPORT Notice(NMSN) |Notice sent to the noncus-todial parent s employer requiring thathealth insurance coverage be provided,where available. New Hire Reporting |Programthat requires all employers to reportnewly hired employees to the NewYork State Directory of New Hires forpossible enforcement of CHILD supportand medical SUPPORT obligations bywage deductions. Noncustodial Parent (NCP) |Parent who does not live with and isnot the primary caretaker of a |To certify something, suchas a signature, on a legal document asauthentic or legitimate by affixing astamp and Pro Tunc | Latin meaning now for then it refers to changingthe date of an order, judgment, orfiling of a document, back to an |Written claim, disagree-ing with specific items in an be filed within 30 days of receiptof the Amount |The amountof CHILD SUPPORT that the noncustodialparent is required to pay.

9 Office of CHILD SUPPORT Enforcement (OCSE) |Division of the Human Resources Administra-tion responsible for obtaining andenforcing CHILD SUPPORT orders forfamilies living in New york |Written signed direction of a SUPPORT Magistrate or of Filiation |Court orderthat establishes a legal of Protection |Court direc-tive that prohibits contact/communica-tions by one party to another on Consent|Order agreedto by both parties in an action. At achild SUPPORT hearing, the parents mayagree to an order amount that isdifferent from the CHILD SupportStandards Act Locator Services |Comput-erized network of state databasesused to locate respondents in childsupport |Person or organizationdirectly involved in a legal Payment |Cashassistance recipients with childsupport orders may receive up to $100per month ($200 if there are two ormore children receiving CHILD SUPPORT )of the SUPPORT collected in the samemonth that it is owed; also calledbonus payment or CHILD SUPPORT disregard.

10 Paternity |Legal determination offatherhood. Paternity must be estab-lished before CHILD SUPPORT or medicalsupport can be SUPPORT & Family Court Many people think that Family Courtand OCSE are part of the same is not true. Each has differentfunctions in the CHILD SUPPORT Office of CHILD SUPPORT Enforce-ment (OCSE) is part of the New YorkCity Human Resources Administration(HRA), an agency of the city of NewYork. OCSE is the first stop in the childsupport process for custodial an application for services is filed,OCSE starts the CHILD SUPPORT establishes paternity through avoluntary process, locates noncustodialparents, and serves summonses. Afterthe CHILD SUPPORT order has been estab-lished in court, OCSE monitors, collects,and distributes the payments. Whenpayments fall behind, OCSE has theauthority to enforce orders throughadministrative means. Family Court is part of the New YorkState Unified Court System.