The Ugly Truth About the State of NC, Child Support and Its Children in Poverty.

       NC and its Children in Poverty

The state of NC has over 40,000 of its children living in poverty and they make the problem worse by STEALING CHILD SUPPORT from these children.  In the state of NC, when a family applies for assistance they have to sign over there rights to child support to the state.  The state has the right to keep the amount that they pay to the family.  NC keeps in full all child support paid to these families even though it violates the state law G.S. 110-137 and the federal law DRA of 2005. 

ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS

As a condition of eligibility for Work First, the applicant/recipient must assign to the state the "rights to support" from any other person on his/her own behalf, or on behalf of any other family member for whom the applicant/recipient is applying for or receiving assistance. G.S. 110-137 accomplishes an automatic assignment of rights of child support for recipients of Work First for or on behalf of a dependent child up to the amount of WFFA/TANF paid. 

And to add insult to injury it steals money by telling families that they owe money to the state when they leave the rolls of public assistance. They continue to steal the money that is not owed because THEY ARE POOR. This further keeps the family in poverty and creates friction between the parents because the family believes no support is being paid.  This saddles parents that are struggling to pay support with an unnecessary burden. When children feel the parent is not paying child support they also believe their absent parent does not care about them.

RETROACTIVE SUPPORT

RETROACTIVE SUPPORT OVERVIEW

"Retroactive support" is a support amount established for a time period before the start date (or effective date) of a child support obligation. The start date is the date when the first payment is due. Support that is effective on or after the start date is considered to be "ongoing support". A retroactive support amount is owed to the State when custodial parents (CPs) assign their rights to support to the State when they receive Public Assistance (PA) for their children. A retroactive support amount is owed to the CP if CSS establishes a support amount based on the noncustodial parent’s (NCP’s) fair share of specific expenses that were incurred by that CP for the child(ren) prior to the start date of the support obligation.

Since June 30, 1975, acceptance of PA on behalf of a child creates a debt due and owing the state. Under the authority of NCGS 110-135, if child support was required to be paid for a period when PA was received, that support is owed to the State. CSS must address retroactive support owed to the State if PA was received for a child whenever an ongoing support obligation is being established.

If an ongoing obligation is not established, CSS does not pursue retroactive support owed to the State. (For example: The court establishes paternity but does not order ongoing support because the NCP is 17 years old and in school, or the CP and NCP reunite after the establishment process has begun and no ongoing support is established. In these situations, an obligation for retroactive support that is owed to the State should not be established.) If ongoing support is established at a later date and the statute of limitation has not been reached, CSS addresses the establishment of retroactive support owed to the State.



RETROACTIVE SUPPORT OWED TO THE STATE-

RETROACTIVE SUPPORT OWED TO THE STATE-

• Retroactive support is owed to the State if Public Assistance (PA) was paid on behalf of the child during any period(s) prior to the start date of the support order. When custodial parents (CPs) receive PA, they assign their rights to support to the State. Because of the legal principles of "res judicata" and "collateral estoppel", CSS must address the issue of retroactive support owed to the State when establishing the initial child support obligation. If retroactive support owed to the State is not included in the initial order, the opportunity to collect it is lost.
• The CSS program is entitled to pursue retroactive support owed to the State for assistance paid after June 30, 1975 (NCGS 110-135). In accordance with 45 CFR 302.45, support must be based on the child support guidelines and must take into consideration the earnings and income of the parties in the CSS case.
• Retroactive support owed to the State must be determined based on:
The amount of PA paid on behalf of the child(ren); and
The noncustodial parent's (NCP's) ability to pay support during the period when PA was paid on behalf of the child(ren) as determined under the child support guidelines that were in effect at the beginning of the time period for which retroactive support is sought.


INTERGOVERNMENTAL – REQUEST FOR RETROACTIVE SUPPORT OWED TO THE STATE

Prior to October 13, 1989, states submitted petitions for the establishment of an order for the recovery of retroactive support owed to the state for a time period prior to the start date of a child support order, because Public Assistance was paid on behalf of the child only. As of October 13, 1989, states can no longer request the recovery of retroactive support owed to those states from another state based solely on the expenditure of past paid public assistance. However, if the initiating state has established an order for retroactive support owed to the state, a request can be submitted to the responding state to enforce the terms of that judgment or order.

Just because you recieved assistance does not mean that you "OWE THE STATE" and they have no right to collect it  unless it is established in the original court order. 

Millions are being stolen from poor families simply because they are poor.