ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT OBLIGATION
CS 844P-2 Criminal Nonsupport: Phases of
Criminal Nonsupport Cases and Procedures
09/86 Revised
03/13/26 Training Completed 03/27/26 Last Reviewed 03/30/26
18 U.S. Code 228; Utah Code 15-1-4,
76-1-302,
76-3-201,
76-7-201
and 76-7-202;
IRS Publication 1075
If a case is accepted for
criminal prosecution according to the procedures found
in CS 844P-1 Criminal Nonsupport: State Prosecution Procedures, it will be
included in one of three phases of criminal case activity listed below.
1.
Phase 1 – Pre-filing Phase: The period when the case is first referred to the criminal
nonsupport (CNS) Assistant Attorney General (AAG) but not yet filed with the
court.
2.
Phase 2 – Active Status Phase: The case has been filed with the court and hearings are scheduled
but not yet concluded.
3.
Phase 3 – Disposition and
Sentencing Phase: Criminal hearings on the
charge(s) have been concluded, sentence has been imposed and restitution has
been ordered (sentence could be probation or incarceration).
Every month, three monitoring
reports, corresponding to the three phases of criminal case activity, will be
sent to all concerned.
Phase 1 Pre-filing Procedures –
Referral for State Criminal Prosecution
After the
Office of Recovery Services/Child Support Services (ORS/
1.
Research
ORSIS to determine if the noncustodial parent (NCP) has any other cases open on
ORSIS including a case with arrears debts on the Children in Care (CIC) team.
a.
If a CSS
case(s) is found, contact the team and have it transferred to the appropriate
regional CNS contact, regardless of whether the case(s) meets the CNS criteria.
b.
If a CIC
case is found, contact the team manager and:
i.
Notify
him/her of CSS intentions to pursue criminal charges on the CSS case; and,
c.
Discuss the possibility
of including the CIC case.
2.
Generate a
“Post Office Request for Address Information” form, if needed, to re-verify the
NCP’s current address.
3.
Generate the
“Criminal Referral Notice and Statement of Understanding/Waiver” form and send
it to the custodial parent (CP) to determine if s/he is willing to fully
cooperate with the AGO.
4.
Enclose the
“Criminal Nonsupport Custodial Parent Questionnaire” and the “Criminal
Nonsupport Declaration” forms. The CP has ten days to complete and return the
forms.
a.
CP failure
to complete and return forms:
i.
Non-IV-A CP
- send the:
A.
“Non-Cooperation
Determination” letter – wait the 10-day time frame, and when/if appropriate;
B.
“60 Day
Closure Notice”.
ii.
IV-A CP -
begin the process for non-cooperation. For more information on non-cooperation,
refer to Applicant/Recipient Cooperation.
b.
CP returns
forms: Ensure that the forms have been properly completed and signed.
5.
Create the
Criminal Arrears Calculation Worksheet for each case being referred for CNS.
If CIC arrears are involved,
create separate spreadsheets for CIC arrears. Use the CSS support order when
preparing the worksheet for CIC time frames and ask the CIC manager to verify
it for accuracy.
NOTE: If a child is NOT in state care on the first of the month,
there is no CIC charge for that month.
Exception: On incoming intergovernmental cases, the initiating
state is responsible for providing arrears calculation, including interest if
that state is claiming interest.
6.
Safeguard
the worksheet if it contains any FTI information, the payment source, and the
amount of the federal tax intercept.
7.
Complete the
“AGO Case Referral for Criminal Prosecution” form.
8.
If there is
pending judicial action or a previous order, verify that the name listed on the
judicial action is listed appropriately on ORSIS.
9.
Ensure all
documents needed for the referral have been imaged and added to the agent’s appropriate
folder.
10.
Prepare the
appropriate referral packet.
11.
Update ORSIS
appropriately.
12.
Send the
referral packet to the criminal prosecuting attorney/AGO.
Phase 2 Procedures – Active Status Phase
In Phase 2,
the prosecuting attorney notifies the regional CNS contact
that the case has been accepted for criminal prosecution. The attorney will
provide the date the case was filed with the court, the name of the attorney
filing the case, the criminal charges that have been filed, and the status of
the case. During Phase 2, the regional CNS office contact is responsible for
monitoring the criminal case(s) and continues monitoring the case until the
final action from the AGO has been completed.
Phase 3 Procedures – Disposition and Sentencing Phase
The court
determines the NCP’s criminal nonsupport sentence(s), including the terms of
probation, although the prosecuting attorney may make some recommendations to
the court. Once this occurs, it is the regional CNS contact’s responsibility to
monitor the case(s) in ORSIS, unless otherwise dictated by the court. This part
of the process is Phase 3 (post-sentencing, probation monitoring, etc.). For
example, if the NCP is delinquent for more than 30 days or falls short of the
monthly amount ordered by the court, the regional CNS contact will notify the
assigned AAG and request an Order to Show Cause (OSC), or other appropriate
legal action.
During this
phase, the prosecuting attorney will provide
Once the
restitution order is received, the regional CNS contact is responsible for
updating ORSIS.
NOTE: If CIC
arrears have been included in the order, the regional CNS contact will add the
CIC case number to the document in Content Manager for the CIC team to view and
add the CIC debt(s) to ORSIS. The CIC debt(s) should be added using the same
criminal obligation types as the CSS case(s).
Case Actions on Criminal Cases
The regional
CNS contact will maintain the accounting in ORSIS and take the appropriate
steps to coordinate arrears balances and judgments with the assigned AAG to be
consistent with the restitution order. Criminal nonsupport cases are included
in automated income withholding and automated enforcement notices and actions.
The post-order agent will proceed with state and federal tax refund intercepts
as usual. You may enforce medical support obligations, and review, adjust or
modify orders, if appropriate. If an order is modified, immediately notify your
regional CNS contact.
Do not take
any other administrative or civil, child support enforcement actions after a
case has been referred for
criminal prosecution, or while the NCP is on probation without first obtaining
the consent of the CNS AGO.
Distribution of Criminal Restitution Payments
Occasionally,
in multiple case situations, a case may not be
included in the criminal restitution order. There are several reasons that this
may occur, for example, the case did not have an order for child support at the
time restitution was ordered, the CP was not willing to cooperate with the AGO
at the time the charges were being pursued against the NCP, or the AGO may not
have been aware of an order for support at the time of prosecution. When/if
this occurs, it is best to allow ORSIS to distribute the payments without
manual agent intervention, if possible. When the non-restitution order is added
to ORSIS for that case, it is automatically included in the ORSIS distribution
of payments (e.g., the new case will receive current support using the same priority
as CNS cases with current support). Once the current support for each case is
met, ORSIS should apply arrears payments to the applicable CNS cases until the
full arrears payment has been met according to the
restitution order. Once/if this amount is met, ORSIS will distribute arrears
payments to the non-CNS case. The regional CNS contact is responsible to ensure that all payments distribute
according to the restitution order and in the manner described above.
EXAMPLE:
1.
Case Facts: The NCP has
three cases:
a.
Case A – The
NCP owes:
i.
$150.00 for
CRS; and,
ii.
$7,500.00 in
back support.
b.
Case B – The
NCP owes:
i.
$220.00 for
CRS; and,
ii.
$8,0000.00 in
back support.
c.
Case C –
There is not an order for current support.
d.
CSS pursues
CNS for Case A and B and obtains a restitution order. The restitution order
requires the NCP to pay:
i.
$370.00 for
CRS (Case A = $150.00, Case B = $220.00);
ii.
$300.00 for
arrears to be split evenly between Case A and Case B ($150.00 per case); and,
iii.
All other CRS
debts that may be owed on cases not part of this action.
e.
During the
CNS proceeding and prior to the restitution order being taken, CSS establishes
an order for $100.00 CRS and $4,225.00 in arrears for Case C.
2.
Procedures: Once the
order is received by the regional CNS contact, s/he completes:
a.
The
appropriate ORSIS screens for current support and arrears of $450.00.
b.
As an added
precaution, the regional CNS contact adds a monthly arrears payment of $150.00
to the appropriate screen for both Case A and Case B. If the CP is:
i.
Currently
receiving cash assistance – Add $150.00 to the appropriate debt.
ii.
Not receiving
cash assistance – Add $150.00 to the appropriate debts.
NOTE: By adding the court ordered arrears amounts to the
appropriate screen, the debt takes priority over all other debts, except CRS and current spousal support (CSS)
debts.
3.
Payment received:
Payments posted to ORSIS will distribute as follows:
a.
A payment of
$400.00 is received – ORSIS will distribute the payment to all three cases for
CRS. Because the payment was for $400.00 and the CRS amount due for all three
cases is $470.00, no payment is applied to the arrears.
b.
A second
payment for $400.00 is received – ORSIS distributes the remaining $70.00 owed
for CRS to the appropriate remaining case(s), leaving a balance of $330.00 to
distribute to the arrears. Both Case A and B have a $150.00 monthly arrears
payment (totaling $300.00 in arrears restitution) added to the appropriate
screen, ORSIS pays these debts next, leaving a balance of $30.00 to be evenly
distributed between all three cases ($10.00 each).
NOTE:
If all of the CPs included in the restitution order
have been Non-IV-A for at least one year and debt roll is not occurring on the
case, use the method described above. However, if debt roll is occurring on a
case, add a posting instruction to the appropriate screen to notify accounting
to meet CRS on all cases first. Make
sure you list the case number(s) and amounts to be applied to arrears for each
case to ensure that current support is met on all of the NCP’s cases and any
CNS court ordered arrears debts
before any money is applied to arrears.
CS 844-2.8 Transferring the Case
Debts to the Office of State Debt Collection (OSDC)
When a court orders a transfer of debts to the
OSDC, CNS workers should transfer the case debts as ordered beginning with
step #8, below. However, if a transfer of debts has not been ordered, workers
may request a transfer of debts if:
·
The case is arrears only and the NCP’s
probation has expired; or,
·
The case is arrears only and the NCP has
served the prison sentence; or,
·
The NCP is deceased; and,
·
The case meets the criteria on the
Uncollectible Case Checklist and Reviewing Tool form.
Once you have identified a case that may qualify,
review the case with your supervisor, the ARD or RD, and consult with the
assigned AAG. If the supervisor, ARD or RD, and the assigned AAG agree that the
debts should be transferred to the OSDC, send an email with a request to review
the case to the CNS paralegal responsible for the case and the AAG.
NOTE: In most cases, the
court will transfer all remaining debts to OSDC however, there are cases when
only the restitution judgment will be transferred. In this situation, ORS will
continue to collect on the non-transferred debts until the duration of the
judgment has expired per CS 812P Duration of Child Support Judgments.
If a payment is received
on a case after the debt has been transferred to OSDC and the ORS case balance
is zero, Accounting will forward the payment to OSDC.