ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT OBLIGATION
CS 844P-2 Criminal Nonsupport: Phases of Criminal Nonsupport Cases and
Procedures
09/86 Revised
09/01/25 Training Completed 09/15/25 Last Reviewed 10/01/25
18 U.S. Code 228; Utah
Code 15-1-4(3), 76-1-302, 76-3-201(1)(b), 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 agent team, 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 Affidavit”. 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
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.
Prepare the
appropriate referral packet.
10.
Update ORSIS
appropriately.
11.
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 to
update 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 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.