Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

Victim Who Needs Child Support 143
first $50 per month that he pays in current child support — in addition to the full
amount of public assistance benefits she receives. 3 A third benefit is that the
agency may be able to succeed in obtaining, and enforcing, a child support order
that is much higher than the amount she receives in public assistance, and she will
be able to leave that system. Although the agency’s initial incentive for obtaining
a child support order is to recoup benefits it provides, the court is not permitted to
limit the amount of the order to the amount of benefits received by the family. 4
Another benefit is that, if she states that she is a victim of domestic abuse,
she will be referred to a domestic violence liaison, who is supposed to provide
her with additional services. 5
Drawbacks
In addition to the difficulties of relying on public assistance, with its
insufficient funds, there are particular requirements regarding child support that
could place a victim in danger.
Sanctions for Failing to Cooperate in Obtaining Child Support
A custodial parent applying for public assistance is required to assign
support rights to the state, and the state takes steps to obtain child support. In
addition, she is required to provide any information she has that would help in
locating the father, establishing paternity, discovering any income or assets he
may have, and obtaining an order for child support. 6 She must also appear as a
witness in court, if requested by the agency.
Once started, however, she may have difficulty stopping a proceeding, even
if she believes it would be dangerous for her or for the child. If she refuses to
cooperate, she could be sanctioned by having her portion of the public assistance
budget removed from the grant, although the agency may not delay or deny the
child’s benefits because of the parent’s failure to cooperate. The grant for the
children can be made in the form of a protective payment — either to the
sanctioned parent or to a substitute caretaker.
Waiver of Cooperation Requirement
In recognition of the special needs of victims of domestic violence, the state
has put in place some exceptions to the requirement to cooperate in obtaining
child support. 7 Each public assistance agency is required to have a domestic
violence liaison, who can determine whether it is appropriate for a particular
parent to receive a waiver from the cooperation requirement.
A waiver is available if the parent can show she has “good cause” for refusing
to cooperate. No sanctions will be applied if it can be shown that cooperation