Texas Family Code 231.305 – Memorandum of Understanding On Child Support for Children Receiving Public Assistance
(a) The Title IV-D agency and the Texas Department of Human Services by rule shall adopt a memorandum of understanding governing the establishment and enforcement of court-ordered child support in cases involving children who receive financial assistance under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code. The memorandum shall require the agency and the department to:
(1) develop procedures to ensure that the information the department is required to collect to establish and enforce child support:
(A) is collected from the person applying to receive the financial assistance at the time the application is filed;
(B) is accurate and complete when the department forwards the information to the agency;
(C) is not information previously reported to the agency; and
(D) is forwarded to the agency in an expeditious manner;
(2) develop procedures to ensure that the agency does not duplicate the efforts of the department in gathering necessary information;
(3) clarify each agency’s responsibilities in the establishment and enforcement of child support;
(4) develop guidelines for use by eligibility workers and child support enforcement officers in obtaining from an applicant the information required to establish and enforce child support for that child;
(5) develop training programs for appropriate department personnel to enhance the collection of information for child support enforcement;
(6) develop a standard time, not to exceed 30 days, for the department to initiate a sanction on request from the agency;
(7) develop procedures for agency participation in department appeal hearings relating to noncompliance sanctions;
(8) develop performance measures regarding the timeliness and the number of sanctions resulting from agency requests for noncompliance sanctions; and
(9) prescribe:
(A) the time in which the department is required to forward information under Subdivision (1)(D); and
(B) what constitutes complete information under Subdivision (1)(B).
(b) The Title IV-D agency and the Texas Department of Human Services shall review and renew or modify the memorandum not later than January 1 of each even-numbered year.
Terms Used In Texas Family Code 231.305
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Rule: includes regulation. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005