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Child Support
[EAS 44-113.7]
Definitions
Arrears
"Arrears" (also "arrearage" or "arrearages") means the unpaid support payments for past periods owed by a parent who is obligated to pay by court order. Arrears include interest and are adjusted for the amount of any partial satisfactions of the judgment. "Assigned arrears" refers to any unpaid support for past periods during which CalWORKs assistance was provided that are assigned to the state to reimburse the cost of aid.
Support
"Support" means the support obligation owed on behalf of a child, spouse, or family. It also includes past due support or arrearage when it exists. "Support", when used with reference to a minor child, includes maintenance and education.
Child Support
"Child Support" means an amount required to be paid under a judgment, decree, or order for the support and maintenance of a child or children, which provides for any or all of the following: monetary support, health insurance coverage, arrears, and may include interest on delinquent child support obligations. "Child support" may include both current child support obligations and arrears. A current child support obligation is collected pursuant to a court order for a given month. CalWORKs applicants and recipients are required to assign their child support rights to the State of California as a condition of receiving CalWORKs benefits.
Child Support Disregard
"Child support disregard" means the amount of passthrough that is disregarded from consideration as income when determining CalWORKs eligibility or grant amount.
CalWORKs Support Passthrough
"CalWORKs support passthrough" means the assigned support amount the State collects and forwards to the CalWORKs family, rather than using it to reimburse prior months of aid. For currently assisted CalWORKs families (that are not receiving aid under K1 and 3F aid codes) with one child, up to $100 is passed through, and for a family with two or more children, up to $200 is passed through. For formerly assisted CalWORKs cases, all current child support is sent to the family under the court order because the current support obligation is not assigned to the State. After the implementation of the support passthrough for former recipients and K1/3F families, although there will still be an assignment, collections towards assigned arrears will be passed through to former CalWORKs families.
Formerly Assisted CalWORKs Families
"Formerly assisted CalWORKs families" means families who received CalWORKs in the past but whose CalWORKs cases are now closed.
K1/3F Families
K1/3F families are families who are applying for or are currently receiving CalWORKs assistance under the K1 or 3F aid codes. The K1 and 3F aid codes apply to State-funded, safety net, and child-only cases in which the parent(s) is not aided but at least one child continues to be eligible for CalWORKs cash assistance. K1 is used for single parent/caretaker relative cases, and 3F is used for two-parent/caretaker relative cases.
Direct Child Support
When direct child support is received from the absent parent, the caretaker must agree to turn in that support payment unless they are exempt (Safety Net cases). If the client is not exempt and fails or refuses to cooperate in this process, that person must be penalized. Direct child support received is unearned income. Allowing the child support disregard, if applicable. Refer to Child/Spousal Support Disregard.
Safety Net/Child Only Cases
Safety Net/Child-Only (aid codes K1/3F) cases are exempt from the referral and Child Support cooperation requirements. There is no requirement for applicants or recipients of K1/3F cases to assign support rights or cooperate with Child Support requirements as a condition of eligibility for CalWORKs.
The disregard shall be applied to the direct Child Support payment, regardless of whether the Child Support income is received from the LCSA or from the non-custodial (absent) parent. IRT rules apply when this unearned income combined with any earned income, exceeds their designated IRT.
Effective July 1, 2024, Assembly Bill (AB) 207 exempts all support payments for K1/3F families from consideration as income and resources for purposes of determining CalWORKs eligibility and grant amount. Therefore, all support, including direct support payments being received by any family receiving aid under the K1/3F aid codes will be exempt from CalWORKs when determining eligibility and calculating the grant.
AB 207 also mandates that the DCSS passthrough any amount of collected support to former CalWORKs recipients and current K1/3F families for any periods where they received CalWORKs in the past under non-K1/3F aid codes referable to DCSS. Any passthrough payment that cannot be delivered to a former CalWORKs recipient (i.e., because the recipient could not be found, a paper check made out to the recipient is uncashed or expired, or there is no direct deposit account or electronic payment card on file) for a period of six months must still be used to recoup aid paid on behalf of the former recipient.
Payments From DCSS
When the DCSS receives child support payments for a CalWORKs case, a decision is made concerning the application and distribution of these funds. When the client receives funds from DCSS, use the following chart:
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If... |
Then... |
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The payment is identified as an “Excess” payment, |
Count the entire amount of the warrants received as unearned income. Excess payments are issued when the absent parent has repaid all the arrears monies owed to the county. Re-examine CalWORKs eligibility, as the absent parent may be paying more than the grant amount. |
Related Topics
Social Security, Railroad Retirement and Other Pensions
Social Security Benefits for Children
Social Security Benefits of a Minor Parent
Disability Benefits Other than Disability Based Income
Unemployment Insurance Benefits (UIB)