Original Notice.

     Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 04-06-053.

     Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: The Division of Child Support (DCS) is amending chapter 388-14A WAC, WAC 388-14A-3810 Once a child support order is entered how long does the support obligation last? and 388-14A-1020 What definitions apply to the rules regarding child support enforcement? (definition of "dependent child"), and other amendments and/or new rules as required, concerning the duration of an administrative support order and when a support obligation can continue after the child turns eighteen.

     Hearing Location(s): Office Building 2, Auditorium, DSHS Headquarters Building, 1115 Washington, Olympia, WA 98504 (public parking at 11th and Jefferson), on June 21, 2005, at 10:00 a.m.

     Date of Intended Adoption: Not earlier than June 22, 2005.

     Submit Written Comments to: DSHS Rules Coordinator, P.O. Box 45850, Olympia, WA 98504, delivery 4500 10th Avenue S.E., Lacey, WA, e-mail fernaax@dshs.wa.gov, fax (360) 664-6185, by 5:00 p.m., June 21, 2005.

     Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Stephanie Schiller, DSHS Rules Consultant, by June 17, 2005, TTY (360) 664-6178 or (360) 664-6097.

     Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: DCS seeks to bring its rules into accord with the TANF regulations dealing with a child's eligibility for TANF after age eighteen, so that both the child support program and the TANF program have the same definition of "dependent child."

     Reasons Supporting Proposal: See above.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 34.05.220(1), 74.08.090, 74.20A.310, 74.20A.055, and 74.20A.056.

     Statute Being Implemented: RCW 74.20A.310, 74.20A.055, and 74.20A.056.

     Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

     Name of Proponent: Department of Social and Health Services, governmental.

     Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Nancy Koptur, DCS HQ, P.O. Box 9162, Olympia, WA 98507-9162, (360) 664-5065.

     No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. This rule does not have an economic impact on small businesses. It only affects individuals who have support obligations or individuals who are owed child support.

     A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. The rule does meet the definition of a significant legislative rule but DSHS/DCS is exempt from preparing further analysis under RCW 34.05.328 (5)(b)(vii).

May 11, 2005

Andy Fernando, Manager

Rules and Policies Assistance Unit

     "Absence of a court order" means that there is no court order setting a support obligation for the noncustodial parent (NCP), or specifically relieving the NCP of a support obligation, for a particular child.

     "Absent parent" is a term used for a noncustodial parent.

     "Accrued debt" means past-due child support which has not been paid.

     "Administrative order" means a determination, finding, decree or order for support issued under RCW 74.20A.055, 74.20A.056, or 74.20A.059 or by another state's agency under an administrative process, establishing the existence of a support obligation (including medical support) and ordering the payment of a set or determinable amount of money for current support and/or a support debt. Administrative orders include:

     (1) An order entered under chapter 34.05 RCW;

     (2) An agreed settlement or consent order entered under WAC 388-14A-3600; and

     (3) A support establishment notice which has become final by operation of law.

     "Agency" means the Title IV-D provider of a state. In Washington, this is DCS.

     "Agreed settlement" is an administrative order that reflects the agreement of the noncustodial parent, the custodial parent and the division of child support. An agreed settlement does not require the approval of an administrative law judge.

     "Aid" or "public assistance" means cash assistance under the temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) program, the aid for families with dependent children (AFDC) program, federally-funded or state-funded foster care, and includes day care benefits and medical benefits provided to families as an alternative or supplement to TANF.

     "Applicant/custodian" means a person who applies for nonassistance support enforcement services on behalf of a child or children residing in their household.

     "Applicant/recipient," "applicant," and "recipient" means a person who receives public assistance on behalf of a child or children residing in their household.

     "Arrears" means the debt amount owed for a period of time before the current month.

     "Assistance" means cash assistance under the state program funded under Title IV-A of the federal Social Security Act.

     "Birth costs" means medical expenses incurred by the custodial parent or the state for the birth of a child.

     "Conference board" means a method used by the division of child support for resolving complaints regarding DCS cases and for granting exceptional or extraordinary relief from debt.

     "Consent order" means a support order that reflects the agreement of the noncustodial parent, the custodial parent and the division of child support. A consent order requires the approval of an administrative law judge.

     "Court order" means a judgment, decree or order of a Washington state superior court, another state's court of comparable jurisdiction, or a tribal court.

     "Current support" or "current and future support" means the amount of child support which is owed for each month.

     "Custodial parent" means the person, whether a parent or not, with whom a dependent child resides the majority of the time period for which the division of child support seeks to establish or enforce a support obligation.

     "Date the state assumes responsibility for the support of a dependent child on whose behalf support is sought" means the date that the TANF or AFDC program grant is effective. For purposes of this chapter, the state remains responsible for the support of a dependent child until public assistance terminates, or support enforcement services end, whichever occurs later.

     "Delinquency" means failure to pay current child support when due.

     "Department" means the Washington state department of social and health services (DSHS).

     "Dependent child" means a person:

     (1) Seventeen years of age or younger who is not self-supporting, married, or a member of the united states armed forces;

     (2) Eighteen years of age or older for whom a court order requires support payments past age eighteen;

     (3) Eighteen years of age or older, but under nineteen years of age, for whom an administrative support order exists if the child is((:

     (a) A)) participating full-time ((student; and

     (b) Reasonably expected to complete)) in a secondary school ((or the equivalent)) program or the same level of vocational or technical training ((before the end of the month in which the child turns nineteen)).

     "Disposable earnings" means the amount of earnings remaining after the deduction of amounts required by law to be withheld.

     "Earnings" means compensation paid or payable for personal service. Earnings include:

     (1) Wages or salary;

     (2) Commissions and bonuses;

     (3) Periodic payments under pension plans, retirement programs, and insurance policies of any type;

     (4) Disability payments under Title 51 RCW;

     (5) Unemployment compensation under RCW 50.40.020, 50.40.050 and Title 74 RCW;

     (6) Gains from capital, labor, or a combination of the two; and

     (7) The fair value of nonmonetary compensation received in exchange for personal services.

     "Employee" means a person to whom an employer is paying, owes, or anticipates paying earnings in exchange for services performed for the employer.

     "Employer" means any person or organization having an employment relationship with any person. This includes:

     (1) Partnerships and associations;

     (2) Trusts and estates;

     (3) Joint stock companies and insurance companies;

     (4) Domestic and foreign corporations;

     (5) The receiver or trustee in bankruptcy; and

     (6) The trustee or legal representative of a deceased person.

     "Employment" means personal services of whatever nature, including service in interstate commerce, performed for earnings or under any contract for personal services. Such a contract may be written or oral, express or implied.

     "Family" means the person or persons on whose behalf support is sought, which may include a custodial parent and one or more children, or a child or children in foster care placement. The family is sometimes called the assistance unit.

     "Family member" means the caretaker relative, the child(ren), and any other person whose needs are considered in determining eligibility for assistance.

     "Foreign order" means a court or administrative order entered by a tribunal other than one in the state of Washington.

     "Foster care case" means a case referred to the Title IV-D agency by the Title IV-E agency, which is the state division of child and family services (DCFS).

     "Fraud," for the purposes of vacating an agreed settlement or consent order, means:

     (1) The representation of the existence or the nonexistence of a fact;

     (2) The representation's materiality;

     (3) The representation's falsity;

     (4) The speaker's knowledge that the representation is false;

     (5) The speaker's intent that the representation should be acted on by the person to whom it is made;

     (6) Ignorance of the falsity on the part of the person to whom it is made;

     (7) The latter's:

     (a) Reliance on the truth of the representation;

     (b) Right to rely on it; and

     (c) Subsequent damage.

     "Full support enforcement services" means the entire range of services available in a Title IV-D case.

     "Good cause" for the purposes of late hearing requests and petitions to vacate orders on default means a substantial reason or legal justification for delay, including but not limited to the grounds listed in civil rule 60. The time periods used in civil rule 60 apply to good cause determinations in this chapter.

     "Head of household" means the parent or parents with whom the dependent child or children were residing at the time of placement in foster care.

     "Health care costs":

     (1) For the purpose of establishing support obligations under RCW 74.20A.055 and 74.20A.056, means medical, dental and optometrical expenses; and,

     (2) For the purpose of enforcement action under chapters 26.23, 74.20 and 74.20A RCW, including the notice of support debt and the notice of support owed, means medical, dental and optometrical costs stated as a fixed dollar amount by a support order.

     "Hearing" means an adjudicative proceeding authorized by this chapter, or chapters 26.23, 74.20 and 74.20A RCW, conducted under chapter 388-02 WAC and chapter 34.05 RCW.

     "I/Me" means the person asking the question which appears as the title of a rule.

     "Income" includes:

     (1) All gains in real or personal property;

     (2) Net proceeds from the sale or exchange of real or personal property;

     (3) Earnings;

     (4) Interest and dividends;

     (5) Proceeds of insurance policies;

     (6) Other periodic entitlement to money from any source; and

     (7) Any other property subject to withholding for support under the laws of this state.

     "Income withholding action" includes all withholding actions which DCS is authorized to take, and includes but is not limited to the following actions:

     (1) Asserting liens under RCW 74.20A.060;

     (2) Serving and enforcing liens under chapter 74.20A RCW;

     (3) Issuing orders to withhold and deliver under chapter 74.20A RCW;

     (4) Issuing notices of payroll deduction under chapter 26.23 RCW; and

     (5) Obtaining wage assignment orders under RCW 26.18.080.

     "Locate" can mean efforts to obtain service of a support establishment notice in the manner prescribed by WAC 388-14A-3105.

     "Medical support" means either or both:

     (1) Health care costs stated as a fixed dollar amount in a support order; and

     (2) Health insurance coverage for a dependent child.

     "Noncustodial parent" means the natural parent, adoptive parent, responsible stepparent or person who signed and filed an affidavit acknowledging paternity, from whom the state seeks support for a dependent child. Also called the NCP. A parent is considered to be an NCP when for the majority of the time during the period for which support is sought, the dependent child resided somewhere other than with that parent.

     "Other ordinary expense" means an expense incurred by a parent which:

     (1) Directly benefits the dependent child; and

     (2) Relates to the parent's residential time or visitation with the child.

     "Past support" means support arrears.

     "Paternity testing" means blood testing or genetic tests of blood, tissue or bodily fluids. This is also called genetic testing.

     "Payment services only" or "PSO" means a case on which the division of child support's activities are limited to recording and distributing child support payments, and maintaining case records. A PSO case is not a IV-D case.

     "Permanently assigned arrearages" means those arrears which the state may collect and retain up to the amount of unreimbursed assistance.

     "Physical custodian" means custodial parent (CP).

     "Putative father" includes all men who may possibly be the father of the child or children on whose behalf the application for assistance or support enforcement services is made.

     "Reasonable efforts to locate" means any of the following actions performed by the division of child support:

     (1) Mailing a support establishment notice to the noncustodial parent in the manner described in WAC 388-14A-3105;

     (2) Referral to a sheriff or other server of process, or to a locate service or department employee for locate activities;

     (3) Tracing activity such as:

     (a) Checking local telephone directories and attempts by telephone or mail to contact the custodial parent, relatives of the noncustodial parent, past or present employers, or the post office;

     (b) Contacting state agencies, unions, financial institutions or fraternal organizations;

     (c) Searching periodically for identification information recorded by other state agencies, federal agencies, credit bureaus, or other record-keeping agencies or entities; or

     (d) Maintaining a case in the division of child support's automated locate program, which is a continuous search process.

     (4) Referral to the state or federal parent locator service;

     (5) Referral to the attorney general, prosecuting attorney, the IV-D agency of another state, or the Department of the Treasury for specific legal or collection action;

     (6) Attempting to confirm the existence of and to obtain a copy of a paternity acknowledgment; or

     (7) Conducting other actions reasonably calculated to produce information regarding the NCP's whereabouts.

     "Required support obligation for the current month" means the amount set by a superior court order, tribal court order, or administrative order for support which is due in the month in question.

     "Resident" means a person physically present in the state of Washington who intends to make their home in this state. A temporary absence from the state does not destroy residency once it is established.

     "Residential care" means foster care, either state or federally funded.

     "Residential parent" means the custodial parent (CP), or the person with whom the child resides that majority of the time.

     "Responsible parent" is a term sometimes used for a noncustodial parent.

     "Responsible stepparent" means a stepparent who has established an in loco parentis relationship with the dependent child.

     "Retained support" means a debt owed to the division of child support by anyone other than a noncustodial parent.

     "Satisfaction of judgment" means payment in full of a court-ordered support obligation, or a determination that such an obligation is no longer enforceable.

     "Secretary" means the secretary of the department of social and health services or the secretary's designee.

     "State" means a state or political subdivision, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a federally recognized Indian tribe or a foreign country.

     "Superior court order" means a judgment, decree or order of a Washington state superior court, or of another state's court of comparable jurisdiction.

     "Support debt" means support which was due under a support order but has not been paid. This includes:

     (1) Delinquent support;

     (2) A debt for the payment of expenses for the reasonable or necessary care, support and maintenance including health care costs, birth costs, child care costs, and special child rearing expenses of a dependent child or other person;

     (3) A debt under RCW 74.20A.100 or 74.20A.270; or

     (4) Accrued interest, fees, or penalties charged on a support debt, and attorney's fees and other litigation costs awarded in an action under Title IV-D to establish or enforce a support obligation.

     "Support enforcement services" means all actions the Title IV-D agency is required to perform under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act and state law.

     "Support establishment notice" means a notice and finding of financial responsibility under WAC 388-14A-3115, a notice and finding of parental responsibility under WAC 388-14A-3120, or a notice and finding of medical responsibility under WAC 388-14A-3125.

     "Support money" means money paid to satisfy a support obligation, whether it is called child support, spousal support, alimony, maintenance, medical support, or birth costs.

     "Support obligation" means the obligation to provide for the necessary care, support and maintenance of a dependent child or other person as required by law, including health insurance coverage, health care costs, birth costs, and child care or special child rearing expenses.

     "Temporarily assigned arrearages" means those arrears which accrue prior to the family receiving assistance, for assistance applications dated on or after October 1, 1997.

     "Title IV-A" means Title IV-A of the Social Security Act established under Title XX of the Social Security amendments and as incorporated in Title 42 USC.

     "Title IV-A agency" means the part of the department of social and health services which carries out the state's responsibilities under the temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) program (and the aid for dependent children (AFDC) program when it existed).

     "Title IV-D" means Title IV-D of the Social Security Act established under Title XX of the Social Security amendments and as incorporated in Title 42 USC.

     "Title IV-D agency" or "IV-D agency" means the division of child support, which is the agency responsible for carrying out the Title IV-D plan in the state of Washington. Also refers to the Washington state support registry (WSSR).

     "Title IV-D case" is a case in which the division of child support provides services which qualifies for funding under the Title IV-D plan.

     "Title IV-D plan" means the plan established under the conditions of Title IV-D and approved by the secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.

     "Title IV-E" means Title IV-E of the Social Security Act established under Title XX of the Social Security amendments and as incorporated in Title 42 U.S.C.

     "Title IV-E case" means a foster care case.

     "Tribunal" means a state court, tribal court, administrative agency, or quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce or modify support orders or to determine parentage.

     "Unreimbursed assistance" means the cumulative amount of assistance which was paid to the family and which has not been reimbursed by assigned support collections.

     "We" means the division of child support, part of the department of social and health services of the state of Washington.

     "WSSR" is the Washington state support registry.

     "You" means the reader of the rules, a member of the public, or a recipient of support enforcement services.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 26.23.035, 34.05.220(1), 74.20A.055, 74.20A.056. 01-03-089, § 388-14A-1020, filed 1/17/01, effective 2/17/01. Formerly WAC 388-11-011 and 388-14-020.]

     Reviser's note: The bracketed material preceding the section above was supplied by the code reviser's office.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 03-17-013, filed 8/12/03, effective 9/12/03)

WAC 388-14A-3810   Once a child support order is entered how long does the support obligation last?   (1) A noncustodial parent's obligation to pay support under an administrative order continues until:

     (a) A superior or tribal court order supersedes the order;

     (b) The order is modified under WAC 388-14A-3925;

     (c) The child reaches eighteen years of age;

     (d) The child is emancipated;

     (e) The child marries;

     (f) The child becomes a member of the United States armed forces;

     (g) The child or the responsible parent die;

     (h) A responsible stepparent's marriage is dissolved;

     (i) The parties to the order marry or remarry, as provided in WAC 388-14A-3100(3); or

     (j) A superior court order terminates the responsible parent's liability as provided under RCW 26.16.205.

     (2) As an exception to the above rule, a noncustodial parent's obligation to pay support under an administrative order continues ((and/or may be established)) for a dependent child ((who is:

     (a))) over the age of eighteen if the child is under age nineteen ((years of age; and

     (b) A)), and participating full-time ((student reasonably expected to complete a program of)) in a secondary school ((or the equivalent)) program or the same level of vocational or technical training ((before the end of the month in which the student becomes nineteen years of age)), as defined in WAC 388-404-0005 (1)(b). However, if the child has already met the requirements to finish the educational program, the child is no longer considered to be dependent.

     (3) A noncustodial parent's obligation to pay support under an administrative order may be temporarily suspended when the:

     (a) Noncustodial parent (NCP) resides with the child for whom support is sought for purposes other than visitation;

     (b) NCP reconciles with the child and the custodial parent; or

     (c) Child returns to the residence of the NCP from a foster care placement, for purposes other than visitation.

     (4) When the NCP's obligation to pay current support on a case is suspended under subsection (3) of this section, the division of child support (DCS) informs the NCP that the obligation is suspended, in writing, sent by regular mail to the NCP's last known address.

     (5) If circumstances causing an NCP's support obligation to be temporarily suspended change, the support obligation resumes. DCS sends the NCP a notice that the obligation to make current support payments has resumed.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.05.220(1), 74.08.090, 74.20A.056, 74.20A.310, 26.26.315, 26.26.320, 26.26.330, 26.26.335, 74.20A.055, 2002 c 302, and 2002 c 199. 03-17-013, § 388-14A-3810, filed 8/12/03, effective 9/12/03. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090. 01-03-089, § 388-14A-3810, filed 1/17/01, effective 2/17/01. Formerly WAC 388-11-155.]

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