CASE MANAGEMENT

CS 1088P Children in Care (CIC) Good Cause Waiver

 06/02 Revised 01/24/24 Training Completed 02/07/24 Last Reviewed 02/05/24

R527-220

                                                                                                                              

NOTE:  CIC-specific procedures contained in this section.

 

 

Statutory Authority

 

Administrative Rule 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:  Good Cause Waivers apply to “…the state agency which is the recipient of child support reimbursement (i.e., DCFS, JJYS, DHHS)...”

 

 

Waiver Considerations

 

Good Cause Waivers are initiated by workers with the custodial agency, 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.  Follow the case closure procedures found in policy.

 

 

Statewide Permanent Waiver for Limited Programs

 

In May, 2019, the Executive Director of the Department of Human Services signed a permanent statewide waiver of all child support collections for placements in the Utah State Hospital (USH), the Utah State Developmental Center (USDC), and the Division for People with Disabilities (DSPD).  ORS ceased enforcement and establishment and closed the existing cases for these placements in June, 2019.