CASE MANAGEMENT
CS 1088P Children in Care (CIC) Good
Cause Waiver
06/02 Revised 10/23/25 Training Completed 11/06/25
Last Reviewed 11/04/25
NOTE: CIC-specific procedures contained in this section.
Statutory
Authority
Utah Admin. Code R527-220-5 states:
“(1) A waiver request may be made when:
(a)(i) the order is established and the requesting agency does not intend to waive the child support for both parents; or
(ii) an order has not been established and the requesting agency intends to waive the child support for both parents;
(b) ORS collects the child support on behalf of the state; and
(c) child support collections interfere with family reunification efforts or when unpreventable loss of income to the present family creates an undue hardship.
(2) A loss of income described in Subsection (1)(c) 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.
(3) The requesting agency's caseworker shall initiate the waiver request and forward it to their supervisor, regional director, division director, or designee for approval.
(4) After a support order has been established, if required, the requesting agency may approve or deny the Good Cause Waiver request at any stage in the process. The supervisor, regional director, division director, or designee described in Subsection (3) may not approve the waiver request when it proposes actions that are contrary to state or federal law. Once all levels in the requesting agency have approved the waiver, the division director or designee shall send the waiver to the ORS director or designee.
(5) The ORS director or designee will review the waiver request, and if appropriate, ORS will stop collection efforts and close the child support cases intended to reimburse the state for time in custody. ORS will notify the caseworker for the requesting agency that the waiver has been processed. The requesting agency will notify the family of the final decision.”
NOTE: As stated
in CS Appendix A Acronyms and Glossary of ORS/CSS Terms, Child in Care Good
Cause Waivers apply to “. . . the
state agency which is the recipient of child support reimbursement [i.e., the
Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS), Juvenile Justice and Youth
Services (JJYS), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)]. . . .”
Waiver
Considerations
Good Cause Waivers are initiated by
workers with the custodial agency [i.e., DCFC, JJYS, etc.], not by Office of
Recovery Services (ORS) workers. The action may be prompted by a parent
requesting that a Good Cause Waiver request be submitted on his/her behalf or
by the case manager or someone working closely with the child and parents for
the custodial agency who believes a request for a waiver is appropriate.
The process to obtain a waiver applies
only after the support amount is determined and the order for support is issued
unless the agency requesting the Good Cause Waiver intends to waive all support
from both parents.
Each requesting agency is responsible to
create and maintain its own policies and procedures concerning when a Good
Cause Waiver is appropriate; however, the general guidance is contained in
R527-220-5(1) which indicates that a waiver request is appropriate if:
“(c)
child support collections interfere with family reunification efforts or when
unpreventable loss of income to the present family creates an undue hardship.”
Good
Cause Waiver Process
Once it is determined that a Good Cause
Waiver request is appropriate, the request and review process consists of the
following steps:
1.
The caseworker for the custodial
agency (i.e., DCFS, DSPD, etc.) will complete the Children
in Care Good Cause Waiver Form. The caseworker for the custodial agency should
include any documentation that would support the request (i.e., a statement
from a doctor or an employer) according to each agency’s policy.
2.
Once the form has been completed,
the caseworker for the custodial agency will submit the form and the supporting
documentation (as directed by each agency’s policy) to his/her Supervisor,
Regional Director, and Division Director/Superintendent (or designee) for
approval, in that order.
3.
At each level of approval within
the custodial agency, the reviewing individual will either approve or deny the
waiver request. If the request is denied, it will be returned directly to the
custodial agency caseworker.
4.
If the Division
Director/Superintendent (or designee) of the custodial agency approves the
request, it will be forwarded to the ORS Constituent Services. ORS Constituent
Services acts as the “designee” for the ORS Director in the waiver process.
5.
ORS Constituent Services will
review the request and take the following steps:
a.
Make the appropriate
selection in Step 4 of the Good Cause Waiver request, based on the
circumstances. If ORS is unable to process the request, make the appropriate
selection on the form and complete the process. The form will then be routed
back to the custodial agency caseworker for review.
b.
Regardless of whether ORS is
able to process the request, the system will generate a completed PDF of the
request, which will be automatically emailed to ORS Constituent Services. Print
this PDF and send it to the Central Imaging Unit (CIU) to be added to the case
file.
c.
Narrate on the applicable
case that the request for Good Cause has been processed by ORS, or has been
returned to the custodial agency as unable to process.
NOTE: If the request is unable to be processed,
notify the initiating agency by returning the form to the appropriate contact
in that agency. Also inform the ORS caseworker to continue enforcing the child
support on the case.
d.
E-mail the ORS caseworker for
the case informing him/her of the decision. If the request is able to be
processed, instruct the caseworker to prepare the case for closure.
e.
Record the waiver request
information in the ORS/CIC Good Cause Waiver Request log.
6.
The custodial agency will notify the
family of the final decision.
Emergency
Waiver Requests
In a situation where the custodial agency feels that the safety of the child(ren) in custody or the caseworker is at stake, the custodial agency’s division director/superintendent may complete a Children in Care Good Cause Waiver Form, indicate that the waiver is an emergency request, and bypass all of the other levels of review within the custodial agency.
ORS
Procedures if Good Cause Waiver is Approved
If the Good Cause Waiver is approved, there is no need to modify the support order to reflect the approval. The Children in Care Good Cause Waiver Form with the approval signatures will act as the record documenting why support is not being charged on the case.
Once ORS is
notified of the approved waiver, the obligation for current support and/or
arrears is waived for the duration of the current period of state custody and
until the court terminates its jurisdiction. Follow the case closure procedures
found in CS 061 Case Closure Overview.
NOTE: A new Good Cause Waiver is not needed when a child
returns home for a trial home placement and then returns to state custody so
long as the court maintained jurisdiction. However, a new Good Cause Waiver is
needed if the court terminates jurisdiction and later reinstates jurisdiction
for further court action. If you do not receive a new Good Cause Waiver for the
reinstated action and there is an existing order, you may load the ongoing
child support and/or arrears from the date of the new placement.
Statewide
Permanent Waiver for Limited Programs
In May 2019, the Executive Director of the Department of Health and Human Services signed a permanent statewide waiver of all child support collections for placements in the Utah State Hospital, the Utah State Developmental Center, and the Division for People with Disabilities. ORS ceased enforcement and establishment and closed the existing cases for these placements in June, 2019.