OKDHS - OAC 340:25-5-178. Establishment of current child support

340:25-5-178. Establishment of current child support

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Revised 7-1-11

(a) Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS) establishes current child support per:

(1) Sections 654, 656, and 666 of Title 42 of the United States Code;
(2) Parts 302 and 303 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations; and
(3) Section 83 of Title 10; Title 43; and Sections 231 through 240.23 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

(b) OCSS uses the child support guidelines in Sections 118 and 119 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes to:

(1) establish the amount of current support; and
(2) prepare a child support computation form prescribed by OCSS and published by the Administrative Office of the Courts on the Oklahoma State Courts Network Web site per Section 120 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes. • 1 through • 6

(c) Per Section 118 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes, OCSS uses the best evidence available to determine a parent's monthly gross income for the child support computation form, including written earning records, past job history, and earning ability based on education and training, with a continued emphasis on setting orders that are fair and equitable. • 7 & • 8

(d) To establish the amount of current support, OCSS considers "actual" child care expenses to be the amount paid to the child care provider by the custodial person except when subsection (e) applies. OCSS determines the amount of prospective annual child care costs and allocates this amount between the parents in the same proportion as their adjusted gross income. The amount allocated to the noncustodial parent becomes part of the fixed monthly child support obligation.

(e) When the custodial person is participating in the OKDHS Child Care Subsidy Program per Section 230.50 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes, OCSS uses OKDHS Appendix C‑4, Page 1, Child Care Eligibility/Rates Schedule to determine the family share co‑payment amount considered as actual child care costs on the child support computation form. [43 O.S. § 118]

(1) OCSS considers the noncustodial parent's share of the base monthly obligation for child support and the custodial person's gross monthly income as the custodial person's monthly income when applying Appendix C-4. Upon selecting the applicable income level on Appendix C-4, Page 1, OCSS uses the corresponding family share co-payment amount based on the number of children in OKDHS subsidized child care. OCSS allocates the family share co‑payment amount indicated on Appendix C-4, Page 1, in the same proportion as base child support. Child support staff perform a separate child support guidelines calculation for each noncustodial parent. •9
(2) If the custodial person has a child(ren) in OKDHS subsidized child care other than a child(ren) included in the child support case being established, OCSS uses the proportionate share of the family share co-payment for the child(ren) included in the case.

(f) OCSS establishes child support orders in deprived court actions per Section 1-4-702 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes and prepares the child support order on the standard child support order form prescribed by OCSS and published by the Administrative Office of the Courts on the Oklahoma State Courts Network Web site. •10

(g) OCSS establishes child support orders for a child(ren) for whom child support is imposable under applicable law. •11

(h) When the noncustodial parent is a minor, OCSS establishes paternity per OAC 340:25-5-176 if necessary and establishes a child support order. If a minor noncustodial parent or a custodial person is under 16 years of age, OCSS does not impute gross income for the minor parent in the child support computation and only uses actual income. If a minor noncustodial parent or custodial person is between 16 and 18 years of age and regularly and continuously attending high school, unless it is otherwise inappropriate, OCSS uses the greater of imputed gross income for the minor parent(s) based on minimum wage at 20 hours per week, or actual income.

(i) OCSS enforces child support orders for adults with disabilities under Section 112.1A of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

(j) OCSS establishes or modifies child support orders to continue after the child reaches the age of majority per Section 112.1A of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes if the application or referral for IV-D services is received during the period when child support is due per Section 112 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

(k) OCSS establishes a child support and medical support order on an incarcerated noncustodial parent and requests the court order that the child support obligation begin the first day of the month following a lapse of 45 days from release from incarceration. OCSS requests the court reserve the amount of child support for the time period prior to the entry of the court order as per 340:25-5-179.1 through the time of incarceration to the date the current child support obligation begins. • 12

(l) When OCSS establishes a child support order for a child of a noncustodial parent or a custodial person who is a servicemember, OCSS applies the provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, codified in Sections 501 through 596 of Title 50A of the United States Code. • 13

(m) OCSS does not impute gross income to a person who has been determined disabled by the Social Security Administration. • 3 & • 5

(n) When a default order for child support has been ordered and either party contacts OCSS in writing within 30 days of entry of the default order and provides information to calculate an accurate child support obligation, OCSS treats the request as a motion to vacate or modify and requests the court enter a new order consistent with the evidence presented. • 14 & • 15

INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:25-5-178

Revised 7-1-11

1. Child support staff must calculate, under Section 118 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes, on the child support computation form each parent's contribution toward:

(1) the base child support according to the combined adjusted gross income of both parents following the child support guidelines schedule per Section 119 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

(2) any actual medical and dental insurance premium; and

(3) any actual employment related child care expenses per Section 118 (E)(13) of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes and OAC 340:25‑5‑178.

2. When the child(ren) is receiving monthly Social Security (SS) benefits from the noncustodial parent's claim, either disability or retirement, the benefit is offset from current child support under 43 O.S. § 118B (G), and any remainder is offset against any cash medical support.

3. If the noncustodial parent or minor child is disabled and either is receiving monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS) excludes SSI from either parent's gross income. Refer to Section 118(E)(2)(b) of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

4. Child support staff consult with their district office state's attorney for a legal interpretation when the amount of the monthly child support obligation in the body of an order conflicts with the amount in the child support computation form.

5. Child support staff compute the child support obligation on the basis of actual monthly gross income for a noncustodial parent or a custodial person who is permanently physically or mentally incapacitated per Section 118(E)(4)(c) of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The documentation required to determine if a noncustodial parent or a custodial person is permanently physically or mentally incapacitated includes a Social Security Administration award letter or a physician's statement affirming the:

(1) person is unable to do the work they did before and cannot adjust to other work because of a medical condition; and

(2) disability must continue or be expected to continue for at least one year or to result in death.

6. Child support staff access the Guidelines screen (GLS) on the OCSS automated Oklahoma Support Information System. Child support staff may also use Form 03EN025E, Child Support Computation, and its child support guidelines computation form completion instructions are available from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Internet at http://www.okdhs.org.

7. To determine the amount of monthly gross income a person with comparable education, training, and experience could reasonably expect to earn, child support staff use the Oklahoma Wage Report available from the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission's Web site at http://http:/www.oesc.state.ok.us/lmi/publications/publication.asp?pubID=12.

8. (a) Child support staff review information provided by the parents to determine if a parent's earning records or other evidence of income is in accordance with the parent's prior job history. Child support staff consult their district office state's attorney if the information provided by the parent differs significantly from the parent's known job history or earning ability.

(b) OCSS applies the following hierarchy, subject to other evidence of a parent's job history or earning ability, when requesting the court to determine a parent's monthly gross income.

(1) When a parent has a written earning record, OCSS uses:

(A) the actual monthly gross income; or

(B) the average of the gross monthly income for the time actually employed during the previous three years.

(2) When a parent has an earning ability, but no reliable written pay records, OCSS uses the most equitable of:

(A) the minimum wage paid for a 40-hour work week; or

(B) the amount of gross income a person with comparable education, training, and experience could reasonably expect to earn.

(3) When a parent has reduced earning ability due to the parent's limited education, physical, or mental disability, or other obstacle to employment, and there is evidence that the parent has income of less than minimum wage for 40 hours per week, OCSS may use the most equitable of:

(A) the parent's actual income; or

(B) minimum wage for less than 40 hours per week.

9. When a custodial person is participating in the OKDHS Child Care Subsidy Program, child support staff use the child support guidelines computation form for child care subsidy cases.

10. (a) Child support staff request the court establish child support orders for each parent in a deprived court action.

(b) When the parent has lost custody of more than one child and one or more of these children has a different mother or father, child support staff request the court deviate from the child support guidelines and set a child support order for the parent who lost custody per (c) of this Instruction.

(c) To determine the former custodial person's gross monthly income (Line 1 of the child support computation form), child support staff follow Section 118(E)(4)(a) through (c) of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

(1) Child support staff calculate the child support obligation by using the former custodial person's gross monthly income and the average gross income amount of the other parent's in Line 1 of the child support computation form.

(2) To determine the amount to use in Line 1 for the other parent's income, child support staff average all of the other parents' gross incomes and divide the total by the number of the other parents.

(d) For example, a mother has three children with three different fathers. The mother's gross monthly income is $1,000 per month. Father #1 earns $1,500 per month, father #2 earns $1,800 per month, and father #3 is imputed at minimum wage, or $893 per month. Child support staff total the fathers' income ($1,500 + $1,800 + $893) to obtain a total of $4,193. This amount is divided by three to obtain an average of $1,397.66. Child support staff calculate the total child support obligation using $1,000 for the mother and $1,397.66 for the father. The mother's child support obligation would be $299.04 for three children, $254.41 for two children, and $176 for one child. If there is a prior order against this former custodial parent, a new child support order supersedes that order.

11. The age of majority varies by state. Child support staff may use the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) Online Intergovernmental Referral Guide (IRG) on the Internet at http://ocse.acf.hhs.gov/ext/irg/sps/selectastate.cfm to obtain information about referrals to other states for establishment of support.

12. (a) In an incarcerated noncustodial parent's order, OCSS staff calculate a sum certain under the child support guidelines for the current child support obligation and requests the court order that amount to begin the first day of the month following a 45 day lapse after the noncustodial parent is released from incarceration. OCSS staff update the obligation on the OSIS Obligation (OBLN) screen as "P" for pending, but does not update the order as "A" for active.

(b) For example, a child is born January 28, 2003. OCSS files a paternity action April 1, 2008. The court entered an order on June 1, 2008. Current support for one child is calculated at $212 per month beginning on the firstday of the month following a 45 day lapse after the noncustodial parent is released from incarceration. Judgment for support from April 2003, forward is reserved. The noncustodial parent is released from incarceration August 1, 2010. Current support begins October 1, 2010. OCSS may request a judgment for the reserved time period of April 2003, through September 2010.

13. Child support staff follow the Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), available from the OCSS InfoNet for procedures regarding:

(1) waivers of rights and protection under the SCRA;

(2) appearance in court actions;

(3) stays of court; and

(4) default orders.

14. When a party contacts OCSS within 30 days to request a reconsideration of a default support order, child support staff notify the party that he or she must make the request in writing within 30 days of the entry of the default order. Child support staff provide the party with OCSS pro se self help motion to vacate.

15. After one party files a written request, OCSS sets the case for hearing and notifies the parties by mail under Rule 2 of the Rules for District Courts. After considering the income information provided, OCSS requests the court:

(1) dismiss or deny the motion to vacate and leave the default order in effect; or

(2) enter a new order replacing the default order.

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