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Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019) |
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R495. Human Services, Administration |
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R495-879. Parental Support for Children in Care |
| R495-879-1. Authority and Purpose |
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(1) The Department of Human Services is authorized to create rules necessary for the provision of social services by Section 62A-1-111. (2) The purpose of this rule is to provide information to parents relating to the establishment and enforcement of child support when a child is placed in an out-of-home program. |
| R495-879-2. Child Support Liability |
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The Office of Recovery Services will establish and enforce child support obligations against parents whose children are in out-of-home placement programs administered by the Department of Human Services or Department of Health. The department shall consider fees for outpatient and day services separate from child support payments. Establishment and enforcement of child support shall be pursuant to the Uniform Civil Liability for Support Act, Title 78B, Chapter 12; Child Support Services Act, 62A-11-301 et seq.; Support and expenses of child in custody of an individual or institution, 78A-6-1106. |
| R495-879-3. Support Guidelines |
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Child support obligations shall be calculated in accordance with Child Support Guidelines, Sections 78B-12-201, 78B-12-203 through 78B-12-216, 78B-12-219, 78B-12-301, 78B-12-302. |
| R495-879-4. Establishing an Order |
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ORS may modify and establish child support orders through the Child Support Services Act, 62A-11-301 et seq.; Administrative Procedures Act, Section 63G-4-102 et seq.; Jurisdiction - Determination of Custody questions by Juvenile Court, Subsection 78A-6-104; and in accordance with R527-200. |
| R495-879-5. Good Cause Deferral and Waiver Request |
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(1) If collections interfere with family re-unification, a division may, using the Good Cause-Deferral/Waiver (form 602), request a deferral or waiver of arrears payments once a support order has been established. The request may be applied to current support when an undue hardship is created by an unpreventable loss of income to the present family. A loss of income may include non payment of child support from the other parent for the children at home, loss of employment, or loss of monthly pension or annuity payments. The request shall be initiated by the responsible case worker and forwarded to his or her supervisor, regional director, division director/superintendent, or designee for approval. (2) After a support order has been established, the Good Cause Deferral and Waiver request may be denied or approved by the referring agency at any stage in the process. Once the waiver has been approved at all levels in the referring agency, the division director (or designee) shall send the waiver to the ORS director (or designee) for review and decision. If the requesting agency disagrees with the ORS director's (or designee's) decision, the request may be referred to the Executive Director of the Department of Human Services for a final decision. The requesting agency will notify the family of the final decision. The request shall not be approved when it proposes actions that are contrary to state or federal law. |
| R495-879-6. In-Kind Support |
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(1) ORS may accept in-kind support after the support amount has been established, based on the parent's service to the program in which the child is placed. The service provided by a parent must be approved by the director of the division or the superintendent of the institution responsible for the child's care. The approval should be based on a monetary savings or an enhancement to a program. If geographical distances prohibit direct service, then the division director or superintendent may approve support services for in-kind support that do not directly offset costs to the agency, but support the overall mission of the agency. For example, a parent with a child receiving services at the Utah State Hospital (USH) may provide services to a local mental health center with the approval of the USH superintendent. (2) A memorandum of understanding shall be signed by the division/institution and the parent specifying the type, length, and dollar value of service. Verification of the service hours worked must be provided by the division/institution to ORS (using Form 603) within 10 days after the end of the month in which the service was performed. The verification shall include the dates the service was performed, the number of hours worked, and the total credit amount earned. The in-kind service allowed shall be applied prospectively up to the current support ordered amount. Unless approved by the director of the Department, in-kind support approved by one division/institution shall not be used to reduce child support owed to another division/institution. In-kind support shall not be approved when it proposes actions that are contrary to state or federal law. |
| R495-879-7. Extended Visitation During The Year |
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A rebate shall be granted to a parent for support paid when a child's overnight visits equal 25% or more of the service period. The rebate will only be provided when the service period lasts six months or more. The rebate will be proportionate to the number of days at home compared to the number of days in care. One continuous 24-hour period equals one day. |
| R495-879-8. Child Support and Adoption Assistance |
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ORS will establish and enforce child support obligations for parents who are currently receiving adoption assistance or who have received adoption assistance from this state or any other state or jurisdiction, for children who are in the custody of the state, in accordance with Sections 78A-6-1106, 78B-12-106, R495-879-2 and R495-883-3. If an order for support does not currently exist, the department will establish a monthly child support obligation prospectively on existing cases. When establishing a child support obligation, ORS will not include the adoption assistance amount paid to the family in determining the family's income, pursuant to Section 78B-12-207. |