Wyo. Code R. 049-0009-8
Child Support Program
Chapter 8: Distribution of Support Collections
Effective Date: 05/20/1991 to 06/01/1999
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 049.0009.8.05201991
Federal regulations at 45 CFR 302.51, and 302.32 prescribe the manner in which support collections on assigned obligations are to be distributed. The basic principles are listed below. Any conflict between these regulations and the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement's interpretation of the federal regulation will be resolved in favor of the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement's interpretation.
(a) Amounts collected, except for amounts collected through federal tax refund interception, are to be applied first to the required support obligation for the month in which the support obligation was collected.
(b) Any amounts collected in excess of the required monthly obligation are applied first to the accrued AFDC arrearages.
(c) No amounts may be considered a payment on future support until payments on the current month and all past months have been made.
(d) The support payment representing the current monthly obligation which causes a family to become ineligible for assistance must be retained by the state to reimburse the state and federal governments for any assistance payments made to the family.
(e) No collection made from TRIP may be considered a payment on the current month's obligation.
(f) Collections on active AFDC cases, except for collections from TRIP, will be distributed in the following order:
(i) the state pays the first fifty dollars ($50.00) of support collected on current support obligations directly to the AFDC family; a payment will be considered a payment on the current support for a prior month if the payment was made by the obligor in the month due, but received by CSES on a subsequent month;
(ii) amounts in excess of the first fifty dollars ($50.00) collected in a month which represents payment on the required support obligation for that month are retained by the state, up to the amount of AFDC paid to the family that month;
(iii) any amount collected on the current obligation for a month that is in excess of the amounts required for repayment of the AFDC grant is paid to the family;
(iv) any amounts collected in excess of (i), (ii), and (iii), are retained by the state as reimbursement for past assistance. If past assistance payments are greater than the total obligation owed, the maximum amount the State may retain as reimbursement for such assistance payments is the amount of such obligation, unless amounts are collected which represent the required support obligation for periods prior to the first month in which the family received assistance under the State's Title IV-A plan, in which case such amounts may be retained by the State to reimburse the difference between such support obligation and such assistance payments.
(v) any amounts collected in excess of the total assistance paid are paid to the family.
(a) After AFDC case closure, collections are distributed as follows:
(i) current support to the family, then
(ii) arrearage payment applied first to assigned arrears assigned (retained by the state), up to the full amount of unreimbursed AFDC, and then
(iii) any additional payments are applied to arrears accrued after the AFDC case closure (that is, unassigned arrears paid to the family).
(b) If the former recipient reapplies for AFDC, any arrearage which accrued while the AFDC case was closed is reassigned to the state.
(c) If the arrearage is collected through TRIP, the entire amount collected will first be applied to the assigned arrearage due the state, and any excess will be paid to the family; no amounts collected through TRIP will be considered a payment on the current support obligation.
Distribution of collections on current IV-E Foster Care cases must be made in the following order:
(a) amounts that represent payment on the required support obligation for that month (up to the amount of the foster care maintenance payment) are retained by the state;
(b) any amounts collected in excess of the monthly amount required for repayment of the maintenance payment, and up to the monthly support obligation, are paid to the State agency responsible for supervising the child’s placement and care;
(c) any amounts collected in excess of (a) and (b) above, are retained by the state as reimbursement of past AFDC or Foster Care assistance; if past assistance is greater than the total support obligation owed, the maximum amount the state may retain as reimbursement is the amount of such obligation; if amounts are collected which represent the required support obligation prior to the family receiving AFDC or Foster Care assistance, such amounts may be retained by the state to reimburse the difference between support obligations and such payments;
(d) any amounts collected in excess of the above are paid to the state agency responsible for the child’s placement and care, to be used in the best interest of the child;
(e) any amount collected representing payment on the required support obligation for future months shall be applied to those future months if the amounts which have been collected fully satisfy the support obligation assigned for that month and all past months; and
(f) the fifty dollar ($50.00) pass-through does not apply to Foster Care cases.
Federal law requires that up to fifty dollars ($50.00) per month be passed through to the AFDC family from any collection of current support. The basic rules on the fifty-dollars pass-through are as follows;
(a) if less than fifty dollars ($50.00) in current support is collected in one (1) month, only the actual amount collected will be passed through to the family.
(b) only one fifty dollar ($50.00) payment per month will be passed through to the family, even if current support is collected in the same month from two or more absent parents.
(c) the DEFRA pass-through is determined by the date of receipt of the current support payment. Federal regulations define date of receipt as follows:
(i) for non-interstate cases - the date collection is received by the IV-D agency or its collection agent (the Clerk of the District Court), or if paid by income withholding, the date wages are withheld from the obligor.
(ii) for interstate cases - the date collection is received by the IV-D agency (or collection agency) of the State in which the family is receiving AFDC.
(d) if it is impossible to tell when the payment was withheld from wages or received by the District Clerk, the IV-D agency will apply the payment to the month in which it is received by the IV-D agency, unless it is clear that the payment was made in the prior month.
(e) If the IV-D agency receives one or more support collections which represents two month's support payments, and no support payment was received in the previous month, the IV-D agency will treat the payments as two current support payments, rather than one current support payment and one arrearage payment, and will authorize the DEFRA pass-through for the previous month and the current month (if the AFDC case was active for both months).
(a) Collections made in behalf of a Non-PA applicant will be distributed within fifteen (15) working days of receipt by the Division.
(b) Support collections which remain undistributed due to lack of information on the obligee's whereabouts will be held by CSES. CSES will attempt to locate the obligee.
(c) Refunds of amounts collected in error, or in excess of the amount allowed to be collected through TRIP, will be made within thirty (30) days of CSES's determination that a refund is due.
Any fees, costs, or interest on judgments collected from an obligor may not reduce the amount collected on the support obligations as distributed to the family. No amounts collected shall be treated as recovery of costs unless the amount collected exceeds the amount of current and past-due support owed.