Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 28 - Division of County Operations › Rule 016.28.22-005 - SNAP and Medicaid- Office of Child Support Enforcement Related Changes

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
Medical Services Policy Manual, Section F
F-100 Non-Financial Eligibility
				Requirements
F-130 Child Support Enforcement Services MS Manual
				03/27/2023
The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is mandated to
				provide services to all Health Care recipients who have assigned their rights
				to medical support to the State. Each applicant or recipient who is responsible
				for the care of a dependent child must cooperate with OCSE in establishing
				legal paternity and obtaining medical support for each child who has a parent
				absent from the home. (See exception below.)
OCSE must provide all appropriate services to Health Care
				applicants and recipients without the OCSE application or fee. The OCSE agency
				is required to petition for medical support when health insurance is available
				to the absent parent at a reasonable cost. OCSE will also collect child support
				payments from the absent parent unless OCSE is notified by the recipient in
				writing that this service is not needed. Child support payments collected on
				behalf of Health Care recipients are received and distributed to the custodial
				parent through the OCSE Clearinghouse. However, no recovery cost will be
				collected.
1.
Referrals
When a child's parent, guardian, or caretaker relative
				voluntarily requests a referral to be made, or is receiving Health Care, an
				OCSE referral will be made at initial approval. Refer to Exception and Note
				below.
Act 1091 of 1995, amended by Act 1296 of 1997, requires that
				both parents sign an affidavit acknowledging paternity, or obtain a court
				order, before the father's name will be added to the birth certificate.
NOTE:
If the father's name
				is included on the birth certificate of a child born April 10, 1995, or later,
				paternity has already been established. As paternity establishment is the only
				service the Office of Child Support Enforcement can offer to a family when both
				parents are in the home, there is no need to make a referral in these
				instances.
NOTE:
For child-only
				cases, cooperation with OCSE is voluntary. The only time that a referral to
				OCSE is necessary is when a parent, guardian, or caretaker relative is eligible
				in another Health Care eligibility group in which cooperation with OCSE is
				mandatory. Cooperation with OCSE will be strictly voluntary when a:
* Parent, guardian, or caretaker relative is not receiving
				Health Care, but the children are receiving Health Care;
* Parent, guardian, or caretaker relative is the only one
				receiving Health Care and the children are not receiving Health Care; or
* Parent, guardian, or caretaker relative is receiving Health
				Care in an exempt category.
A parent is considered to be absent for Health Care purposes
				when the absence is due to divorce, separation, incarceration,
				institutionalization, participation in a Rehabilitation Service Program away
				from home, or military service. These considerations are regardless of support,
				maintenance, physical care, guidance, or frequency of contact.
2.
Good
			 Cause
An applicant or recipient may have good cause not to cooperate
				in the state's efforts to collect child or Medical support. The applicant or
				recipient may be excused from cooperating if they believe that cooperation
				would not be in the best interest of the child, and if the applicant or
				recipient can provide evidence to support this claim.
The following are circumstances under which DCO may determine
				that the applicant or recipient has good cause for refusing to
				cooperate:
* Cooperation is anticipated to result in serious physical or
				emotional harm to the child.
* Cooperation is anticipated to result in physical or emotional
				harm to the individual that is so serious it reduces the ability to care for
				the child adequately.
* The child was born as a result of forcible rape or
				incest.
* Court proceedings are in progress for the adoption of the
				child.
* The individual is working with an agency helping to decide
				whether or not to place the child for adoption.
3.
Refusal to
			 Cooperate-Sanction
A child's Health Care benefits cannot be denied or terminated
				due to the refusal of a parent or another legally responsible person to assign
				rights or cooperate with OCSE in establishing paternity or obtaining medical
				support. Health Care for the parent or caretaker relative will end after the
				appropriate notice has expired.
If a parent or another legally responsible person states that
				they refuse to cooperate with the OCSE referral process during any case action
				(such as during the initial application or case change), the sanction can be
				applied by the DHS Eligibility Worker.
G-111 Eligibility Factors That Require
				Verification
MS Manual 03/27/23
The following must be verified when determining eligibility for
				Health Care:
* Social Security Number (SSN)
* Citizenship
* Alien Status
* Income
* Age/Date of birth
* Disability (when required)
* Resources (For categories that require a resource test) Refer
				to MS E-110.
NOTE:
When citizenship cannot be verified via the
				electronic data sources, the applicant will be notified to provide verification
				of citizenship and identity. Refer to MS G-133.
NOTE:
If a client refuses to provide an
				attestation of their willingness to cooperate with the Office of Child Support
				Enforcement (OCSE), this will cause the parent's case to be sanctioned. The
				client's case will continue to be sanctioned (ineligible for Health Care
				coverage) until they cooperate with OCSE or the child(ren) in the home turn(s)
				eighteen (18) years of age. Refer to MS F-130.
Refer to sections below for specific information regarding
				verification of the above eligibility factors.
1623.3
Disqualification for
			 Non-Cooperation with OCSE (Office of Child Support Enforcement)
SNAP
			 Manual 03/27/23
Under state and federal law, cooperation with the Office of
				Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is a condition of eligibility for SNAP
				benefits. Applicants for SNAP must cooperate with OCSE, unless it is determined
				that good cause for non-cooperation exists.
Any parent (custodial, teen, or non-custodial) who states a
				refusal to cooperate with the OCSE requirement, will not be eligible to
				participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Custodial and
				non-custodial parents will be disqualified according to SNAP 1623.3.4, if there
				are other eligible household members.
A Certified Eligibility Specialist may disqualify a custodial
				parent or non-custodial parent, or both, of a child under eighteen (18) years
				of age, if the individual does not cooperate with the OCSE as described
				below:
Custodial Parents
may be
				disqualified from receiving SNAP benefits if they fail to cooperate with the
				OCSE in establishing paternity of the child (if the child is born out of
				wedlock) and obtaining support for the child. The Agency must determine if the
				individual has good cause for the individual's refusal to cooperate, by taking
				into consideration circumstances in which cooperation may be against the best
				interest of the child.
Non-Custodial Parents
may be
				disqualified from receiving SNAP benefits if the determined
putative
or identified
noncustodial parent
refuses to cooperate in establishing paternity of a child (if the child is born
				out of wedlock) and is not providing support for the child. If OCSE determines
				that the non-custodial parent is not cooperating in good faith, the Agency will
				determine whether non-cooperation constitutes a refusal or unwillingness to
				cooperate as opposed to an inability to cooperate.
Noncustodial
				parents
determined to have refused to cooperate are ineligible, and
				the Agency does not have the ability to establish good cause. If the Agency
				determines that the non-custodial parent has refused to cooperate, then that
				individual shall be ineligible to participate.
1623.3.1
Child Support
			 Cooperation Requirements
SNAP Manual 03/27/23
Cooperation with the OCSE by a
parent
is required
				when:
* The parent is applying for or receiving SNAP benefits;
* Paternity has not been established and the alleged father is
				not in the home;
* One (1) or both parents are absent from the home, or
* Good cause for non-cooperation does not exist as determined
				by the Agency.
Custodial Parent cooperation includes the following:
* Providing complete information required to obtain child
				support (if information about the non-custodial parent is known by the
				individual but is withheld, the individual may face a possible penalty of
				perjury).
* Completing and signing affidavits attesting to paternity of
				the child; and
* Making court appearances and providing testimony in paternity
				hearings and support actions.
If both a legal and putative father exists, or the
				responsibility for support is not clear, the parent must provide the
				information on both the legal and putative father.
Pregnant women who are receiving SNAP benefits for themselves
				and other dependent children are required to cooperate with the OCSE unless
				they have good cause reasons not to cooperate.
Non-custodial Parent
cooperation with the OCSE
				requires:
* Assisting the OCSE with establishing parentage.
* Providing verification of income for new court orders,
				modifying existing orders.
* Paying arrearages if there is an obligation that
				exists.
1623.3.3
Failure to Cooperate
SNAP Manual 03/27/23
When the
parent
, including a
teen
				parent
, refuses to provide information regarding the non-custodial
				parent of a child under eighteen (18) years of age, residing in the home during
				the application or eligibility review, the eligibility worker must review child
				support cooperation requirements for the individual. If, at application, the
				parent declares a refusal to cooperate, the parent is ineligible to participate
				in SNAP. Refusal to cooperate at application results in application denial or
				removal from the SNAP case.
When the
non-custodial parent
refuses to provide
				information regarding establishing the paternity or providing support, the
				eligibility worker must review child support cooperation requirements for that
				individual.
Note:
A Pregnant woman
				with no other deprived children is not subject to child support cooperation
				until the child's birth.
When the parent, teen parent, or non-custodial parent has not
				cooperated per OCSE, the eligibility worker can deny SNAP benefits for the
				individual (adult or teen parent) subject to the child support cooperation if
				they do not express an intent to claim good cause or the intent to cooperate
				with the agency and authorize benefits for the other household members, if
				eligible.
1623.3.4
Disqualification for Failure to Cooperate
SNAP Manual 03/27/23
For households with an absent parent, the county office will
				disqualify a custodial parent from receiving SNAP benefits if they fail to
				cooperate with the OCSE and are unable to demonstrate good cause for failure to
				cooperate. For individuals subject to the requirement, cooperation includes
				opening a case against the absent parent, working with the OCSE to determine
				parentage (if necessary), and establishing, modifying, or enforcing an
				order.
When the custodial parent does not cooperate, a 10-day notice
				of adverse action will be sent informing them of their removal from the SNAP
				case for non-cooperation. The custodial parent will be removed from the SNAP
				case once the 10-day notice of adverse action has expired. If other eligible
				household members are in the SNAP case, only the custodial parent will be
				removed from the SNAP budget. The income, expenses and resources of the
				sanctioned individual will still be used for SNAP budgeting purposes.
For a non-custodial parent, the county office will disqualify a
				non-custodial parent from receiving SNAP benefits if they are determined to be
				refusing to cooperate with OCSE in establishing paternity (if necessary) or
				providing support. When the non-custodial parent does not cooperate, a 10-day
				notice of adverse action will be sent informing them of their removal from the
				SNAP case for non-cooperation. The non-custodial parent will be removed from
				the SNAP case once the 10-day notice of adverse action has expired. After a
				10-day notice of adverse expires, the SNAP case will close unless the SNAP
				household contains other eligible household members. Only the non-custodial
				parent who is not complying will be removed. The income, expenses, and
				resources of the sanctioned individual will still be used for SNAP budgeting
				purposes.
To disqualify a member for failure to comply with the child
				support requirements:
1. Include the
			 resources of the ineligible member in their entirety.
2. Calculate a pro rata share of any income
			 received by the disqualified member. To calculate a pro rata share:
* Subtract allowable exclusions (see SNAP 5400).
* Divide the remaining income evenly among the total household
				members including the disqualified member.
* Multiply the pro rata share by the number of eligible
				members.
* Count the resulting figure as income.
3. Apply the earned income deduction after
			 the prorated earned income of the disqualified member has been determined and
			 added to the household budget.
4.
			 When the disqualified member does not incur any portion of an allowable
			 expense, do not prorate the expense. Prorate any allowable shelter, child
			 support payments, or dependent care expense paid totally or in part by the
			 disqualified individual. To prorate, divide the expense evenly among all
			 household members including the disqualified member. Multiply the pro rata
			 shares by the number of eligible members. Count the resulting figure as an
			 allowable expense. If the household has elected to use the utility standard
			 (see SNAP 6620), do not prorate the utility standard.
5. Do not allow uncapped shelter costs if the
			 disqualified member is the only aged/disabled individual in the household. Do
			 not allow medical expenses incurred by a disqualified aged or disabled member.
			 See the Glossary for a definition of individuals in an aged/disabled
			 household.
6. For households still
			 entitled to uncapped shelter costs after an individual has been disqualified,
			 prorate the expenses as explained above. Allow the uncapped amount of the
			 prorated expenses as instructed in SNAP 7610.
7. Do not include the disqualified member
			 when determining income, eligibility, or SNAP benefit amount.