1. (a)

   1. (1) Unless a claim of “good cause” has been determined or is pending determination, the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration will be notified when transitional employment assistance (TEA) is approved for a child who has an absent parent or for whom paternity is not legally established.
   2. (2) This notice provides information regarding the child’s noncustodial parent and/or putative father so that the Office of Child Support Enforcement can start paternity or child support enforcement activities for the family.
2. (b) The referral to the Office of Child Support Enforcement is system generated from information keyed by the county office to the parent tab in ANSWER.

3. (c) A referral will be made on the following persons:

   1. (1)

      1. (A) The absent parent of any minor child or unmarried minor parent who is not the head of household.
      2. (B) If both parents are absent from the home, a referral will be made on each parent.
      3. (C) Note.

4. (i) If the child has a legal father under state law and such father is absent from the home, the referral will be made on the legal father even if the mother states he is not the biological father.

   1. (ii) In that situation, a memorandum explaining it, with information about the alleged biological father, will be sent to the Office of Child Support Enforcement; and

   2. (2) The putative (alleged) father of a child for whom legal paternity has not been established, including a putative father living in the home with the child (see 20 CAR § 502-321).

      1. (d) In single-parent adoption situations, there is no Office of Child Support Enforcement referral to make unless the adoptive single parent is absent from the home.

5. (e)

   1. (1) If good cause has been determined to exist, no referral to the Office of Child Support Enforcement will made on the parent on whom the claim was based.
   2. (2) The good cause indicator code will be entered on the child’s member record on ACES.

6. (f) Good cause claim pending.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) If a good cause claim is pending at the time the application is ready to be approved, the approval will not be delayed.
      2. (B) Assistance will be authorized in the amount for which the family is otherwise eligible without regard to the good cause claim, i.e., the adult claiming good cause will be included.
      3. (C) No Office of Child Support Enforcement referral on the parent on whom the claim is based will be made while the good cause claim is pending.

   2. (2) Except in situations in which domestic violence is not an immediate issue, the following procedure will be followed to ensure that the claim is resolved in a timely manner following certification:

      1. (A) On the same day the approval notice is sent, notify the casehead that the corroborative evidence and/or information to conduct an investigation must be provided by a specified date (twentieth day from the date the claim was made); and
      2. (B) If the evidence and/or information is not received by the specified date, notify the casehead via DCO-1 that he or she must provide the evidence, or the absent parent information needed for the Office of Child Support Enforcement referral, within ten (10) days or the cash assistance payment will be reduced by twenty-five percent (25%) for noncompliance with the child support requirements.
   3. (3) For cases involving a more immediate domestic violence situation, e.g., family is living in a shelter, the case manager should use discretion in determining time frames for completing the good cause determination.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: “12/06/11” This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows at subsection (f): "07/01/1999" "ACES" means Automated Client Eligibility System.