HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 085 Draft 02 1992-1994COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII
RESOLUTION N0: ~ ~ 93
(Draft 2)
APPROVING AGREEMENT BETWEEN OFFICE
OF THE CORPORATION COUNSEL AND THE STATE
OF HAWAII, CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
RESPECTING SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
PURSUANT TO PL 93-47
WHEREAS, the Office of the Corporation Counsel has for a
number of years performed a significant service to families in
our community through support enforcement activities
encompassing establishment of paternity of children born out of
wedlock and securing and enforcing support for them; initiation
and enforcement of support under the Uniform Reciprocal
Enforcement of Support Act (inter-state and inter-county) and
enforcement of support orders relating to divorce and other
matrimonial actions, all pursuant to statutory mandate or
cooperative agreement; and
WHEREAS, under the proposed Plan of Cooperation between the
County of Hawaii and the State, the Office of the Corporation
Counsel shall continue to carry on the same activities it has
been carrying on in the past .and in addition, shall also assist
the State in initiating action to pursue collection of support
from payors who have submitted as payment a check which has
been dishonored due to insufficient funds; and
WHEREAS, the aforesaid support enforcement services will be
reimbursable by the State of Hawaii, Child Support Enforcement
Agency to the extent of 100 percent (100$) of said operations,
and further providing for an incentive profit to the County of
Hawaii.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY
OF HAWAII that the Council approves in principle the provisions
of support enforcement services, and authorizes the Honorable
Mayor Stephen K. Yamashiro to sign a Cooperative Agreement, the
final draft of which should be substantially similar to the
Cooperative Agreement attached hereto.
FURTHER, the Council approves and authorizes the Mayor to
execute the immediate proposed agreement between the Office of
the Corporation Counsel and the State of Hawaii, Child Support
Enforcement Agency.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk be directed to
forward a copy of this Resolution to the Honorable Stephen K.
Yamashiro, Mayor.
Dated at Hilo, Hawaii, this 11th day of August
1993.
BY:
COUNTY COUNCIL
County of Hawaii
Hilo, Hawaii
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by the
vote indicated to the right hereof adoppted by the COUNCIL of
the County of Hawaii on Auqus t 11 , 1993
ATTEST:
,~
COUNTY CL$ K ~ CHAIRMAN & PRESIDING OFFICER
ROLL CALL VOTE
~ ~_ AYES ~ NOES ~ ABS ~ EX
Reference C-489/FC-78
RESOLUTION NO. - ~~ 9:~
(Draft 2)
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
This COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT is being entered into between the
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY, STATE OF HAWAII, hereinafter referred
to as "CSEA", and the COUNTY OF HAWAII, for its Department of the Corporation
Counsel, hereinafter referred to as the "Corporation Counsel".
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Purp9se
The purpose of this agreement is to establish procedures for the securing of
financial and medical support for minor children through the following actions including, but
not limited to, establishment of paternity for children born out-of-wedlock, establishment of
child support and medical support orders, enforcement of support orders, initiating action
against payors who submit checks which are dishonored due to inadequate funds, initiation of
interstate actions pursuant to the Uniform Reciprocal of Support Act (URESA), and handling
of appeals filed by a parent who is aggrieved by a paternity judgment or support order
entered by the court.
II
Terms Used
The following terms throughout this Cooperative Agreement are defined as
follows:
"AFDC" means Aid to Families with Dependent Children, which is a public
assistance program for families with children who are deprived of one or both of their
parents by reason of death, disability, or continued absence from the home.
"Title IV-A" means Title IV-A of the federal Social Security Act which covers
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the AFDC program.
"Title IV-D" means Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act which covers
the child support enforcement program. Title IV-D cases include eligible AFDC, foster
care, and Medicaid (public assistance) cases where the recipient has assigned rights to
support to the State, cases where the custodial pazent was formerly on public assistance, and
cases that do not involve public assistance where the custodial parent or the absent pazent has
filed an application form with CSEA.
"Title IV-E" means Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act which covers
the federally-funded foster care program.
"Title XIX" means Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act which covers
the Medical Assistance program, also known as "Medicaid".
III
Confidentiality
Records and information provided by CSEA to the Corporation Counsel shall
be safeguazded in accordance with all relevant federal and State laws and regulations
including title 45, part 303.21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (45 CFR 303.21), 45 CFR
303.70, 26 U.S.C. 6103 (p)(4), and section 576D-12, H.R.S. The information received by
the Corporation Counsel in the execution of the child support enforcement program shall be
used exclusively for the purposes of that program.
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Responsibilities of CSEA
A. CSEA, being the single and separate organizational unit mandated to
administer the child support enforcement program, will coordinate all activities related to
child support enforcement with the Corporation Counsel and other agencies when indicated.
B. CSEA will provide all information necessary for the Corporation
Counsel to carry out the tasks under this AGREEMENT.
C. CSEA will refer Title IV-D cases to the Corporation Counsel where
legal action is necessary to establish paternity within two (2) working days of the date the
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referral or application is filed with CSEA if all necessary information is available, or within
two (2) working days of the date the alleged absent parent is located, whichever is sooner.
D. CSEA will refer Title N-D cases to the Corporation Counsel where
initiation of URFSA action is necessary within two (2) working days of the date the referral
or application is filed with CSEA if all necessary information is available, or within two (2)
working days of the date the absent parent is located, whichever is sooner.
E. CSEA will utilize the full range of investigative methods to locate
absent or putative fathers and provide the Corporation Counsel with information necessary to
take the next appropriate action in the case, including an address where the absent or putative
father may be served papers, the absent parent's social security number, the absent parent's
date of birth, and, if applicable, verification of income and assets.
F. CSEA will provide the Corporation Counsel with information necessary
to certify an absent parent's child support payment history.
G. CSEA will coordinate activities with the Title N-A agency in order to
provide certification of AFDC payments.
H. CSEA will inform applicants and recipients of public assistance who
have assigned their rights to support to the State of their duty to cooperate with all attempts
to establish paternity and to obtain support for their dependent children.
I. CSEA will inform the Title N-A/Title ]V-E/Title XIX agency of
custodial parents receiving AFDC or Medicaid, or whose children are receiving foster care
assistance, who fail to comply with requirements related to establishment of paternity or
support.
J. CSEA will refer payors and employers who provide support payments
which are dishonored due to inadequate funds.
K. CSEA will make staff available as necessary to testify in any legal
action to establish paternity or support or to modify a support obligation.
L. CSEA will provide for collection of child support payments, allocation
of payments over the accrued obligation, computation and distribution of incentive payments
to the Corporation Counsel, if any, and for the collection, maintenance, and reporting of all
related fiscal data.
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M. CSEA will be solely responsible for the reimbursement to the
Corporation Counsel for its assistance in the child support enforcement program, said
reimbursement to be made in accordance with Section VI of this AGREEMENT.
N. CSEA will monitor this AGREEMENT to ensure effective
implementation of its terms and to identify any problems that may affect the delivery of
services promised under the arrangement.
V
Rgsponsibilities of the Corporation Counsel
The Corporation Counsel shall have the following responsibilities but only to
the extent necessary to perform the functions contracted for herein:
A. The Corporation Counsel shall maintain an organizational structure and
staff to provide for child support enforcement functions in all cases received from CSEA.
The Corporation Counsel shall:
1. Employ a staff in sufficient numbers to achieve the standazds
necessary for an effective program, including but not limited to, attorneys to represent
the CSEA in court; other personnel to perform necessary legal, investigative,
collection, accounting, data processing, clerical, administrative, and other support
functions; and
2. Keep CSEA apprised of all personnel actions pertaining to civil
service exempt staff; submit to CSEA for consultation and approval any proposed
personnel action which may impact on CSEA's expenditure plan and funding to the
Corporation Counsel.
B. The Corporation Counsel shall initiate action to establish paternity and
support orders within timeframes prescribed by federal regulations. Such action may involve
the following tasks:
1. Assess the mother's allegation and determine appropriate action;
2. If the alleged father admits paternity, take appropriate action to
legally establish paternity and obtain a child support order;
3. If paternity is denied, set the matter for hearing;
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4. Evaluate corroborating evidence and determine appropriate
action;
5. Prepare and file paternity complaint; and
6. Attempt to recover fees to the extent possible.
C. The Corporation Counsel shall coordinate all cases requiring initiation
of URESA action, including:
1. Referring cases to the responding state's interstate central
registry for action, including URESA petitions, requests for location, document
verification, administrative reviews in federal income tax refund offset cases, income
withholding, and state income tax refund offset;
2. Provide the child support enforcement agency in the responding
state sufficient and accurate information to act on the case by submitting with each
case any necessary documentation and appropriate URESA forms; and
3. Contact the responding child support enforcement agency for
status reports.
D. The Corporation Counsel shall determine to whatever extent possible
that the amount of the support obligation is determined by the State's child support
guidelines. If an exception to the guidelines is made, the reason fot the exception must be
documented and the following criteria must be taken into consideration:
1. All earnings, income, and resources of the absent parent,
including real and personai property;
2. The earnings potential of the absent pazent;
3. The reasonable necessities of the absent parent;
4. The ability of the absent pazent to borrow money;
5. The needs of the child for whom the support is sought;
6. The amount of assistance which would be paid to the child
under the full standard of need of the State's Title IV-A plan; and
7. The existence of other dependents.
E. The Corporation Counsel shall require that support payments by pazents
be made payable to the CSEA.
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F. The Corporation Counsel shall represent CSEA in divorce cases
involving custodial parents who have assigned their rights to support to the State.
G. The Corporation Counsel shall inform the CSEA of any case of
suspected public assistance fraud pursuant to section 346-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which
the Corporation Counsel may discover in the course of providing paternity and child support
services.
H. The Corporation Counsel shall inform the CSEA of any non-
compliance by the custodial parent in a title IV-A or Title XDf case or by the absent parents
in a Title N-E case with requirements related to establishment of paternity and support when
such non-compliance precludes further process in establishing a support order.
I. The Corporation Counsel shall initiate action to pursue collection of
support from payors who have submitted as payment a check which has been dishonored due
to insufficient funds.
J. The Corporation Counsel shall establish and make available for
program review or audit by authorized State and federal officials, case records for any case
referred by CSEA for services pursuant to this AGREEMENT, including, but not limited to,
the following:
1. Case records, which shall contain:
a. The referral document received from the CSEA or the
application for services from the individual and the date such document or
application was received by the Corporation Counsel; and
b. Any other documents or copies of documents sent,
received, or otherwise processed in the course of providing services pursuant
to this AGREEMENT.
2. Information shall be inputted to and maintained in the
Automated Child Support Enforcement System which shall wntain:
a. A record of any action relevant to the processing of the
case, and the date such action was taken, to:
(1) Establish support obligations and obtain court
orders of support;
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(2) Establish paternity by acknowledgment or by
court order;
(3) Review support obligations and, if applicable,
obtain administrative orders modifying support;
(4) Enforce support orders to obtain current support
obligations as well as arrearages by any enforcement or collection
remedy permitted or required by law;
(5) Any applications to utilize the federal courts or
for collection of delinquent payments by the Secretary of the United
States Treasury Department;
b. A record of all relevant facts, dates, actions taken,
contacts made, and results in a case.
K. The Corporation Counsel shall implement procedures to ensure security
of all confidential information, including information contained in case records and electronic
data files. Case records and all supporting documentation shall be retained for at least three
years after the public assistance case is closed or the Title TV-D case is closed, whichever is
later.
L. The Corporation Counsel will, upon request or as needed, meet with
the CSEA staff to discuss referrals, problems, forms, scheduling, etc.
Reimbursement for Services
A. The Corporation Counsel shall submit a proposed expenditure plan to
CSEA, detailing any costs that are to be covered with CSEA funds for approval by the
CSEA. The expenditure plan shall be submitted at the time of the signing of this
AGREEMENT for the period of time covered from the date of signing through June 30,
1993,and thereafter, by July 1, 1993, for the period July 1, 1993 through June 30, 1994.
Upon final approval, this expenditure plan shall impose limits upon expenditures for the
respective periods unless approval for additional expenditures is given by CSEA.
B. As applicable, the Corporation Counsel must maintain a cost allocation
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plan approved by CSEA which complies with the standards contained in 45 CFR Part 74.
The Corporation Counsel must submit the draft or approved cost allocation plan with the
proposed expenditure plan. Allowable expenditures will be those indicated as eligible under
45 CFR Part 304 for federal financial participation.
C. The Corporation Counsel will submit monthly billing to CSEA not later
than the fifteenth calendaz day of the month following the month in which the expenses were
incurred for all actual allowable direct and induect expenditures incurred under this
AGREEMENT. Upon receipt of the billing, the CSEA will reimburse the Corporation
Counsel for all costs allowed under the approved expenditure plan unless any of the
provisions of Section VI, paragraph E apply. Should a late submission result in costs being
covered by a lesser federal financial participation rate than the rate that was applicable had
the invoice been submitted when due and a higher rate of state funds is required to cover the
costs, the Corporation Counsel shall assume the amount of the difference between the amount
of federal reimbursement received for the billing and the amount that would have been
received had the billing been submitted when due.
D. The maximum rate of incentive payment for any given quarter shall be
proportionate to the number of cases referred to the Corporation Counsel in the given quarter
(X) in relation to the average monthly number of Titie T~-D cases which aze active with
CSEA during the same period of time (Y). The amount of the incentive payment shall be
computed using the following formula: X/Y x the amount of incentives earned by CSEA
during the respective quarter as estimated by the federal government. Any necessary
adjustment to the amount of incentives based on the variance between the estimated amount
of incentives and the actual amount of incentives shall be made in the month(s) subsequent to
notification by the federal government as to the actual amount of incentives earned by CSEA.
Based on the evaluation of the Corporation Counsel's performance, the rate of incentive
payment may be reduced in accordance with Section VII, pazagraphs G and H, of this
AGREEMENT.
E. The CSEA reserves the right to withhold the reimbursement of
expenditures subject to the signing of this AGREEMENT and approval of the expenditure
and cost allocation plans. Reimbursement to the Corporation Counsel, which is set at 100%
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of all expenses allowed under the approved expenditure plan, is expressly subject to the
continuing availability of federal funds and CSEA reserves the right to unilaterally adjust
funding to the Corporation Counsel in the same proportion as any federal modification, or
either party may terminate the contract when federal financial participation is reduced or
terminated.
VII
Performance Criteria
A. The Corporation Counsel is responsible to ensure that all referrals to
their office aze processed in such a manner as to meet the child support enforcement program
performance standards as follows:
1. Within no more than ninety (90) calendar days of the alleged
absent pazent having been located, on a case that requires paternity establishment:
a. File for paternity establishment;
b. Complete service of process to establish paternity; or
c. Document unsuccessful diligent attempts to serve
process.
2. Within one yeaz of successful service of process or the child
reaching six months of age, whichever is later:
a. Establish paternity; or
b. Exclude the alleged father as a result of genetic tests
and/or legal process.
3. In any case where multiple alleged fathers are named, the
requirements set forth in 45 CFR 303.5(a)(3) apply;
4. Actions necessary to establish support obligations in paternity
cases must be completed within ninety (90) days of establishing paternity;
5. Where attempts to serve process have failed and adequate
identifying and other information exists to serve process, diligent attempts to effect
service of process must be repeated periodically;
6. Interstate cases shall be processed using the most expeditious
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and effective legal means available to establish paternity and support obligations;
7. Interstate cases referred to a responding jurisdiction for URESA
action shall be handled according to the following criteria:
a. Within twenty (20) calendar days of determining that the
absent parent or putative father is in another state, and, if appropriate, receipt
of any necessary information needed to process the case, the case must be
referred to the responding state's central registry for appropriate action;
b. Within thirty (30) calendar days of receiving a request
for additional information from a responding state in an interstate case, the
responding state must be notified of such information or notified as to when
such information will be provided; and
c. Within ten (10) working days of receiving new
information on an interstate case, the child support enforcement agency in the
responding state must be notified of such information.
B. Action to initiate legal process to establish paternity and support
obligations shall be completed within timeframes prescribed by federal regulations in at least
75% of the cases referred.
C. Final court orders in paternity and support cases shall be provided to
CSEA within seven (7) working days of their receipt by the Corporation Counsel.
D. Services on a case shall be terminated only when the case meets case
closure criteria of 45 CFR 303.11, whereupon the Corporation Counsel shall inform CSEA
of the need for closure.
E. It is expressly understood that the Corporation Counsel represents
CSEA in all cases, and as such, all the rights and responsibilities of an attorney/client
relationship exists.
F. As general performance criteria, the Corporation Counsel will:
1. Comply with applicable federal and State laws, rules,
procedures, and the Hawaii Code of Professional Responsibility;
2. Attempt whereever possible to achieve cost effectiveness by
consolidating court hearings, travel, child support enforcement case proceedings,
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procedures, forms, etc.;
3. Be well versed in case law as it relates to child support
enforcement matters. The attorneys are also expected to have knowledge and
understanding of the following:
a. Federal laws and regulations on child support
enforcement;
b. Hawaii laws on paternity, non-support, and dependent
children;
c. Federal child support enforcement action transmittals;
d. CSEA manual materials, when provided; and
4. Know and understand the statute of limitations as it applies in
any child support case, including paternity, and shall file all actions in a timely
manner to protect the State against losses due to the statute of limitations, except
those cases that the Corporation Counsel and CSEA deem without merit.
G. Performance Review Plan:
1. The CSEA shall perform annual personnel, fiscal, and program
reviews of the Corporation Counsel's operation. For the purpose of these reviews the
Corporation Counsel will make available those records necessary to evaluate
performance.
2. Should the Corporation Counsel be found to be deficient in any
aspect of its performance under this AGREEMENT, based on annual reviews or other
performance indicators, CSEA will send written notification to the Corporafion
Counsel identifying the deficient performance azeas and requesting a corrective action
plan. The notice shall be provided within thirty (30) calendaz days of completing a
review or a finding of deficiency.
3. Corrective action plan process:
a. The Corporation Counsel shall submit a corrective action
plan addressing each of the identified deficiencies within thirty (30) calendar
days from the date of notification. The plan must state the planned steps that
the Corporation Counsel will take to bring about the needed correction and the
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timeframes within which the correction will be accomplished.
b. Any penalty will be suspended for a period not to exceed
one yeaz from the date of the notice if the corrective action plan is approved
by CSEA within thirty (30) calendaz days of the date of receipt, or approved
automatically because the CSEA took no action within thirty (30) calendaz
days of the date of the receipt of the plan, and CSEA fmds that the corrective
action plan is being fully implemented and progress is being made to achieve
substantial compliance with the unmet requirements cited in the notice.
c. Within one year of the date of the notice, CSEA will
conduct a review to determine whether the cited areas have been corrected to
achieve full wmpliance with the requirements.
H. Should the Corporation Counsel fail to provide a corrective action plan
that addresses the deficiencies identified in the notice or fail to achieve full compliance in the
areas cited on a timely basis, the payment for incentives specified in Section VI, paragraph
D, shall be reduced by 54o for the next month, and any subsequent months thereafter, until
wmpliance is accomplished. Written notice of this action will be made to the Corporation
Counsel by CSEA.
Conditions of Agreement
All conditions of this AGREEMENT aze understood to incorporate the terms
of the Title 1V-D State Plan, including amendments. All actions taken under this
AGREEMENT are to conform to applicable federal and State statutes and regulations. In
cases of dispute, the CSEA is the authority for the interpretation of any such material.
IX
Amendment and Termination
A. This AGREEMENT may be amended from time to time at the request
of either party with respect to any matter including, but not limited to, revised Title 1V-D
program requirements, budget revisions, scope of services, or amount of reimbursements.
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Such requests and amendment shall be in writing.
B. This AGREEMENT may be terminated immediately upon the mutual
agreement of the parties. Either party may terminate this AGREEMENT, but only after
sixty (60) days written notification of such intention is received by the other party.
C. This AGREEMENT will be terminated should there be violations of
federal or State Liw, failure to take appropriate corrective. action as set forth in Section VII,
or repeated failure. to perform without good cause within the parameters of the performance
standards of this AGREEMENT.
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X
Effective Dates
This AGREEMENT shall commence effective October 1, 1992 and shall
continue in full force and effect until June 30, 1994. It may be renewed upon the same
terms of addiflonal periods of no more than two (2) years contingent upon written agreement
of CSEA and the Corporation Counsel.
In witness whereof, the parties hereto have executed these presents on the date
opposite their signatures below.
Date By
ADMINISTRATOR
CHII,D SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
Date By
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Date By
MAYOR OF HAWAII
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALTTY:
CORPORATION COUNSEL
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
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