TANF Child Support CONV.pub

GOVERNMENTOFTHE

DISTRICTOFCOLUMBIA

OFFICEOFTHE

ATTORNEYGENERAL

TEMPORARYASSISTANCEFOR

NEEDYFAMIILIES(TANF),

MEDICAID,ANDCHILDSUPPORT

CHILDSUPPORTSERVICESDIVISION



4414thStreetN.W.,Suite550N

WASHINGTON,D.C.20001

PHONE:(202)442‐9900FAX:202‐724‐3710

www.cssd.dc.gov

What is Temporary

Assistance to Needy Families

( ”TANF”)?

The TANF program is the time lim-

ited public welfare program which

assists families with children when

the parents or the responsible rela-

tives cannot provide for the fami-

lies’ basic needs.

What is Child Support?

Child Support is when the Non-

Custodial Parent (NCP) has an obli-

gation to make payments to the

Custodial Parent (CP) for the wel-

fare and benefit of the child. Child

Support includes financial support

and/or medical sup-

port.

What is Medicaid?

The Medicaid Program provides

medical benefits to groups of low-

income people, some whom may

have no insurance or inadequate

medical insurance.

How does TANF/Medicaid &

Child Support work together?

When a parent receives TANF and/

or Medicaid, the District pays for the

benefits to be provided to the parent

and family. In return for paying the-

se benefits, the District is allowed to

keep child support payments to re-

imburse itself for the cost of the ben-

efits.

When I receive TANF/

Medicaid, what happens to my

child support payments?

Federal law says that every TANF

and/or Medicaid customer must

have a child support case. When

you apply for TANF and/or Medi-

caid, you assign your rights to re-

ceive child support to the child sup-

port program.

What does it mean to assign

your rights?

Assignment of rights means that a

parent transfers his/her rights to re-

ceive some or all of his/her child

support payments to the District as

payment for public assistance bene-

fits he/she received from the District

under TANF and/or Medicaid.

What is the Child Support

Pass Through Program?

The District of Columbia will pro-

vide additional income to IV-D

customers who receive TANF ben-

efits. The new law allows up to

$150 of a NCP’s child support pay-

ment to be distributed directly to

the CP. The pass-through payment

is provided to the CP in addition to

the TANF benefits.

Will I receive $150?

You will receive the entire $150 if

your current monthly obligation is

$150 or more and the NCP pays.

Will the child support office

find out I am receiving TANF?

What if I do not report that I

am receiving TANF to the

Child Support ?

YES! When you open a TANF and/

or Medicaid case, the TANF office

will automatically send your case

information to the child support

office to open a support case,

whether or not paternity has been

established.

The non-custodial parent

does not know that I am re-

ceiving TANF, will the non-

custodial parent still be re-

sponsible for paying TANF

arrears?

Yes, whether or not the non-

custodial parent has knowledge

that you are receiving TANF ben-

efits does not change their re-

sponsibility to pay TANF arrears.

If the non-custodial parent fails

to pay child support when you are

receiving TANF, the case will ac-

crue arrears, which are charges

for missed payments. The non-

custodial parent will be responsi-

ble for paying the current support

amount and the TANF arrears.

What if I haven't been re-

ceiving my child support

payments?

When the non-custodial parent,

who is ordered to pay child sup-

port, falls behind in paying the

child support obligation, he or

she accrues arrears. You may be

entitled to receive arrears de-

pending on when the arrears ac-

crued.

How Long Does an Assignment

of Rights Last?

The assignment ends when you no

longer receive public assistance.

When you are no longer receiving

public assistance, you will receive

your current support.

Rights to arrears that accrued

before I applied for TANF

TANF customers who apply for

TANF benefits on or after October 1,

2009 are not be required to as-

sign their rights to child sup-

port arrears that existed before

the customer applied for TANF.

For additional information: contact the

Customer Service Team at (202) 442-9900

Usted puede solicitar totalmente gratis

servicios de interpretación por teléfono o

en persona, así como pedir que se le tra-

duzcan algunos documentos. Si tiene al-

guna pregunta sobre este documento, por

favor llámenos al (202) 442-9900.