2165 Failure to Cooperate - For TANF, Food Assistance and Child Care purposes, failure to cooperate with CSS will result in ineligibility and/or potential penalties.

 

Penalties for non-cooperation with CSS apply to the program(s) that were open when the non-cooperation occurred.

 

Because penalties can result in a temporary hardship to the family without other alternatives of support, penalties must be applied with much care and consideration. To ensure that penalties are applied uniformly and appropriately, the following guidelines must be applied in all instances of non-cooperation:

  1. There is documented evidence that the person was made aware of the cooperation requirement.

  2. There is documented evidence that the person was informed of the consequences for failing to cooperate and of the ability to report good cause. This includes documentation that the ES-3102, Important Information About Cooperation, was discussed and/or provided to the client.

  3. If a referral has been made to DV/SA for a work program participant due to sexual harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the eligibility worker must check with the Career Navigator to determine if there is good cause for failing to cooperate due to sexual harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

  4. A personal contact to discuss the non-cooperation must be attempted and documented in the case file. This contact attempt may be completed by CSS as long as a form verifying this attempt is placed in the case file. This personal contact may be by letter, phone call, office visit, or home visit.

2165.1 TANF Noncooperation - Ineligibility or a penalty may not be imposed until a referral has been made to CSS and CSS determines the person has not cooperated.

 

  1. When a parent fails to cooperate, there is ineligibility for TANF for the mandatory filing unit of which the child is a member. This includes parents who are excluded from the TANF case due to receipt of SSI or who are disqualified due to fraud or being a drug felon (on or after July 1, 2013) or ineligible non-citizen.

    Penalties for non-cooperation with CSS apply to the program(s) that were open when the non-cooperation occurred.

    NOTE: If the parent who fails to cooperate is a minor parent under 18 who is unable to act in own behalf, only the individual minor parent is ineligible for assistance. Penalties accrued by this minor parent do not count as a penalty when the minor becomes an adult cash recipient.

  2. A needy non-legally responsible caretaker (on the TANF case) fails to cooperate, there is ineligibility for the caretaker until the caretaker cooperates. The children remain eligible for assistance.

  3. When a non-legally responsible caretaker fails to cooperate, the children remain eligible for assistance without penalty.

NOTE: Ineligibility or penalties do not apply to children for whom the caretaker is not a parent or cohabiting partner of a parent.

 

  1. Non-Cooperation While in Applicant Status - Referrals to CSS are made after an application is approved.If a prior determination of non-cooperation is unresolved and the person completes a new application for TANF, cooperation must be established prior to the application being processed.

    If the non-cooperation is by a parent, the application is pended, allowing 10 days for cooperation. If the parent cooperates within 10 days, process the application, otherwise deny. If the parent cooperates within the 45-day application processing time frame, the application is reinstated and benefits prorated from the date of application. A new application is required if cooperation occurs after the initial application’s 45-day processing standard. [See 1414.2 (3) and 3522].

    NOTE:     If the parent who fails to cooperate is a minor parent under 18 who is unable to act in own behalf, only the individual minor parent is ineligible for assistance.

    If the non-cooperation is by a non-legally responsible caretaker, assistance is approved for the children only, if otherwise eligible. If the caretaker cooperates after assistance for the children is approved and requests assistance for himself/herself, eligibility is to be prorated from the date of cooperation. [See 1414.2 (3) and 3522].

    If CSS provides notification of cooperation from a prior non-cooperation penalty, EES will need to assure cooperation has occurred for all the absent parents for the children in the home prior to processing the application.

  2. Non-Cooperation While in Recipient Status - When a parent fails to cooperate with CSS, the mandatory filing unit of the child for whom the parent failed to cooperate shall be ineligible. The period of ineligibility for cash assistance is as follows:

NOTE: Penalties for children in the MFU will not count against the child when the minor becomes an adult cash recipient.

NOTE: If the parent who fails to cooperate is a minor parent under 18 who is unable to act in own behalf, only the individual minor parent is ineligible for assistance. The penalty shall be applied giving timely and adequate notice.

 

NOTE: See 2552(1) for special budgeting provisions that apply to the corresponding for food assistance program.

 

2165.2 Food Assistance Noncooperation –


  1. Applying the Ineligibility - For food assistance, any person who fails to cooperate with CSS per 2160 shall be ineligible for food assistance until the person cooperates with CSS. The person’s resources shall be counted in full and a pro-rata share of their income counted per 4212.2. The remaining household members may get benefits if otherwise eligible.

    Ineligibility may not be imposed until a referral has been made to CSS and CSS determines the person has not cooperated. If, however, it is discovered that CSS has a determination of non-cooperation for applications dated on or after 7/01/2015, including CSS non-cooperation with cash or child care programs, a referral shall be sent to CSS and the individual not cooperating shall be an excluded household member until the month after cooperation is established. If non-cooperation is discovered to be from an application date of any DCF program before 7/01/2015, then the individual may be included for food assistance and a referral to CSS will need to be sent.

  2.  Re-qualifying After Cooperation - When the household member cooperates with CSS, CSS will notify EES staff. The person is to be added to the food assistance case (changed from excluded to included ) effective for the month following the month of cooperation per 9121.1.


2165.3 Child Care Non-Cooperation - Ineligibility or a penalty may not be imposed until a referral has been made to CSS and CSS determines the person has not cooperated.

 

  1. Non-Cooperation While in Applicant Status - Referrals to CSS are made after an application is approved. If a prior determination of non-cooperation is unresolved and the person completes a new application for Child Care, cooperation must be established prior to the application being processed. A local office may also develop a special referral procedure between EES and CSS to determine the cooperation status of applicants prior to application processing, although this is not required or encouraged.

    If CSS provides notification of cooperation from a prior non-cooperation penalty, EES will need to assure cooperation has occurred for all the absent parents of the children in the current nuclear family prior to processing the application.

    If the non-cooperation is by a parent, the application is pended, allowing 10 days for cooperation. If the parent cooperates within 10 days, process the application, otherwise deny. If the parent cooperates within the 30-day application processing time frame, the application is reinstated, and benefits prorated from the date of application. A new application is required if cooperation occurs after the initial application’s 30-day processing standard. [See 1414.2 (3) and 3522].

    NOTE: (See 1423) Child Support Penalties cannot be placed for actions (failure to cooperate) taken after a closure notice has been sent. Child Support penalties can be placed for failure(s) to cooperate if those failures occurred prior to the notice of closure.

  2. Non-Cooperation While in Recipient Status - When a parent fails to cooperate with CSS regarding the absent parent of a child for whom Child Care benefits are being received and remains in non-cooperation status at the time the eligibility review is processed, the nuclear family of the child for whom the parent failed to cooperate shall be ineligible.  If non-cooperation exists at the time of the review, the parent must be allowed 10 days to reestablish cooperation. If the parent fails to reestablish cooperation, a penalty will be applied at the end of the current eligibility period, and the period of ineligibility for child care assistance is as follows:

NOTE: A Child Care plan may not be terminated prior to the end of an existing eligibility period to apply a penalty for non-cooperation with CSS.  If non-cooperation occurs during an existing eligibility period and the parent/caretaker remains in non-cooperation status at the time the eligibility review is processed, the applicable penalty will be applied at that time.

See KEESM 2162 regarding good cause if a caretaker reapplies for Child Care during an existing penalty and needs Child Care to participate in a TANF or Food Assistance work program.

NOTE: If during the eligibility period the caretaker fails to cooperate with Child Support Services regarding the absent parent of a child in the nuclear family who is not receiving Child Care benefits and the caretaker remains in non-cooperation status at the time of the review, eligibility cannot be established for a new eligibility period for other children in the nuclear family until cooperation occurs.  However, a penalty would not be applied to the case.

 

EXCEPTIONS - The following exceptions are made when applying penalties or ineligibility for failure to cooperate with CSS:

 

2166 Reporting of Support to EES - The amount of current support received on each TANF case is reported to EES automatically on the system. EES staff shall determine whether or not there is continuing eligibility if the amount of reported support is treated as nonexempt income. (See 6220 (4), 6410 and 7100.)

 

2167 Paternity of Alleged Father in the Home (Not Applicable to Child Care) - For situations in which the father is in the home with the child, paternity must be established when TANF or food assistance is requested. This provision shall apply to any instance in which both parents (or the father if the mother is not present) in the home claim(s) he is the father, unless either the father or child is excluded from the assistance plan for reasons other than a sanction or other special provision as referenced in 4120 (4). This provision is not applicable while the child is unborn. See 4100 and subsections for assistance planning provisions involving paternity. Paternity for this purpose must be established in one of the following ways:

 

  1. The parents were married at the time of the child's birth. For purposes of this provision, a common-law marriage shall not establish paternity;

  2. Paternity has been established through appropriate court action; or

  3. The father is listed on the child's official birth certificate, issued by Vital Statistics, as the child's father. This provision only applies to children born on or after July 1, 1994. This provision does not apply if either of the following conditions exist:

 

    1. The mother was legally married to someone else at the time of the child's birth; or

    2. The mother was divorced within 300 days of the child's birth.

In the two above situations, EES is to make a regular referral to CSS for paternity establishment. These paternities must be resolved by a court; expedited paternity is not applicable.


2167.1 Expedited Paternity Establishment - If paternity is not established through items (1), (2), or (3) above, a referral is to be made to CSS for paternity establishment. This may occur at the time of initial approval or when the father begins living in the home at a later time. Expedited Paternity referrals will be sent on the system. The relationship of the presumed father and child will be treated as unrelated until paternity has been established. If the mother and father state that he is the biological father of the child, the worker will make an Expedited Paternity referral on the system and share this information in the referral. They must

cooperate in establishing paternity. A copy of the notice and any supporting documentation as established by the area are to be sent to the appropriate CSS Unit. Following this, one of the following actions will occur:
 

  1. If either the mother or father fails to contact or otherwise cooperate with CSS or chooses not to sign the required paternity related forms, CSS shall promptly notify the worker.

    Failure of the mother or father to cooperate in establishing paternity by not contacting CSS or refusing to sign required documents for reasons other than claiming his paternity to the child is questionable shall result in ineligibility for the mandatory filing unit of the child per provisions in 2165. See 2165.2 for food assistance.
     

    If the father cooperates, but chooses not to sign required documents because paternity is questioned, he shall be treated for TANF purposes as a cohabitant. (see 4100). If she refuses to sign required documents because she states the paternity is questionable, she will be eligible as long as she otherwise cooperates in the establishment of paternity. In these situations, the worker will process the application or ongoing TANF case based on the provisions of 4100.

  2. If the mother and alleged father contact CSS and, following disclosure of basic information including rights and responsibilities, sign the required paper(s), CSS will notify the worker that paternity has been acknowledged.

Generally, the process can be accomplished within ten working days. A case should not be pended while waiting for this determination.

 

For food assistance, if paternity is not established, an expedited paternity referral is to be sent to CSS. Benefits shall not be delayed for the pending referral if the household is otherwise eligible.
 

2167.2 Special Case Situations

 

  1. Legal vs. Biological (Alleged) Father. In these situations the mother is currently or was married to a different person at the time she was pregnant or during the child's birth. This establishes a legal father contrary to claims that the real (biological) father is in the home. When these circumstances are identified, both the mother and alleged father may volunteer for referral to CSS pending the eligibility determination. In the contact CSS will be able to do a more in-depth analysis of the circumstances at the time of the child's birth and advise the clients of legal aspects of the situation. If CSS responds that a voluntary order is obtained, the worker will process the case considering paternity established with the father in the home. However, in most instances CSS 's response may be that a legal father exists and a voluntary order is not possible. This will not affect the MFU. See 4100.
     

  2. If the persons do not volunteer or do not follow through with this referral to CSS pending eligibility, or if CSS responds that a voluntary order is not possible, the alleged father is to be treated as a cohabitant (for TANF purposes)to the child in question and the case is to be processed in that manner. In such instances, the child support referral should list the legal father as the absent parent and a comment  message "Paternity Referral-Legal vs. Alleged Father" included. Since this initial process is voluntary, the MFU is not subject to loss of assistance or penalty prior to approval. However, a penalty is applicable if they fail to cooperate with any CSS requirements following case approval.  See 2165.2 for food assistance if they fail to cooperate.
     

  3. Minor Parent. If one parent is an adult and the other emancipated or if both parents are emancipated, the case is to be treated as though both are adults and handled as described at the beginning of this section (i.e., screened for paternity establishment, referred to CSS pending eligibility if necessary and penalties applied to the mandatory filing unit for noncooperation). See 2112 for emancipation requirements. Note that this provision does not apply if either parent is able to act in own behalf only through provisions in 2112.
     

    If either parent is a minor and not emancipated, CSS cannot expeditiously process a voluntary order. This is because appointment of a guardian ad litem is required and generally takes considerable time. For these situations (or if paternity is otherwise established by marriage or court order), the case may be approved treating him as the father without a referral to CSS pending eligibility. A referral must be made to CSS at the time of case approval, however, if paternity is not otherwise established. The CSS referral should be completed with information on the minor father and a comment message "Minor Parent Paternity Referral" included.
     

  4. Single Parent Father. This situation addresses circumstances in which the father is in the home while the mother is absent, and he is unable to document paternity to a child(ren) through marriage or a court order.

    If the mother is available (e.g., lives in the community) and agrees to cooperate in the process, or if she is deceased and substantiation of death is readily available, a referral to CSS for paternity establishment pending eligibility is required and handled per general instructions earlier in this section.
     

    If he fails to cooperate, the mandatory filing unit is ineligible.  See 2165.2 for food assistance. If he cooperates, but does not sign a voluntary order because he questions paternity, he is treated as a nonrelative to the child and can receive assistance only if he otherwise qualifies as a caretaker or cohabitant (4100). For food assistance, if he is exercising parental control over the child, he can get food assistance for himself and the child.
     

    If the mother is not available or if documentation of her death is not readily available, the case is to be processed treating him as the father provided other documentation and/or prudent person judgement would merit such. Upon case approval, the CSS referral must be completed listing the mother as the absent parent and a comment message "Single Parent Father" included. The father continues to be required to cooperate or the mandatory filing unit is subject to loss of eligibility per 2165 above.  See 2165.2 for food assistance non-cooperation.
     

    After the case has been processed either including or excluding persons as appropriate, the qualifying parent(s) continues to be responsible to cooperate in establishing or finalizing paternity as necessary. Failure to do so shall result in ineligibility for assistance per provisions in 2165 above.  See 2165.2 for food assistance non-cooperation.