When child support and/or alimony are not covered by the assignment of rights to support, Child Support Enforcement (CSE) does not keep it and send it to the Division of Finance and Administrative Services (DFAS). These payments are counted as income to the Eligibility Unit (EU). The following types of child support and alimony are not covered by the assignment of rights to support.
- A military allotment made payable and sent to the EU. The EU keeps the allotment. Include it as income on the Temporary Assistance (TA) budget. Notify CSE when a child initially receives a military allotment. CSE can collect a military allotment in some situations, but only after arranging to have the check sent and made payable to the State, Circuit Clerk, FSD, or local or State CSE. When CSE collects the military allotment, exclude it as income on the TA budget in accordance with instructions for support covered by the assignment of rights. EXCEPTION: When the court order (i.e. divorce decree) stipulates that support in the form of a military allotment be paid, the TA participant must send this military allotment to CSE even though it is made payable and sent to the EU.
- Alimony or maintenance payments from an absent spouse, when: the spouse does not owe child support for a cash eligible child; or these payments are made to an individual not included in the TA cash grant. INCLUDE such alimony on the budget as income. CSE does not keep this income. EXCLUDE alimony as income on the budget if the noncustodial parent/absent parent pays alimony for an individual who is included in the TA cash grant. This is the only situation in which CSE keeps alimony.
- Payments made to a provider by the noncustodial parent/absent parent on behalf of family members when such payments are specified in the court order. EXAMPLE: The court order specifies that the noncustodial parent/absent parent pay the family’s house payment, $100 monthly child support, and $1,000 maintenance/alimony. CSE keeps the $100 monthly child support payment and the $1,000 maintenance/alimony. CSE does not keep the house payment. Continue to consider the house payment made by the noncustodial parent/absent parent as income-in-kind and exclude from the budget.
When such provider payments are not specified in the court order, but the noncustodial parent/absent parent makes such payments in lieu of the court ordered child support payment, CSE attempts to collect such support. CSE notifies the noncustodial parent/absent parent to begin sending the child support he/she is presently paying on behalf of the TA EU to the Family Support Payment Center (FSPC). The FSPC sends these payments to DFAS to keep on behalf of CSE.
- CSE does not collect (as child support) social security benefits, veteran benefits, or any other disability or retirement benefits received by a child due to a noncustodial parent/absent parent’s disability or retirement. However, notify CSE of any case in which a child starts to receive these benefits. The noncustodial parent/absent parent receives a credit toward his/her current child support obligation when a child receives social security or veteran benefits based on the noncustodial parent/absent parent’s disability/retirement. In each case, the information must be child specific. The social security benefits, veteran benefits, or any other disability or retirement benefits received by the child are coded as such on the INCOME (FMX0) screen in FAMIS. This income is not considered child support income for the child.