Revised 7-1-11

1.    When an Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS) district office receives a non-Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) SoonerCare (Medicaid) referral or case update from the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) with a pending good cause indicator, and the custodian is requesting IV-D services, the custodian must agree to cooperate with OCSS, except when the case contains good cause, per Section 654 of Title 42 of the United States Code and OAC 317:35-5-7.  OCSS district office follows the noncooperation procedures for good cause determination per OAC 340:25-5-114 ITS # 4.

2.   (a) OAC 340:10-10-5(a) requires, as a condition of eligibility for TANF, applicants or recipients who are parents of the child(ren) in their custody to cooperate with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) to receive services.  Custodial persons who are parents of the child(ren) receiving TANF benefits must cooperate with Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS).  Other custodial persons receiving TANF benefits who are not parents of the child(ren), such as grandparents, aunts, or unrelated persons, are not subject to this requirement.

(b) Child support staff update the cooperation block on the OCSS Custodial Person Data Update (CCPU) screen of the automated Oklahoma Support Information System to 'O' and notify Family Support Services (FSS) staff when a custodial person is not cooperating with OCSS.  If the custodial person resumes cooperation with OCSS, that is, has taken specific action to cooperate, child support staff change the cooperation block on the CCPU screen to 'Y'.  Child support staff do not consider the custodial person's statement of willingness to complete the requested action as fulfilling the requirement to cooperate.

(c) If the custodial person is noncooperative, but cooperation is not essential for the next step in providing child support services, child support staff do not report noncooperation to FSS staff.  For example, if the custodial person failed to appear at a child support hearing but the court entered a child support order, child support staff change the cooperation block on the CCPU screen to 'Y' since the custodial person's cooperation was not essential in obtaining the child support order.

(d) When OCSS receives returned mail or is aware that the custodial person is not at the address used by FSS, child support staff do not report the custodial person as noncooperative.  Instead, child support staff e-mail the FSS worker.  The FSS worker is responsible for sending Form 08AD092E, County Client Contact and Information Request, to the custodial person and terminating TANF benefits if the custodial person fails to contact the FSS worker with a current address.  If the TANF case is closed, child support staff may close the child support case per Section 303.11(b)(10) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(e) When noncooperation with OCSS is determined, FSS staff in the human services center (HSC) reduce the family's cash assistance by 25 percent of the TANF payment standard per OAC 340:10-10-5. 

(f) OCSS may pursue legal remedies, such as contempt citations, bench warrants, license revocations, and body attachments, to compel cooperation of custodial persons, both related and unrelated.  Legal remedies such as these are the only means available to OCSS to obtain the cooperation of:

(1) unrelated custodial persons, as their TANF payments are not reduced; and

(2) custodial persons in child-only non-TANF SoonerCare (Medicaid) cases, as they are not included in the case.

3.   Retaining private counsel or other services for support collection purposes is not in and of itself justification for a noncooperation referral.

4.   (a) If child support staff have reason to believe the TANF custodial person has good cause for noncooperation with OCSS, the staff refer the custodial person to OKDHS FSS staff in the HSC for a good cause determination per OAC 340:10-10-6.

(b) The Instructions to Staff for OAC 340:10-10-6 explain the process FSS uses for determining good cause for noncooperation with OCSS after considering the OCSS recommendation on Form 08TA009E, Good Cause Report.

5.   (a) OCSS district office staff build the case in the Oklahoma Support Information System (OSIS) as "Pending Good Cause Determination," and send the custodial person (CP) letter C11/03GN542E, Pending Good Cause Determination.  This letter requests the CP return the required documentation to claim good cause within 14 days to the district office.

(b) Upon receipt of the CP's completed information and documentation, the district office staff make the determination of good cause.  OCSS staff follow these good cause determination guidelines:

(1) has the noncustodial parent been abusive to the custodial person or the child(ren)?

(2) was the child conceived as a result of rape or incest?

(3) is the custodial person considering or has the CP decided to place the child for adoption?

(c) If the answer is "yes" to any of these questions, then good cause for noncooperation exists.  The type of documentation necessary to make the good cause determination includes:

(1) birth certificate, medical record, law enforcement report indicating a rape occurred, or that the child may have been conceived by rape or incest;

(2) court document indicating adoption proceedings occurred or are pending;

(3) written statement from public or licensed private social services agency indicating adoption proceedings are pending or are being considered;

(4) court, medical, child welfare, social services, psychological, or law enforcement record indicating physical or emotional harm inflicted by the noncustodial parent on the custodial person or child; or

(5) sworn statements from individuals other than the custodial person with knowledge of circumstances based on the good cause claim indicating there is a potential for physical or emotional harm from the noncustodial parent toward the custodial person or child(ren).

(d) If district office staff determine good cause exists, staff update the CCPU screen with good cause 'G,' close the case per Section 303.11(b)(10) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and send letter, C12/03GN543E, Good Cause Determination to the CP.  OSIS sends the good cause determination to OHCA.

(e) If the CP fails to provide adequate good cause documentation or fails to respond to the Pending Good Cause Determination letter, the case is pursued as a full service case.  The case remains open and district office staff update the CCPU with a 'Y.'  OSIS sends an electronic submission to OHCA indicating OCSS is proceeding with the case.

(f) When district office staff determine good cause does not exist, letter, C13/03GN544E, Notice of Denial of Good Cause for Failure to Cooperate, is sent to the CP, and the district office continues working the case.

(g) The CP may dispute the good cause determination by providing additional information on the Notice of Denial of Good Cause for Failure to Cooperate letter and submitting supporting documentation to OCSS State Office Center for Operations (CO).

(h) CO forwards the CP's good cause request and information to the appropriate Regional Administrator (RA) for review.  The RA confirms or reverses the district office's good cause determination and notifies the CP and district office staff accordingly.

6.  When a CP on an existing OCSS non-TANF or Medical Enforcement Only case claims good cause for noncooperation in a district office, OCSS staff update the case in OSIS as Pending Good Cause, send letter, C11/03GN542E, Request for Determination of Good Cause for Failure to Cooperate, to the CP and follow the steps outlined in Instructions to Staff # 5 (e) – (h).

7.  The penalty for noncooperation with OCSS by a custodial person who is a parent receiving non‑TANF Medicaid benefits is the removal of the custodial person's Medicaid benefits from the case.  There is no penalty for noncooperation with OCSS on child-only non-TANF SoonerCare (Medicaid) cases since no adults are included in the case.