252B.5 - SERVICES OF UNIT.
252B.5 SERVICES OF UNIT.
The child support recovery unit shall provide the following
services:
1. Assistance in the location of an absent parent or any other
person who has an obligation to support the child of the resident
parent.
2. Aid in establishing paternity and securing a court or
administrative order for support pursuant to chapter 252A, 252C,
252F, or 600B, or any other chapter providing for the establishment
of paternity or support. In an action to establish support, the
resident parent may be a proper party defendant for purposes of
determining medical support as provided in section 252E.1A. The
unit's independent cause of action shall not bar a party from seeking
support in a subsequent proceeding.
3. Aid in enforcing through court or administrative proceedings
an existing court order for support issued pursuant to chapter 252A,
252C, 252F, 598, or 600B, or any other chapter under which child or
medical support is granted. The director may enter into a contract
with a private collection agency to collect support payments for
cases which have been identified by the department as difficult
collection cases if the department determines that this form of
collection is more cost-effective than departmental collection
methods. The department shall utilize, to the maximum extent
possible, every available automated process to collect support
payments prior to referral of a case to a private collection agency.
A private collection agency with whom the department enters a
contract under this subsection shall comply with state and federal
confidentiality requirements and debt collection laws. The director
may use a portion of the state share of funds collected through this
means to pay the costs of any contract authorized under this
subsection.
4. Assistance to set off against a debtor's income tax refund or
rebate any support debt, which is assigned to the department of human
services or which the child support recovery unit is attempting to
collect on behalf of any individual not eligible as a public
assistance recipient, which has accrued through written contract,
subrogation, or court judgment, and which is in the form of a
liquidated sum due and owing for the care, support, or maintenance of
a child. Unless the periodic payment plan provisions for a
retroactive modification pursuant to section 598.21C apply, the
entire amount of a judgment for accrued support, notwithstanding
compliance with a periodic payment plan or regardless of the date of
entry of the judgment, is due and owing as of the date of entry of
the judgment and is delinquent for the purposes of setoff, including
for setoff against a debtor's federal income tax refund or other
federal nontax payment. The department of human services shall adopt
rules pursuant to chapter 17A necessary to assist the department of
administrative services in the implementation of the child support
setoff as established under section 8A.504.
5. a. In order to maximize the amount of any tax refund to
which an obligor may be entitled and which may be applied to child
support and medical support obligations, cooperate with any volunteer
or free income tax assistance programs in the state in informing
obligors of the availability of the programs.
b. The child support recovery unit shall publicize the
services of the volunteer or free income tax assistance programs by
distributing printed materials regarding the programs.
6. Determine periodically whether an individual receiving
unemployment compensation benefits under chapter 96 owes a support
obligation which is being enforced by the unit, and enforce the
support obligation through court or administrative proceedings to
have specified amounts withheld from the individual's unemployment
compensation benefits.
7. Assistance in obtaining medical support as defined in chapter
252E.
8. a. At the request of either parent who is subject to the
order of support or upon its own initiation, review the amount of the
support award in accordance with the guidelines established pursuant
to section 598.21B, and Tit. IV-D of the federal Social Security Act,
as amended, and take action to initiate modification proceedings if
the criteria established pursuant to this section are met. However,
a review of a support award is not required if the child support
recovery unit determines that such a review would not be in the best
interest of the child and neither parent has requested such review.
b. The department shall adopt rules setting forth the process
for review of requests for modification of support obligations and
the criteria and process for taking action to initiate modification
proceedings.
9. a. Assistance, in consultation with the department of
administrative services, in identifying and taking action against
self-employed individuals as identified by the following conditions:
(1) The individual owes support pursuant to a court or
administrative order being enforced by the unit and is delinquent in
an amount equal to or greater than the support obligation amount
assessed for one month.
(2) The individual has filed a state income tax return in the
preceding twelve months.
(3) The individual has no reported tax withholding amount on the
most recent state income tax return.
(4) The individual has failed to enter into or comply with a
formalized repayment plan with the unit.
(5) The individual has failed to make either all current support
payments in accordance with the court or administrative order or to
make payments against any delinquency in each of the preceding twelve
months.
b. Notwithstanding section 252B.9, the unit may forward
information to the department of administrative services as necessary
to implement this subsection, including but not limited to both of
the following:
(1) The name and social security number of the individual.
(2) Support obligation information in the specific case,
including the amount of the delinquency.
10. The review and adjustment, modification, or alteration of a
support order pursuant to chapter 252H upon adoption of rules
pursuant to chapter 17A and periodic notification, at a minimum of
once every three years, to parents subject to a support order of
their rights to these services.
11. The unit shall not establish orders for spousal support. The
unit shall enforce orders for spousal support only if the spouse is
the custodial parent of a child for whom the unit is also enforcing a
child support or medical support order.
12. a. In compliance with federal procedures, periodically
certify to the secretary of the United States department of health
and human services, a list of the names of obligors determined by the
unit to owe delinquent support, under a support order as defined in
section 252J.1, in excess of two thousand five hundred dollars. The
certification of the delinquent amount owed may be based upon one or
more support orders being enforced by the unit if the delinquent
support owed exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars. The
certification shall include any amounts which are delinquent pursuant
to the periodic payment plan when a modified order has been
retroactively applied. The certification shall be in a format and
shall include any supporting documentation required by the secretary.
b. All of the following shall apply to an action initiated by
the unit under this subsection:
(1) The obligor shall be sent a notice by regular mail in
accordance with federal law and regulations and the notice shall
remain in effect until support delinquencies have been paid in full.
(2) The notice shall include all of the following:
(a) A statement regarding the amount of delinquent support owed
by the obligor.
(b) A statement providing information that if the delinquency is
in excess of two thousand five hundred dollars, the United States
secretary of state may apply a passport sanction by revoking,
restricting, limiting, or refusing to issue a passport as provided in
42 U.S.C. § 652(k).
(c) Information regarding the procedures for challenging the
certification by the unit.
(3) (a) If the obligor chooses to challenge the certification,
the obligor shall notify the unit within the time period specified in
the notice to the obligor. The obligor shall include any relevant
information with the challenge.
(b) A challenge shall be based upon mistake of fact. For the
purposes of this subsection, "mistake of fact" means a mistake in
the identity of the obligor or a mistake in the amount of the
delinquent child support owed if the amount did not exceed two
thousand five hundred dollars on the date of the unit's decision on
the challenge.
(4) Upon timely receipt of the challenge, the unit shall review
the certification for a mistake of fact, or refer the challenge for
review to the child support agency in the state chosen by the obligor
as provided by federal law.
(5) Following the unit's review of the certification, the unit
shall send a written decision to the obligor within ten days of
timely receipt of the challenge.
(a) If the unit determines that a mistake of fact exists, the
unit shall send notification in accordance with federal procedures
withdrawing the certification for passport sanction.
(b) If the unit determines that a mistake of fact does not exist,
the obligor may contest the determination within ten days following
the issuance of the decision by submitting a written request for a
contested case proceeding pursuant to chapter 17A.
(6) Following issuance of a final decision under chapter 17A that
no mistake of fact exists, the obligor may request a hearing before
the district court pursuant to chapter 17A. The department shall
transmit a copy of its record to the district court pursuant to
chapter 17A. The scope of the review by the district court shall be
limited to demonstration of a mistake of fact. Issues related to
visitation, custody, or other provisions not related to the support
provisions of a support order are not grounds for a hearing under
this subsection.
c. Following certification to the secretary, if the unit
determines that an obligor no longer owes delinquent support in
excess of two thousand five hundred dollars, the unit shall provide
information and notice as the secretary requires to withdraw the
certification for passport sanction.
13. a. Beginning October 1, 2007, implement the provision of
the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-171, §
7310, requiring an annual collections fee of twenty-five dollars in
child support cases in which the family has never received assistance
under Tit. IV-A of the federal Social Security Act for whom the unit
has disbursed at least five hundred dollars. When the first five
hundred dollars in support is disbursed in each federal fiscal year
for a family, the fee shall be collected from the obligee by
retaining twenty-five dollars from disbursements to the obligee. If
five hundred dollars but less than five hundred twenty-five dollars
is disbursed in any federal fiscal year, any unpaid portion of the
annual fee shall not accumulate and is not due. The unit shall send
information regarding the requirements of this subsection by regular
mail to the last known address of an affected obligee, or may include
the information for an obligee in an application for services signed
by the obligee. In addition, the unit shall take steps necessary
regarding the fee to qualify for federal funds in conformity with the
provisions of Tit. IV-D of the federal Social Security Act, including
receiving and accounting for fee payments, as appropriate, through
the collection services center created in section 252B.13A.
b. Fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be
considered repayment receipts as defined in section 8.2, and shall be
used for the purposes of the unit. The director shall maintain an
accurate record of the fees collected and expended under this
subsection.
c. Until such time as a methodology to secure payment of the
collections fee from the obligor is provided by law, an obligee may
act pursuant to this paragraph to recover the collections fee from
the obligor. If the unit retains all or a portion of the collections
fee imposed pursuant to paragraph "a" in a federal fiscal year,
there is an automatic nonsupport judgment, in an amount equal to the
amount retained, against the obligor payable to the obligee. This
paragraph shall serve as constructive notice that the fee amount,
once retained, is an automatic nonsupport judgment against the
obligor. The obligee may use any legal means, including the lien
created by the nonsupport judgment, to collect the nonsupport
judgment. Section History: Early Form
[C77, 79, 81, § 252B.5; 82 Acts, ch 1260, § 123] Section History: Recent Form
83 Acts, ch 96, § 157, 159; 90 Acts, ch 1224, § 4, 5; 92 Acts, ch
1195, § 503; 93 Acts, ch 78, §8; 93 Acts, ch 79, § 33, 38; 94 Acts,
ch 1171, §15; 97 Acts, ch 41, § 32; 97 Acts, ch 175, § 30--33; 98
Acts, ch 1170, §34; 2001 Acts, ch 79, §2, 4; 2003 Acts, ch 145, §219,
220; 2005 Acts, ch 69, §8, 9; 2007 Acts, ch 218, §45, 137--141, 157,
187; 2008 Acts, ch 1157, §2; 2009 Acts, ch 15, §16, 17; 2009 Acts, ch
133, §97, 223
Referred to in § 252B.1, 252B.2, 252B.6, 252B.9, 252B.23, 421.17
Footnotes
For transition provisions applicable to existing child support
recovery unit rules, procedures, definitions, and requirements, and
for nullification of 441 IAC rule 98.3, see 2007 Acts, ch 218, §186