Relates to administrative procedures for establishing support orders

This bill would authorize the development of a three-year pilot project that would allow the Title IV-D Child Support Enforcement Program to conference cases as part of a non-adversarial process in which the parties would establish child support obligations by agreement with a minimum of court involvement.

Summary of Provisions:

Section 1 of the bill would amend Social Services Law § 11l-c to add a cross-reference to a new Social Services Law § 111-1.

Section 2 of the bill would amend Social Services Law § 111-k (1) and (1)(b) to make a technical correction and to update the cross-reference to Family Court Act § 425 to a new subdivision (a).

Section 3 of the bill would amend Article 3 of the Social Services Law to add a new § 111-1. This new section would enhance the authority currently in Social Services Law § 111-k by setting forth a new pilot process which would allow social services districts to take expedited administrative actions to establish by agreement, where possible, child support obligations consistent with the State's child support guidelines. When agreement can be reached between the parties, the process provides parents with an opportunity to participate in a non-adversarial support establishment process, thereby avoiding the delay and inconvenience associated with court appearances. Where agreement between the parties cannot be reached, this section would provide a balanced process for efficiently calculating an appropriate support obligation under the child support guidelines and preparing a non-agreed proposed order along with a petition for confirmation of the order, while also providing parties with notice of the proceedings and the right to request a court hearing. This new section would also provide that the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance shall perform an evaluation of the pilot process and shall submit a report of the findings an d recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature.

Section 4 of the bill would amend Family Court Act § 425 to designate a subdivision (a) and add a new subdivision (b). This section sets forth the court procedure and timeframes for processing agreed and non-agreed proposed orders.

Section 5 of the bill provides for an effective date 270 days after the bill becomes a law.

Existing Law:

Social Services Law § 111-c provides that the social services district shall confer with the parties to a proceeding under Article 4, 5, 5-A, or 5-B of the Family Court Act in an attempt to obtain support payments from the respondent or potential respondent and, when appropriate, obtain from the respondent or potential respondent an acknowledgement of paternity or an agreement to make support payments, or both.

Social Services Law § 111-k provides that a social services official or designated representative who confers with the father or putative father and the mother of a child born out-of-wedlock may obtain an acknowledgment of paternity for the child and an agreement to make support payments for the benefit of the child, which agreement must be submitted to the family court for approval pursuant to Family Court Act § 425.

Family Court Act § 425 provides that a written agreement for support of the petitioner must be submitted to the family court or a support magistrate for approval, and further provides that if such agreement is approved, the court without further hearing may enter an order for the support of the petitioner in accordance with the agreement. Such order is binding upon the respondent and is in all respects a valid court order.

Prior Legislative History:

This is a new bill.

Statement in Support:

The bill would offer social services districts and parties a non-adversarial, alternate process for establishing support obligations, thereby affording families and social services districts an opportunity to establish child support orders more quickly, less expensively and in a non-adversarial setting. This approach would not only serve to augment support establishments through traditional court-centered processes but would also significantly increase the overall number of support establishments, particularly in larger social services districts where utilization of a problem solving administrative approach may free court resources to deal with more complex cases including modification and enforcement proceedings.

The bill would enhance authority for the IV-D Child Support Enforcement Program to conference cases to establish child support obligations by agreement. The bill would provide specific procedures for obtaining new support orders with a minimum of court involvement in a non-adversarial manner.

Cases that would be excluded from the administrative child support establishment process would be those that involve minor parents, require a determination of paternity, or have verified family violence indicators. Appropriate cases would be sent a notice by the social service district describing: the conference process; the date and location for the conference; and each party's right to be represented by counsel. The parties would be advised that they may contact the social services district if the party believes that pursuing child support would expose him or her or the child to physical or emotional

harm. Further, the notice would state that attendance of the respondent at the conference is not mandatory, but if they fail to appear, the conference may continue. Both parties would have to complete and return an affidavit attesting to information pertinent to establishing a support order within 15 days of service of the notice. If the respondent chooses not to return the financial affidavit, the social services district may continue the review using available information obtained under the authority of Title 6-A of Article 3 of the Social Services Law including, but not limited to, records of federal and State agencies such as the Social Security Administration, New York State Department of Tax and Finance, and New York State Department of Labor. This information would be used to either issue a non-agreed proposed child support order or a determination that no order is appropriate.

Affidavits submitted by the parties would provide information as to the income and assets of the parents, child care and medical costs for the child, and health insurance available through employment. The social services district would review the affidavits alongside other information available to the agency through existing data matches or in response to an administrative subpoena, complete a child support guidelines worksheet based upon the State's child support guidelines, and schedule a conference with the parties. The affidavit and worksheet would be promulgated by OTDA. At the conference, the result of the statutory calculation would be presented and explained to the parties. If the parties agree to the support amount, the proposed order would be printed by the social services representative, signed by the parties, and filed by the worker with the clerk of Family Court. Importantly, the order would be accompanied by signed affidavits that each party waives his or her right to service of notice of the submission of the proposed order to the court and to a court hearing. The court would then review the proposed order and waivers, and, if all are complete, the court would confirm the order within a certain limited period after its filing with the court. Once confirmed by the court, the court would mail copies of the order to the parties and the social services district. Parties would have 30 days after the confirmation date to file with the court an objection to the order.

If the parties cannot arrive at an agreement for all or part of the order, the social services district would file a petition for confirmation of a proposed non-agreed order with the court. With the petition, the social services district would include the proposed non-agreed order, along with the completed guidelines worksheet, financial affidavits, and any other documentation or information supporting the non-agreed proposed order. Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall serve the parties with copies of the petition for confirmation and the proposed order, as well as a form to request a court hearing. The parties may file a request for a de novo hearing within 20 days after the date the petition for confirmation of a non-agreed order is mailed to the parties. If a hearing is timely requested, the court would schedule a hearing within 30 days of the date the request for a hearing was filed. After the hearing the court may confirm or amend the proposed order or produce a de novo order. Once the order is confirmed the court would then serve a copy of the confirmed order to the parties along with notice of the right to

object to the order. A copy of the order would also be sent to the social services district.

In some instances, the social services district may find that an order should not be submitted by the social services district to the court. For example, if there is a mistake of fact, there is insufficient financial information available to determine an appropriate guidelines order, credible allegations are made that one of the parties to the conference is hiding income or assets, or the recipient of IV-D services requests case closure. In such instances, the agency would issue a determination that no order should be submitted and provide the basis for that determination. The determination would not affect the rights of either the social services district or either party to pursue any alternate remedies provided in law, and the social services district, where appropriate, would continue to pursue judicial establishment of a support order in accordance with current practices.

For parents, this quasi-judicial child support order establishment conference process provides a setting that promotes problem-solving and is less adversarial, and allows parents to participate in and be informed about the computation of a support order under the guidelines. Nearly half of Title IV-D child support programs nationwide utilize an administrative support establishment process. Many of the Title IV-D programs using an administrative process for support establishment report that a great number of their support orders are set administratively rather than judicially, at a substantially reduced cost, with a significant reduction in processing time and with a substantially higher compliance rate than court-ordered amounts.

The proposed process would help alleviate the burden on the court system, freeing up court time and resources to focus on more complicated cases that are not appropriate for an administrative support order establishment process. In addition, expediting support establishment would reduce the time required to obtain a support order for the parties, thereby reducing the time between application for services and receipt of the first payments. Clients would also experience savings in time and money, as multiple court hearings and adjournments often require the parties to take time off from work and arrange child care.

Budget Implications:

There would be some first-year State administrative oversight and training costs that could be funded from existing resources.Since evaluation costs would occur after implementation of the pilot project, OTDA would consider requesting additional funding for evaluation costs at that time if contractor resources are needed.

An unknown amount of increased child support collections are anticipated, and improved federal performance measures could result in an increase in federal incentive funding for New York. A survey of several states that have already implemented an administrative establishment process indicates that the rate of orders established administratively ranges from 23% to 53%. Texas reports that the total number of support orders established increased by 44%, and its support order establishment performance level grew by approximately 20% since

the inception of its administrative process in 2002. It is anticipated that implementation of an administrative establishment process in New York State would produce similar results.

Local Impact:

The bill would require social services districts that are selected for the pilot to provide an administrative conference process wherein parties could establish child support obligations by agreement. Social services districts that are part of the pilot and have previously been active in arriving at agreements for support between the parties would be positively impacted by the reduced need for court appearances and proceedings needed to establish support orders. Social services districts would also be able to streamline their intake and establishment process through this initiative, which would allow the parties to arrive at an agreed-upon order in a more timely manner without current obstacles such as court adjournments and other delays.

Effective Date:

The bill would be effective on the 270th day after it shall become law and would remain in full force and effect until three years after such effective date, at which time this act would expire and be deemed repealed.