Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

Victim Who Needs Child Support 145
could be detrimental to the child to begin proceedings against a person the child
views as a stranger.
3. Agency Can Proceed with Case without Imposing Sanctions
Even if the agency does not sanction the mother for refusing to cooperate and
does not require her to provide information, it can still proceed on its own without
her cooperation if it determines it can do so without risk of harm to her or the
child. 8 To do so, the agency must put the risk of harm determination in writing,
including its findings and basis for determination, and enter it into the case record.
The parent (or caretaker relative) has a right to be notified that the agency intends
to proceed and, presumably, a right to a hearing on the risk of harm issue.
If your client is convinced that harm will result from attempts to obtain
child support, and she is unsuccessful at getting the agency to agree with her,
she will have no option but to withdraw her application for assistance and rely
on some other method of support. This is a decision you can help her make,
after weighing all the benefits and possible repercussions.
Should Support Be Made Payable through the SCU?
Assuming your client has decided to seek a child support order, you should
next discuss whether payments should come directly to your client or be sent to
the Support Collection Unit (SCU), for forwarding to her.
If your client has applied for, or is receiving, public assistance benefits for
the family, she will have no choice, because she has assigned her support rights
to the state. As long as the family continues to receive public assistance, support
orders must be made payable to SCU.
If your client is not receiving public assistance, she has a choice. She can
have the order payable through SCU, or it can be payable to her — either
directly or through payroll deduction, if the father has a regular income. If your
client wants the order made payable through SCU, she must indicate this choice
in her petition.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Among the advantages is that SCU maintains records of payments. This can
be very useful later if it is necessary to return to court for enforcement. However,
because the agency does make mistakes, your client should keep her own
records of payments. She should also avoid taking payments directly from the
noncustodial parent because the SCU will have no record of it.