Glossary of Child Support Terms

The following is a list of definitions used by Child Support Services. This list has been revised as of July 2021. Please e-mail your suggestions for improving this list.

Absent parent
Any individual who is absent from the home and is legally responsible for providing financial support for a dependent child.
(See also: Noncustodial parent)

Accrual
Sum of child support payments that are due or overdue.

Accrue
To build up or increase child support payments over time.

Acknowledged father
A man who has established a father-child relationship by signing an acknowledgment of paternity.
(See also: adjudicated father; alleged father; legal father; presumed father)

Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP a.k.a. 209)
Document sent out by the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, which instructs state or federally funded tribal child support programs on the actions they must take to comply with new and amended federal laws. Has basis in federal law and regulation.

(See also: Office of Child Support Enforcement)

Action transmittal
Document sent out as needed from federal government, which instructs state child support programs on the actions they must take to comply with new and amended federal laws; has basis in federal law and regulation.

Address of record (AOR)
An address for a party or a custodial person in the Central Case Registry of Oklahoma Child Support Services that is used for service of process in support, custody and visitation actions. An address of record is a public record and may be different from the party's or custodial person's physical address.

Adjudicated father
A man who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be the father of a child.
(See also: acknowledged father; alleged father; legal father; presumed father)

Adjudication
The entry of a judgment, decree or order by a judge or other decision-maker based on the evidence submitted by the parties.

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
The federal agency that houses the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) (Link opens in new window) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Administrative complaint procedure
A procedure which provides CSS customers an opportunity to raise concerns about services or treatment they receive, request an administrative review, and take appropriate action when there is evidence an error has occurred, or an action should have been taken on their case. The administrative complaint procedure is intended to offer customers a fast and effective way to review issues that have no other review process and not require a formal administrative hearing or adjudication.
(See also: complaint; inquiry)

Administrative Court
A court specializing in administrative law. Administrative courts abide by the same rules for notices, hearings and judicial or independent administrative review that govern the work of district courts in other states. Decisions made by an administrative court have the same force as those made by a district court. The main advantage of administrative court process is that it keeps routine cases out of the crowded district court system so action can be taken more quickly.

Administrative Law
Law created by administrative agencies in the form of rules, regulations, orders and decisions. Chapter 25 of Title 340 in the Oklahoma Administrative Code is the body of law created by Child Support Services (CSS), a division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) .
(See also: case law)

Administrative law judge
A judicial officer who conducts hearings for an administrative agency.

Administrative offset
The process of withholding all or part of an administrative (non-tax related) payment that is paid by the federal government to a person or entity that owes an outstanding delinquent non-tax debt to the government, and then applying the funds to reduce or satisfy the debt.

Administrative procedure
Method by which support orders are made and enforced by an executive agency rather than by district courts and judges.

Administrative process
A system set up in a state agency by statute for the purpose of setting and enforcing child support obligations.

Adult Child
A child 18 years of age or older. In Oklahoma, CSS interprets Section 112 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes (Link opens in new window) as meaning support continues for an 18 year old child who is regularly and continuously attending high school if the custodial person is providing the child with the necessities of life.

Affidavit
A written statement, usually notarized, that is signed under oath or by affirmation.

Affidavit of service
A notarized statement completed by a person authorized by the court to verify he or she has personally delivered a summons, subpoena, citation or order to a noncustodial parent or a member of the household older than the age of 15 in the dwelling place of the noncustodial parent.

Aggregate order
A support order that provides one support amount for more than one child and may specify a different support amount as each child reaches the age of majority.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
Former entitlement program that made public assistance payments on behalf of children who did not have the financial support of one or both of their parents by reason of death, disability, or continued absence from the home; known in many states as ADC (Aid to Dependent Children). Replaced with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).
(See also: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act)

Alleged father
A man named as the father of a child born of unmarried parents who has not been legally determined to be the father. The alleged father is also referred to as the putative father.
(See also: acknowledged father; adjudicated father; legal father; presumed father)

Allocation
How the total child support payment amount is divided between the families. The accounting process used to divide receipts among the eligible obligations of an obligor. Eligible refers to active and enforceable obligations that meet the criteria to be paid by the collection being allocated.

Alternative health coverage
Health care services other than health insurance, including, but not limited to, Indian Health Services (IHS) or Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS), which is available to either parent under which medical services could be provided to the dependent child(ren).

Annual notice
Means the yearly notice provided for in section 237A of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes (Link opens in new window) to notify the obligor and obligee of the amount due, actions that may be taken to enforce the child support obligation, actions required of the obligor and obligee and other related information and instructions.

Answer
A written legal response filed with a court by a defendant in response to a civil complaint filed against him or her.

Applicant
The individual who applied or was referred by another agency for child support services. In intergovernmental cases, the applicant is considered to be the governmental entity that referred the case to Oklahoma.

Apportionment
A portion of a veteran's disability compensation paid directly to the veteran's dependents.

Arrears, arrearage or past-due child support
The total amount of past due, unpaid child support owed by the noncustodial parent. If the parent has arrearages, he or she is said to be “in arrears.”

Arrearage computation
A balance sheet used to compute, audit, and reconcile the financial balances in the CSS computer system for a child support case. The arrearage computation identifies what has become due and what has been paid by an obligor as of a point in time and includes any interest accruals. This information is broken down by payee type and includes details of the distributions. This document is used as an internal tool and not distributed to the public.

Assignment (Assignment of support rights)
The legal procedure by which a person receiving public assistance agrees to turn over to the state or tribe any right to child support, including arrearages, paid by the noncustodial parent in exchange for receipt of a cash assistance grant and other benefits. States and tribes can then use a portion of said the child support to defray or recoup the public assistance expenditure also known as Assignment of Support Rights.

Authorized representative
A person designated by a custodial person, noncustodial parent or biological parent under OAC 340:25-1-3.1 to obtain child support case information and documents from and provide information and documents to CSS on his or her behalf; The information and documents an authorized representative may obtain is limited to that which the person represented may obtain under OAC 340:25-5-67.

Automated Administrative Enforcement of Interstate Cases (AEI)
Provision in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) giving states the ability to locate, place a lien on and seize financial assets of delinquent obligors across state lines

Bad debt
Bad debt occurs when the funding for a payment made by Oklahoma Child Support Services to a custodial person or noncustodial parent is subsequently withdrawn when a tax intercept or other collection is revoked; or a check or other payment instrument received by CSS from a noncustodial parent or other payor on behalf of the noncustodial parent is dishonored after a payment has been made to the custodial person.
(See also: Overpayment)

Bank levy (Financial Institution Data Match (FIDM))
Direct withdrawal of child support arrears from a noncustodial parent's checking account, savings account or other financial institution account.
(See also: Financial Institution Data Match; Multistate Financial Institution Data Match)

Bankruptcy
The administration of an insolvent debtor’s property by the court for the benefit of the debtor’s creditors. Child support debts are nondischargeable, meaning they cannot be eliminated through the bankruptcy proceeding.

Bench warrant
An order issued over the signature of a judge of the district court directing the sheriff or other authorized law enforcement official to arrest and bring before the court the individual named in the warrant. A bench warrant is issued when the individual fails to make a court appearance after he/she has been summoned.

Bilateral Agreement
A state-level reciprocity agreement with a foreign country, where the country agrees to assist the state in working child support cases, and vice versa.

Biological parent
The natural, genetic parent of a child.

Burden of proof
The duty of a party to produce the greater weight of evidence on a point at issue.

Cancelled by statute
A warrant issued but not cashed by the payee within 90 days is cancelled by Oklahoma Statute. [62 O.S. §41.19]
(See also: Pended payments)

Case
A legal action. Also the group of people associated with a particular child support order, court hearing or request for child support services. This typically includes a custodial person, dependent(s), and a noncustodial parent or alleged father. In addition to names and identifying information about its members, every child support case has a unique case identification number and includes information such as custodial person and noncustodial parent wage data, court order details, and noncustodial parent payment history.
(See also: child support; IV-D; IV-D case; IV-A case; IV-E case; case ID)

Case ID
Unique identification number assigned to a case. In Oklahoma, the IV-D case ID is a family group number (FGN).
(See also: Family Group Number)

Case initiation
First step in the child support enforcement process and includes the application, referral, case identification, acceptance and prioritization of child support cases.

Case law
Law established by the history of judicial decisions in cases as opposed to administrative law or legislative law.
(See also: administrative law)

Case management
Process using available case information to pursue locate actions, determine paternity, establish and enforce support obligations and update case information.

Case member
Participant in child support case; a member can participate in more than one case. In Oklahoma each participant in the case has a unique identification number called a Department Client Number (DCN).

Case Style
The manner in which a legal document states the plaintiff and defendant names, and the court case number.

Cash medical support
An amount calculated in the child support guidelines ordered to be paid toward the cost of health coverage provided by a public entity or a person. Can also be a fixed periodic payment for ongoing medical cost.

Cashier’s check
A draft with respect to which the drawer and drawee are the same bank or branches of the same bank. [12A O.S. §3-104]

Central Case Registry
Oklahoma's repository for Part A of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code (IV-D) cases and child support orders established or modified in Oklahoma after Oct. 1, 1998. It includes, but is not limited to, information required to be transmitted to the Federal Case Registry under Section 654a of Title 42 of the United States Code (Link opens in new window). CSS maintains the Central Case Registry under Section 112A of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes (Link opens in new window).

Central Registry (a.k.a. Interstate Case Registry)
A centralized unit maintained by a state child support agency that is responsible for receiving, distributing, and responding to inquiries on intergovernmental child support cases. Tribal programs currently do not have a centralized unit.

Centralized Support Registry (CSR)
The repository maintained by CSS to receive, allocate and distribute support payments, including child support, spousal support when paid in conjunction with child support and related support payments under Section 413 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes (Link opens in new window). It serves as Oklahoma's State Disbursement Unit under Section 654b of Title 42 of the United States Code (Link opens in new window). The Centralized Support Registry processes payments:

1. In all cases in which child support services are being provided under the state child support plan as provided under Section 237 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes (Link opens in new window) until all monies owed for child support are no longer owed;

2. In all other cases in which support is being paid by income withholding; and

3. When a court orders payments to be made through the Centralized Support Registry. [43 O.S. § 413] (Link opens in new window)

Certified check
A bank draft where the bank has verified there are sufficient funds in the account at the time the draft was written. The bank then sets those funds aside until the draft is cashed or returned by the payee. Also a check accepted by the bank on which it is drawn. [12A O.S. §3-409]

Certified letter
A letter that requires the person receiving the letter to sign a green card indicating receipt. The green card is then returned by the postal service to the sender. This can be used to legally serve certain types of legal documents.

Certified order
An order which reflects that it is a true and correct copy of the original on file in the court files.

Certified public manager (CPM)
The Certified Public Manager program is a nationally-accredited comprehensive management training program designed to improve the quality and efficiency of management in the public sector. Participants in the Oklahoma CPM program, through seminars, examinations and job related projects, enhance their management skills, thereby becoming better resources for their agency and for the state.

Check
A draft payable on demand and drawn on a bank. A negotiable instrument may be a check even though it is described on its face by another term such as “money order.” [12A O.S. §3-104]
(See also: Warrant)

Child support
Financial support paid by parents to help support a child or children of whom they do not have custody. Child support can be entered into voluntarily or ordered by a court or a properly empowered administrative agency, depending on state or tribal laws.

Child support enforcement agency (also known as the Child Support Enforcement Program)

An agency that exists in every state or tribe to locate noncustodial parents or alleged fathers; establish, enforce, and modify child support orders; and collect and distribute child support money. The agency is operated by state or local government according to the Child Support Enforcement program guidelines as set forth in Title IV, Part D, of the Social Security Act. Also known as a "IV-D Agency." Oklahoma Child Support Services, under the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, is the Child Support Agency for the State of Oklahoma.
(See also: IV-D)

Child Support Enforcement Network (CSENet)
State-to-state telecommunications network, which transfers detailed information between states’ automated child support systems.

Child Support Order
The document that sets an amount of money that is to be provided by a parent for the support of the parent's child(ren) and/or the responsibility to provide health insurance, daycare costs, and medical support for the child(ren). This amount or responsibility must be established by court order or administrative process, voluntary agreement (in states or tribes where such agreements are filed in the court or agency of the administrative process as an order and are legally enforceable) or other legal process. It may include a judgment for child support arrears.

Child Support Pass-Through
Provision by which states can disburse part of a child support payment collected on behalf of a public assistance recipient instead of keeping the funds to reimburse the state and disregard the payment in determining eligibility for assistance. Tribal programs also have a choice in adopting pass-through. Also known as child support "disregard."
(See also: Public Assistance)

Citation for contempt
A legal action in which one party alleges that the opposing party is not abiding by the terms of a court order and requests that sanctions be imposed. This action may be used when a noncustodial parent fails to pay support as ordered. The child support attorney, acting on behalf of the state, requests the court require the obligor to follow the terms of the child support order or to meet purge conditions. Purge conditions may include, but are not limited to, payment of a purge fee, entering into a payment plan, or participation in the Court Liaison Program. Also known as Contempt Citation.
(See also: Contempt of Court; Court Liaison Program; Purge Conditions)

Claim
A demand for money or property to which one asserts a right (an insurance claim).

Claimant
One who asserts a right or demand, especially formally.

Client
A term sometimes mistakenly used to refer to the recipient of a TANF grant. The IV-D program in Oklahoma does not refer to its customers as clients because there is no attorney/client relationship.

Common law marriage
A non-ceremonial marriage. In the state of Oklahoma the formation of a common law marriage is dependent upon certain factors: the parties must have the intent to enter into a marriage, and publicly hold themselves out as husband and wife.

Complaint (Initial Pleading or Petition)
(1) The formal written document filed in a court which sets forth the names of the parties, the allegations, and the request for relief sought. Also known as the Initial Pleading or Petition.
(2) An inquiry from a custodial person, noncustodial parent, or other IV-D customer for case status information or which raises concerns about CSS services or customer treatment. Oklahoma provides Form 03EN012E, Child Support Comments, for written inquiries.
(See also: administrative complaint procedure; inquiry)

Confidential data
Any piece of data or set of data, transmitted or maintained in any form or medium, including electronic, paper or oral, that is used to identify a person by virtue of its containing one or more individual identifiers, such as name, Social Security number, telephone number, case number or postal zip code. The misuse of protected data violates the law and creates a liability for DHS. Misuse of protected data also violates customer confidentiality and privacy and creates opportunities for fraud or other illegal activity.

Consent agreement
Voluntary written admission of paternity or responsibility for child support.

Consistent Excellence (CE)
A process through which CSS identifies, documents, and continually improves best practices and implements them as CSS Standard Operating Procedures.

Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA)
Federal law that limits the amount that may be withheld from earnings to satisfy child support obligations and garnishments. State or tribal law may further limit the amount that can be withheld from a person’s paycheck.

Regardless of the number or withholding orders that have been served, the maximum that may be withheld for child support is:

Without arrearage
- 50 percent with a second family
- 60 percent with no other dependent children
With Arrearage
- 55 percent with a second family and 12+ weeks in arrears
- 65 percent with no other dependent children 12+ weeks in arrears

Contempt citation
See Citation for Contempt.

Contempt of court
Any act which is calculated to obstruct court in the administration of justice, committed by a person under the court's authority as a party to a proceeding before the court. Willful disobedience of or failure to comply with a court's orders.
(See also: Citation for Contempt)

Continuing exclusive jurisdiction (CEJ)
The doctrine that only one support order should be effective and enforceable between the same parties at any one time and that when a particular court has acquired jurisdiction to determine child support and custody, it retains authority to amend and modify its orders therein. This Court of Continuing Exclusive Jurisdiction continues to have jurisdiction over a support issue until another court takes it away. Discussed in the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.
(See also: Uniform Interstate Family Support Act)

Controlling Order
The one order that must be used by all states and tribes for enforcement and modification actions going forward. In cases involving multiple orders, UIFSA provides rules for determining the one order to be enforced. UIFSA does not apply to tribes.

Controlling Order State
The state in which the only order was issued or, where multiple orders exist, the state in which the controlling order under UIFSA was issued.

Cooperation
A condition of TANF eligibility. The recipient is required to cooperate with the child support agency in identifying and locating the noncustodial parent, establishing paternity and/or getting child support payments.

Council on Law Enforcement, Education and Training (CLEET)
Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training. See http://www.cleet.state.ok.us/ for more information on CLEET.

Court case number
The number assigned by the Administrative (such as OAH) or district court. Normal format is alphabetic codes such as JFD, FD, or FP, two or four digit year and assigned number, e.g., JFD-98-234, FP-2009-751.

Court of continuing exclusive jurisdiction (CCEJ)
The court that continues to have jurisdiction over a support issue until another court takes it away. Defined in the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA).
(See also: Uniform Interstate Family Support Act)

Court Liaison Program (CLP)
The problem-solving court program designated by Child Support Services.

Court minute
A written notation setting forth the judge’s immediate decision.

Court order
A legally binding edict issued by a court of law. Can be issued by a magistrate, judge or properly empowered administrative officer. A court order related to child support can dictate how often, how much, what kind of support a noncustodial parent is to pay, how long he or she is to pay it and whether an employer must withhold support from their wages.

Credit bureau
Consumer reporting agencies, also known as credit bureaus, assemble or evaluate consumer credit information or other information (including failure to pay overdue support) on the consumer for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties. State or local child support agencies are required to report periodically to credit reporting agencies the name of any noncustodial parent who is delinquent in the payment of support and the amount of overdue support owed by such parent. The reporting procedures must meet all due process required by state law. Upon meeting the conditions for requesting consumer reports from consumer reporting agencies, state and local child support agencies may use these reports for the purpose of establishing an individual's capacity to make child support payments or to set an initial or modified child support award.

Criminal Non-Support
Criminal charges that can be brought when a noncustodial parent willfully fails to pay child support. There are criminal offenses for failure to support at both the state and federal levels. Federal actions require some interstate activity.

CSS
Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Child Support Services (CSS). CSS is the state agency designated to administer the child support program for the State of Oklahoma. CSS includes employees and agents of a central state office, district offices, and other offices that may be administered through contract or cooperative agreements with district attorneys, Community Action Program agencies and others.

Current Assistance IV-D (Child Support) Case
A case where the children are recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act or entitled to Foster Care maintenance payments under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. In addition, the children’s support rights have been assigned by a caretaker relative to a state or tribe, and a referral to the state or tribal child support agency has been made. Also a TANF IV-D case or Foster Care IV-D Case.

Custodial person (CP) (Custodial party)
The person who has primary care, custody, and control of the child(ren) and is therefore entitled to child support on the child(ren)’s behalf. A custodial person could be the state in juvenile or child welfare cases. Sometimes called a Custodial Party.
(See also: obligee)

Custody order
Legally binding determination that establishes with whom a child shall live. The meanings of different types of custody terms (e.g., joint custody, shared custody, split custody) vary from state to state.
(See also: physical custody)

Dear Colleague Letter (DCL)
Letter sent out to those in the child support community, and interested partners, that conveys information on child support enforcement program activities.
(See also: Office of Child Support Enforcement)

Debit Card
An ATM bankcard issued by a bank to an individual to allow the individual access to his or her child support funds.

Debt Check
A program developed by the Treasury Department's Financial Management Service that allows agencies and outside lenders to determine whether applicants for federal loans, loan insurance, or loan guarantees owe delinquent child support or non-tax debt to the federal government. Federal agencies are required to deny loans, loan insurance, or loan guarantees to individuals who owe delinquent child support if those debts have been referred to the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) for administrative offset.

Decree
The judicial decision of a litigated action, usually in "equitable" cases such as divorce (as opposed to cases in law in which judgments are entered).

Deemed eligible case
A medical only case where the child is deemed eligible for Medicaid services at birth. In Oklahoma, these Medicaid services are known as SoonerCare. Federal regulations exempt a child from mandatory child support referral until the child is one year old.

Default
The failure of a defendant to file an answer or appear in a civil case within the prescribed time after having been properly served with a summons and complaint. Also, may refer to an order entered because the defendant failed to respond.

Default Judgment
Decision made by the tribunal when a party fails to respond.

Defendant
The person against whom a civil or criminal proceeding is brought. In Oklahoma domestic relations actions, the person filing a responsive pleading is called the respondent.
(See also: Respondent)

Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting (DEERS)
Medical coverage provided for family members of military personnel and certain Department of Defense employees. This medical coverage is a benefit provided to military members and their families via the Department of Defense’s managed health care program TRICARE. This is not a separate private insurance carrier but qualifies as alternative health coverage for the child support program.

Delinquency
Any payment under an order for support which becomes due and remains unpaid. For interest purposes, any unpaid portion of an amount due is considered delinquent the day after the due date specified in the court order. If the court order does not specify a specific due date of the month, the payment must be made by the last day of the month, and it is delinquent on the first day of the following month if it is not paid.

Delinquent child
A juvenile who is guilty of criminal behavior, which is usually punished by special laws not pertaining to adults. When a child under the age of 18 in Oklahoma is alleged or adjudicated by a court to be delinquent or in need of supervision, such a child may be placed in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA).

Department client number (DCN)
A unique identification number assigned to an Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) customer. The DCN follows the customer throughout DHS.

Dependent
A child who relies on or requires the aid of a parent or another person for support. Most children who are eligible to receive child support must be a dependent. A child ceases to be a dependent when they reach the age of emancipation as determined by state law, but depending on the state’s provisions, may remain eligible for child support for a period after they are emancipated.

Deprived child
A child who is destitute, neglected, abused, homeless, abandoned for any reason or otherwise in need of some level of protection from their caretakers or environment and has been adjudicated as such by a court. Such a child may be placed in DHS custody.

Determination of parentage
The establishment of the parent-child relationship by the signing of an acknowledgment of paternity or through adjudication by the court.

Diligent effort
Repeated attempts to serve a person in a legal action, at least three times, at different times of the day or on different days of the week, before declaring inability to serve.

Direct deposit
A program which allows child support payments to be directly deposited into custodian bank accounts. Any custodian can request to be enrolled in this program.

Direct income withholding
A procedure whereby an income withholding order from one state can be sent directly to the noncustodial parent's employer in another state, without the need to use the child support agency or court system in the noncustodial parent's state. Also known as Income Withholding Order (IWO) or Income Assignment (I/A).

Disabled adult child support order
The document that sets an amount of money that is to be provided by a parent for the support of the parent's Adult child(ren). After a child has reached age of majority most child support cases no longer collect current support. An adult child will need lifelong support, so the order stays in place for the life of the adult child. This amount or responsibility must be established by court order or administrative process, voluntary agreement (in states or tribes where such agreements are filed in the court or agency of the administrative process as an order and are legally enforceable) or other legal process.

Disbursement
The paying out of collected child support funds.

Disclosure prohibited notice
A notice the Federal Case Registry (FCR) is required to send to a party that has requested locate information stating the information cannot be disclosed because the person being sought has a family violence indicator (FVI) on either a IV-D case or a non-IV-D order in the FCR.
(See also: family violence indicator)

Disestablishment
Procedure by which a tribunal can nullify an order or a determination of paternity generally.

Disposable income

The portion of an employee's earnings that remains after deductions required by law (e.g., taxes, Social Security, FICA) and that is used to determine the amount of an employee's pay subject to a garnishment, attachment, or child support withholding order. Also, the money due an employee after taxes and other required deductions.

Disposition
The court’s decision of what should be done about a dispute before the court. For instance, the disposition of the court may be that child support is ordered or an obligation is modified.

Disregard
See pass-through

Distributed payments
Funds received which have been logged to the case and issued to the customer (custodial person or noncustodial parent) or retained by the state.

Distribution
The allocation of child support collected to the various types of debt (e.g. monthly support obligations, arrears, ordered arrears) within a child support case, as specified in 45 CFR § 302.51 (45 CFR 309.115 for procedures governing tribal child support programs). The process of how the total child support payment amount is divided between multiple support orders, including reimbursement for public assistance.

District attorney (DA)
Elected officials within the districts of a state who generally represent the state in criminal matters. In the context of CSS, the term refers to one of the district attorneys with whom DHS has signed a contract for their offices to enforce and collect child support or any district attorney when CSS needs to refer a case for criminal enforcement.

District office (Local office)
A child support services office operated by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services or through contract or agreement with DHS to serve a specific area of the state. Also known as Local office.

DNA Testing
The analysis of human cells to facilitate the establishment of paternity.

Docket
A formal brief record of proceedings in court -- minute entries in case files, the court calendar. Some courts refer to filing a paper with the courts as docketing.

DPS request
A request sent to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety for a search of their files to gain more information on a noncustodial parent, such as address or Social Security number. DPS requests require first and last name, and date of birth or Social Security number.

Duces Tecum Subpoena
A document sent to a person that requires the person to appear and bring certain documents into court.

Due process
The principle of fairness in legal proceedings so that a person has a right to know what action is being taken and has an opportunity to be heard.

Duress
Use of physical or psychological force to coerce a person to sign an acknowledgment of paternity.

Electronic Disbursement
Process by which a child support payment is electronically transmitted to an account. The most common forms of electronic disbursement are direct deposit to a bank or other financial institution or through an debit card. The process when child support payment or any other payments are sent to bank accounts by computer systems.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT)
Process by which money is transmitted electronically from one bank account to another.

Emancipation
A child ceases to be a dependent upon reaching the “age of majority” as determined by state or tribal law; however, depending on the state’s provisions, may remain eligible for child support for a period after emancipation. The age a person is no longer considered a minor (child) under governmental laws. This law is different from state to state and tribe to tribe. In Oklahoma the age of majority is 18 years, although a court can declare a minor emancipated due to circumstances. A court may also find an adult to be "not emancipated" due to circumstances.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
ERISA is a federal statute designed to protect pension plans from execution or garnishment. (The act is found in Chapter 18 of Title 29 of the United States Code) (Link opens in new window).

Enforcement
The application of remedies to obtain payment of a child or medical support obligation contained in a child or spousal support order. Examples of remedies include garnishment of wages, seizure of assets, liens placed on assets, revocation of license (e.g., drivers, business, medical, etc.), denial of U.S. passports, contempt of court proceedings, etc. The processes that can be used to collect payments from the noncustodial parent or to require compliance with some other provision of the order.

Enumeration and Verification System (EVS)
System used to verify and correct Social Security numbers (SSNs) and identify multiple SSNs of participants in child support cases. Operated by the Social Security Administration (SSA) (Link opens in new window).

Erroneous payment
Erroneous payment occurs when CSS has incorrectly paid money to a custodial person, noncustodial parent or other entity, or failed to retain money assigned to the state because of an administrative error.
(See also: overpayment)

Establishment
The process of proving legal paternity and/or obtaining a court or administrative order to put a child support obligation in place.

Family
A mother and a father and the child(ren) of that relationship and any custodial person(s) of the child(ren) who is not the mother or the father.

Family group number (FGN)
Unique identification number assigned to a child support case. The family group number is a combination of the Absent Parent/Noncustodial Parent (AP/NCP) number plus the Biological Parent (BP) number. One Family Group Number may have multiple custodial persons. And one AP/NCP number may have multiple FGNs.

Family violence
Domestic abuse or child abuse, including physical or emotional harm.

Family violence indicator (FVI)
A designation that resides in the Federal Case Registry placed on a participant in a case or order by a state or tribe that indicates the participant is at risk of family or domestic violence. Used to prevent disclosure of the location of a party or a child believed by the state or tribe to be at risk of family violence.
(See also: disclosure prohibited notice)

FD number
The identifying number assigned by a court clerk to a legal document or petition for divorce, which is filed in Oklahoma.
(See also: court case number)

Federal Case Registry (FCR)
A national database of information on individuals in all IV-D cases, and all non-IV-D orders entered or modified on or after October 1, 1998. The FCR receives this case information on a daily basis from the State Case Registry (SCR) located in every state, and proactively matches it with previous submissions to the FCR and with employment information contained in the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH).

Any successful matches are returned to the appropriate state(s) for processing. The FCR and the NDNH are both part of the expanded Federal Parent Locator Services (FPLS), which is maintained by the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE).

Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)

Unique 9-digit number assigned to all employers by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which must be used in numerous transactions, including submitting data and responding to requests relevant to child support.

Federal Financial Participation (FFP)
The portion of a state’s child support expenditures that are paid by a federal government match. Most child support costs are matched two to one. The federal share of most child support costs is 66 percent.

Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)
A unique 5-digit code that identifies the child support jurisdiction, e.g., states, counties, central state registries.

Federal Offset Program (FOP)
The program that provides several enforcement tools to collect past-due child support from noncustodial parents, including federal income tax refund and administrative offset, Passport Denial Program, MSFIDM, and Debt Check

Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS)

A computerized national location network operated by OCSE. The FPLS obtains address, employer information, and data on child support cases in every state, and then compares the data and returns matches to the appropriate states. This helps state and local child support enforcement agencies locate noncustodial parents and alleged fathers for the purposes of establishing custody and visitation rights, establishing and enforcing child support obligations, investigating parental kidnapping, and processing adoption or foster care cases. The expanded FPLS includes the Federal Case Registry (FCR) and the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH).

Federal Tax Refund Offset Program
The process that collects past-due child support amounts from noncustodial parents through interception of their federal income tax refunds.

Financial Institution Data Match (FIDM)
A process whereby information on accounts held by banks, savings and loan companies, brokerage houses, and other financial institutions is matched against child support obligors who owe past-due support (arrearages).

(See also: Bank Levy; Multistate Financial Institution Data Match)

Finding
A formal determination by a court or administrative process that has legal standing

Finding address

The case participant’s physical address which is a confidential address that cannot be released without a court order when there is a family violence indicator on the case.

Financial Management Service (FMS)

Acting as the U.S. government’s money manager, FMS provides centralized payment, collection, and reporting services, and using a centralized process, collects delinquent debts (e.g., federal student, mortgage, or small business loans; federal salary or benefits overpayments; fines or penalties assessed by federal agencies) owed to the U.S. government, as well as income tax debts owed to states and past-due child support payments owed to custodial parents.

Fixed medical support
Fixed periodic payments for ongoing medical costs not paid or reimbursed by insurance, or included in a cash medical support order.

Foreign reciprocating country
A foreign country with which the United States has signed an agreement ensuring cooperation in child support enforcement.

Foreign support order
An order originally filed in one state, country or tribunal and registered in another for enforcement purposes.

Former Assistance IV-D Case
A case where the children formerly received Title IV-A (AFDC or TANF) or Title IV-E foster care services.

Forum state
The state in which the hearing is held or the responding court proceeding is filed to establish or enforce a support order.

Foster Care
A federal/state/tribal program that provides financial support to people, families, or institutions that are raising children that are not their own.

Fraud
(1)A false representation of a matter of fact, either by words or by conduct, such as false statements made to state officials with the intent of wrongfully receiving public assistance.

(2)An intentional misrepresentation of a material fact that could not have been discovered with reasonable diligence and was reasonably relied on by a person who signed an acknowledgment of paternity.

Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (FFCCSOA)
Doctrine under which a state or tribe must honor an order or judgment entered in another state or tribe and enforce it as if it were an order within its own territory, but may not modify the order unless properly petitioned to do so. This principle was specifically applied to child support orders in federal law that took effect in 1994, under the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (FFCCSOA).

FFCCSOA requires states and federally funded tribal child support agencies to enforce child support orders made by other states or tribes if:

•The issuing state or tribe’s tribunal had subject-matter jurisdiction to hear and resolve the matter and enter an order;

•The issuing state or tribe’s tribunal had personal jurisdiction over the parties; and

•The parties were given reasonable notice and the opportunity to be heard.

FFCCSOA also sets limits on state and tribal authority to modify another state or tribe’s child support orders in instances when the state or tribe seeking to modify the order has jurisdiction to do so and the tribunal that originally issued the order no longer has continuing exclusive jurisdiction over the order either because the child and the parties to the case are no longer residents of the issuing state, or the parties to the case have filed written consent to transfer continuing exclusive jurisdiction to the tribunal seeking to make the modification.

Full-service case
A child support case for which Child Support Services provides all appropriate IV-D services as described in OAC 340:25-1-1.2.

Garnishment
A legal proceeding under which part of a person's wages and/or assets are withheld for payment of a debt. This term is usually used to specify that an income or wage withholding is involuntary.
(See also: income withholding; wage withholding; direct income withholding; immediate wage withholding)Genetic Testing

A DNA test is often used to determine a child's biological mother and father. Genetic testing can also be used to diagnose inherited diseases, a person's ancestry, or the biological relationship between people.

Good cause
A legal reason for which a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipient is excused from cooperating with the child support enforcement process, such as past physical harm by the child’s noncustodial parent. It also includes situations where rape or incest resulted in the conception of the child and situations where the mother is considering placing the child for adoption.

(See also: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; IV-A case)

Good service
The successful service of legal process upon a noncustodial parent, custodian or witness.
(See also: Service of Process)

Grant amount
1) The amount of public assistance paid to a family.
2) The amount states are awarded by OCSE for grant applications.

Green card (Return receipt)
The green-colored card signed by an individual to indicate they have received a certified letter.
(See also: Service of Process)

Guardian
A person having legal control of and obligations of care to a child.

Guidelines
A standard method for setting child support obligations, using a mathematical formula and based on the income of one or both parent(s) and other factors determined by state law. The Family Support Act of 1988 requires states to use guidelines to determine the amount of support for each family, unless they are rebutted by a written finding that applying the guidelines would be inappropriate to the case.
(See also: income; disposable income; imputed income)

Health insurance
Insurance coverage that provides routine and major medical expenses, including but not limited to: preventive care, office visits, hospitalization, and medication coverage, that may be provided through a fee for services, health maintenance organization, or preferred provider organization, or other private or public organization, other than SoonerCare (Medicaid).
(See also: Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting; Indian Health Service)

High-Volume Administrative Enforcement Cases in Interstate Actions (Automated Administrative Enforcement of Interstate Case)
Child support cases in which one state at the request of another state:Identifies assets owned by persons who owe child support in other states through the use of automated data matches with financial institutions and other entities where assets may be found; and Seizes such assets.

Immediate wage withholding
An automatic deduction from income that starts as soon as the order for support is established and an income withholding order/notice is received and implemented by the noncustodial parent's employer.
(See also: income assignment)

Imputed income
Income that may be attributed to an individual who refuses to obtain employment, chooses not to work for personal reasons, or chooses to earn less than is typical for someone with the individual’s training, education, and skill. An individual cannot be forced to work, but the court or decision-maker can attribute certain income levels to a person based on the person’s education or training, skill, and work history. Some states consider assets, for example, if the obligor is self-employed or owns real estate. This also may be the amount of income the court or administrator determines that an obligor is capable of earning if he or she does not appear at a hearing after proper service. Some will also attribute income to a custodial parent who chooses to remain unemployed.
(See also: disposable income; guidelines)

In-Kind Support
Non-cash support payments, for example, food or clothing, provided to a custodial parent or child instead of cash support payments.
(See also: Non-Cash Support)

Income
For child support purposes, any periodic form of payment to an individual, regardless of source, including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, worker’s compensation, disability, pension, or retirement program payments and interest; remuneration for work performed or any payment made in lieu of remuneration for work performed, such as social security benefits or retirement pay.
(See also: Consumer Credit Protection Act; disposable income; guidelines)

Income assignment
An assignment, by operation of law or by court or administrative order, of a portion of the monies, income, or periodic earnings due and owing by the noncustodial parent to the person entitled to the support or to another person designated by the support order or assignment. An income assignment may be for payment of current support, arrearages, or both. It may be voluntary or involuntary and is accomplished by wage withholding or income withholding. Also known as Income withholding.
(See also: direct income withholding; immediate wage withholding)

Income withholding
An order that requires an employer to withhold support from a noncustodial parent’s wages and transfer that withholding to the appropriate agency (the Centralized Collection Unit, the State Disbursement Unit, or tribal child support agency.) Sometimes referred to as a wage withholding, garnishment, or income assignment. See Income Assignment. See Income Assignment.

Incoming interstate case
A child support case in Oklahoma initiated when another state referred a child support case in their state to Oklahoma.
(See also: interstate cases)

Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA)
Federal legislation that seeks to keep Native American children with Native American families. ICWA redefined the jurisdiction of Native American tribes in custody proceedings involving Native American children in matters of adoption, voluntary and involuntary termination of parental rights, and foster care placement and removal. ICWA gives tribal governments sole jurisdiction over states when the child is domiciled on the reservation and concurrent, but presumptive, jurisdiction over non-reservation Native Americans’ custody proceedings. Public Law 95-608 is codified in Chapter 21 of Title 25 of the United States Code, Sections 1901 et sequentia.

Indian Health Service (IHS)
A division with the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for providing medical and public health services to federally recognized Tribes. IHS coverage is considered adequate health coverage and additional medical coverage is not required.

Indian Tribe
Any Indian or Alaskan Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as an Indian tribe and includes in the list of federally recognized Indian tribal governments

Information memorandum (IM)
Document from OCSE that provides state and tribal child support enforcement agencies with information on program practices that can be useful to program improvement.
(See also: Office of Child Support Enforcement)

Initiating state, agency or jurisdiction
The state, tribal, or county court, or administrative agency that sends a request for action to another court or agency that can exercise legal authority against a party to an action. In cases where a state is trying to establish an initial child support order on behalf of a resident custodial parent and does not have Long-Arm Jurisdiction (cannot legally claim personal jurisdiction over a person who is not a resident), it must file a Two-State Action under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) guidelines. (Tribes are not subject to UIFSA.)
(See also: Incoming Interstate Case; Intergovernmental Case; long arm jurisdiction; two-state action; uniform interstate family support act )

Injured spouse
A person who filed an income tax return jointly with their spouse and subsequently the person’s income tax refund was intercepted because of a legally enforceable liability owed by the spouse. Also known as innocent spouse or non-obligated spouse.

Injured spouse claim
A financial claim upon intercepted state and federal income tax refunds by the spouse of a noncustodial parent. Also, the process the injured spouse uses to request their portion of an income tax intercept.

Inquiry (Administrative complaint, complaint or out-of-town inquiry)
Request for child support case status information or question which raises concerns about CSS services or customer treatment. by a custodial person, noncustodial parent, other IV-D customer, or a third party on behalf of a customer. Inquiries may be in writing or by telephone confirmed in writing. Can also include administrative complaint, complaint, or other type of inquiry.
(See also: administrative complaint procedure; complaint)

Instructions to staff (ITS)
Instructions to staff describe the procedures or practice requirements of rules in the Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) or DHS policy that relates to the internal management of the agency. Instructions to staff do not affect the private rights or procedures available to the public and are expressed as endnotes to OAC administrative rules and DHS policy.
(See also: Policy)

Insurance intercept
Lump sum or weekly payouts through a lien or income assignment on workers compensation, wrongful death or personal injury insurance claims.

Intake
At the time applications for child support services are received staff will screen information available, determine status of the case, physically build a file, and update all information on the computer.

Intercept
A method of securing child support by taking a portion of non-wage payments made to a noncustodial parent. Non-wage payments subject to interception include federal and state income tax refunds; unemployment and workers' compensation benefits; federal retirement benefits; travel reimbursement; legal settlements; vendor payments; disability benefits and lottery prize winnings.
(See also: administrative offset; federal tax refund offset program)

Intergovernmental
An action that takes place involving two or more states, typically where the order for support is in one state and one of the parties resides elsewhere. Can also be between two tribes or a state and a tribe; also called interjurisdictional or interstate.

Intergovernmental case
A case in which the dependent child and noncustodial parent live in different states, tribes, territories, or countries, or where two or more agencies or tribunals are jointly involved in same case activity, such as enforcement. (Also called Interstate or Interjurisdictional Case.)
(See also: Interstate IV-D case Uniform Interstate Family Support Act)

Intergovernmental Reference Guide (IRG)
An online compilation of state, tribal, and international child support agencies’ contact and policy information.

International IV-D Case
A case under the state’s child support program received from or referred to a foreign country that has entered into an agreement with the United States under Section 459A of the Social Security Act (a Foreign Reciprocating Country or FRC) or a foreign country with which the state has entered a reciprocal agreement. International cases also include child support cases in which there is an application for services from an individual who resides in a foreign country.

Interstate IV-D case
A child support case in which the noncustodial parent lives or works in a different state from the custodial parent and child. Unless otherwise specified, the term applies both to one state and two-state interstate cases.

(See also: Intergovernmental Case; Uniform Interstate Family Support Act)

Interstate Case Reconciliation
An OCSE program that matches cases that two states may have in common, identifies missing or incorrect data, and provides corrected data back to the states. The data include case ID, case status, and participant information.

Interstate Case Registry
The unit in each state child support agency that is responsible for receiving, distributing, and responding to inquiries on all incoming interstate cases.
(See also: Central Registry)

Intrastate case
A case existing or occurring within the boundaries of a single state.

IV-A (Adult and Family Services) Case
A case in which a state provides public assistance under the Title IV-A of the Social Security Act when the family has been determined to be eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). When a family receives TANF, the children’s support rights are assigned to the state or tribe, and a referral to the child support agency is made.
(See also: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; public assistance)

IV-A/IV-D interface
The communication and exchange of information and electronic data between the IV-A and IV-D programs. This information includes: case referrals, demographic data changes, TANF grant status, grant amounts (dollars) and the handling of eligibility re-determinations as a result of IV-D collections.

IV-B (Child Welfare)
Title IV, Part B, of the Social Security Act, codified in Part B of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code (Link opens in new window), covering child welfare services.

IV-D (Child Support) Case
A case in which a state provides child support services as authorized by Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. The IV-D program establishes paternity, establishes and enforces child support obligations, and collects and distributes support payments. A IV-D case is comprised of:

A dependent child or children;
A custodial party who may be a parent, caretaker relative or other custodial, including an entity such as a foster care agency; and
A noncustodial parent or parents, a mother, father, or a putative father whose paternity has not been legally established.

IV-D programs and services
Programs and services under Title IV, Part D, of the Social Security Act, codified in Part D of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code (Link opens in new window). Child Support Services locates parents; establishes paternity; establishes and enforces child and medical support orders; enforces fixed sums and judgments for medical support; enforces judgments for child care costs; enforces spousal support when current child support is due; reviews and modifies child support orders as appropriate; works with other states and countries to get child support; and collects and distributes child support payments.

IV-E (Foster Care) case
A case in which a state provides benefits or services for foster care maintenance to children entitled to foster care maintenance under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. The IV-E program also provides financial support to a person, family, or institution that is raising a child(ren) that is not their own. These cases are also eligible for IV-D services.
(See also: Non-IV-E Foster Care)

Judgment
The official decision or finding of a judge or administrative agency upon the respective rights and claims of the parties to an action; also known as a decree or order. It may include the "findings of fact and conclusions of law." Examples are: (a) Lump sum of money awarded by a court order for back child support owed; or (b) title of a legal order, e.g. divorce. Under judgment by operation of law, the amount due under a child support order is a judgment as soon as it becomes past due.

Judgment by operation of law
The amount due under a child support order is a judgment as soon as it becomes due.

Judicial Process
The use of courts in determining child support legal obligations, including paternity establishment, order establishment, enforcement, and modifications of orders.

Jurisdiction
The legal authority which a court or administrative agency has over particular persons and over certain types of cases, usually in a defined geographical area. Also, a term used to signify a geographic location such as a state or tribe with a tribunal that exercises such authority.
(See also: Continuing Exclusive Jurisdiction; Controlling Order; initiating jurisdiction; long arm jurisdiction)

Legal father
A man who is recognized by law as the male parent of a child. The legal father may be different from the biological father.

Levy
As used by CSS, the seizure of monetary assets to satisfy a child support debt. Also known as a bank levy or FIDM.

License Reinstatement
A procedure where CSS requests the administrative or district court to restore an Oklahoma driver, occupational, professional, or recreational license for a noncustodial parent who is complying with a child support payment plan or problem-solving court program.

License revocation
A procedure where CSS requests the administrative or district court to revoke, suspend, not renew and not issue an Oklahoma driver, occupational, professional or recreational license for a noncustodial parent who is in noncompliance with an order for support.

Licensed process server
A person who is licensed to hand deliver legal court documents to another person who is a party in a court case.
(See also: Service of Process)

Lien
A claim upon property to prevent sale or transfer of that property until a debt is satisfied. This is done by filing a judgment with a county clerk. The lien acts as an encumbrance on any real property in the county belonging to the obligor. When the property is sold the profits go to pay off the judgment.

Litigation
A civil action in which a controversy is brought before the court.

Local office
See district office

Locate
Process by which a noncustodial parent or alleged father is found for the purpose of establishing paternity, establishing and/or enforcing a child support obligation, establishing custody and visitation rights, processing adoption or foster care cases, and investigating parental kidnapping. The process child support workers use to find a noncustodial parent whose whereabouts are unknown. Many of these locate functions are automatic through the Oklahoma Support Information System (OSIS).

Locate information
Data used to locate alleged fathers, noncustodial parents, or custodial parents. May include their Social Security number, date of birth, residential address, employer, and assets.

Long arm jurisdiction
Legal provision that permits one state or tribe to claim personal jurisdiction over someone who lives in another state. There must be direct contact between the person and the state or district that is asserting jurisdiction in order for a court or agency to reach beyond its normal jurisdictional border. Also called Extended Personal Jurisdiction.
(See also: two-state action; Uniform Interstate Family Support Act)

Long Arm Statute
A law that permits one state to claim personal jurisdiction over someone who lives in another state.

Material mistake of fact
A mistake as to the facts that could not have been known at the time a signatory executed an acknowledgment of paternity.

Means-tested public assistance
Eligibility for a government benefit program, or the amount of the benefit or both are determined on the basis of income or resources of the person or family seeking the benefit. Examples of means-tested public assistance programs are Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), General Assistance (GA), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), State Supplemental Payments for Aged, Blind and the Disabled.
(See also: Public Assistance; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)

Medicaid (Title XIX)
Medical assistance provided under a state plan approved under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, codified in Subchapter XIX of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code (Link opens in new window). Children in Oklahoma receive Medicaid under the SoonerCare program.

Medical Assistance Only (MAO)
A form of public assistance administered by a state’s IV-A program, that provides benefits to recipients only in the form of medical, rather than financial, assistance.

Medical Case
A case where the child(ren) is receiving Medicaid (SoonerCare) benefits and the case may be automatically referred to the state child support agency so the state can enforce child and medical support. In Oklahoma, the case is not always automatically referred. If the Medicaid case is a child only case, the parent is not required to participate. A referral is not automatic and only sent by the DHS Family Support Division or Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) if the parent request child support services.

Medical Coverage
Any health coverage provided for a child or children, including private health insurance, publicly-funded health coverage, cash medical support, or payment of medical bills (including dental or eye care). Medical coverage may be provided by the custodial parent, noncustodial parent, or other person, such as stepparent.

Medical Enforcement Only (MEO)
An "MEO Case" is a non-TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) Medicaid child support case where the custodian requests enforcement of only medical support. A paternity or support order may be established but only medical support is enforced, at the custodian's request.

Medical support
Medical coverage provided for a child or children pursuant to an order. This includes: (1) private health insurance, (2) publicly-funded health coverage if a parent is ordered by a court or administrative process to provided cash medical support payments to help pay the cost of Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), (3) cash medical support, including payment of health insurance premiums, and (4) payment of medical bills (including dental or eye care). Indian Health Service and Tricare are acceptable forms of medical support. Medical support may be provided by the custodial parent, noncustodial parent, or another person, such as a stepparent.

Member of military service or servicemember
Any member of the uniformed service on active duty, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Also included are members of the National Guard called to active service, certain members of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, members of the Reserves when ordered to report for active military duty and United States citizens serving with the military of other countries if their service is similar to military service. A servicemember may be a noncustodial parent or a custodial person.
(See also: Servicemembers Civil Relief Act)

Modification
Change in a court order usually increasing or decreasing the support amount due to a change in circumstance such as custody or income.

Motion
An application to the court requesting an order or ruling in favor of the party that is filing the motion. Motions are generally made in reference to a pending action and may address a matter in the court’s discretion or concern a point of law.

Multiple Alleged Father Case
A case in which more than one man is named as the possible father of a child.

Multiple Case Action
When a noncustodial parent has multiple cases that are worked together for the primary purpose of right-sizing the noncustodial parent's child support orders. A multiple case action includes either an establishment action, modification action, or both. CSS presents multiple case actions to the Office of Administrative Hearings: Child Support (OAH) as appropriate.

Multistate employer
An employer that conducts business in two or more states. As with single-state employers, multistate employers are required by law to report all new hires to the State Directory of New Hires (SDNH) operated by their state government. However, unlike single-state employers, a multistate employer may report all of their new hires to the SDNH of only one state in which they do business rather than to each of them.

Multistate Financial Institution (MSFI)
A financial institution that conducts business in two or more states.

Multistate Financial Institution Data Match (MSFIDM)(a.k.a. Med 5)
Process by which delinquent child support obligors are matched with accounts held in financial institutions doing business in more than one state.
(See also: Financial Institution Data Match)
(See also: FIDM; Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996)

National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA)
The association that establishes the standards, rules, and procedures that enable financial institutions to exchange payments on a national basis. The Electronic Funds Transfer and the child support Electronic Data Interchange formats are established by NACHA. NACHA also establishes rules and procedures that govern use of the stored value cards.

National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA)
NCSEA is the nonprofit, professional organization representing the child support community. NCSEA's membership includes line/managerial/executive child support staff, state and local agencies, judges, court masters, hearing officers, government and private attorneys, social workers, advocates, corporations that partner with government to provide child support services and private collection and firms. For more information about NCSEA go to http://www.ncsea.org/ (Link opens in new window).

National Directory of New Hires (NDNH)
A national database containing new hire and quarterly wage data from every State Directory of New Hires and federal agency, and unemployment insurance data from State Workforce Agencies. Data contained is first reported to each state’s State Directory of New Hires and then transmitted to the NDNH. OCSE maintains the NDNH as part of the expanded Federal Parent Locator Service.
(See also: quarterly wage data; unemployment insurance claim data)

National Medical Support Notice (NMSN)
The standard form sent to an employer from the state child support agency ordering the employer and its health care plan administrator to enroll a noncustodial parent's child in health care coverage when coverage is available through the employer and required as part of a child support order. When properly completed, the NMSN is designed to simplify the work of employers and plan administrators by providing a uniform document to request health care coverage.

National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)
Part of the National Archives and Records Administration’s system of record storage facilities. The NPRC receives and stores both federal military and civilian personnel records.

Native American
A person who is an enrolled member of a federally recognized Indian tribe.

Never Assistance IV-D Case
A case where the children are receiving child support services, but are not currently determined to be eligible for and have not previously received assistance under Titles IV-A or IV-E of the Social Security Act.

New hire reporting
Program that requires that all employers report newly hired employees within 20 days to the State Directory of New Hires (SDNH) in their state. This data is then submitted to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), where it is compared against child support order information contained in the Federal Case Registry (FCR) for possible enforcement of child support obligations by wage garnishment. Some data is also made available to states to find new hires that have been receiving unemployment insurance or other public benefits for which they may no longer be eligible, helping states to reduce waste and fraud.
(See also: National Directory of New Hires; State Directory of New Hires;)

Next Friend
The next friend is considered an agent of the court whose role is to protect the rights of the person on whose behalf they are acting. A person who appears in court on behalf of another person who is under disability, a minor, or otherwise unable to maintain a lawsuit on their own behalf as a result of their circumstances. The next friend is not a party to the lawsuit and be any legally-competent person whose interests do not run counter to those of the person on whose behalf they are acting.

Non-Cash Support
Support provided to a family in the nature of goods or services, rather than in cash, but which has a certain and specific dollar value.
(See also: In-Kind Support)

Non-cooperation
Any action or omission on the part of the custodial person which prevents CSS from taking the next necessary step in providing support enforcement services.

Noncustodial parent (NCP)
The parent who does not have primary care, custody, or control of the child(ren), and has may have an obligation to pay child support. Also referred to as the obligor.
(See also: Custodial Person)

Non-dischargeable
See bankruptcy

Non-IV-A case
See Non-PA case

Non-IV-D case
A case where the order is entered into privately and the IV-D agency is not providing locate, enforcement, or collection services; often entered into during divorce proceedings. Also, a closed IV-D case where child support is still paid through the Centralized Support Registry by income withholding. Non-IV-D cases are for payment processing only.

(2) Has no current application or applicable fee for services paid by either parent.

(Non-IV-D orders that pre-date January 1, 1994 may be subject to different disbursement requirements.) A non-IV-D order can be converted into IV-D case when the appropriate application and fees for IV-D services are paid by a parent, or when the custodial parent begins receiving Title IV-A services for benefit of the child(ren).

Non-IV-D orders
A child support order handled by a private attorney or parties representing themselves as opposed to an order where the action was brought by the state or local child support (IV-D) agency. A non-IV-D case is one where the state:

(1) Is not currently providing services under the state's Title IV-A, Title IV-D, Title IV-E, or Title XIX programs.

Non-IV-E Foster Care
State funded placement of a child(ren) removed from a home where the child(ren) does not meet federal IV-E participation requirements.
(See also: IV-E Foster Care)

Non-PA case (Non-IV-A case or Non-TANF case)
Non-public assistance case. A child support case in which the custodial person has requested IV-D services and is not receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Also known as a Non-IV-A Case or a Non-TANF Case.

Non-TANF case
See Non-PA case

Nondisclosure Finding
A finding that the health, safety, or liberty of a party or child would be unreasonably put at risk by the disclosure of identifying information. Interstate petitions must include certain identifying information regarding the parties and child(ren) unless a tribunal makes a nondisclosure finding by ordering that the address or identifying information not be disclosed. In such cases, the finding would be identified by a Family Violence Indicator (FVI). The procedures for obtaining a nondisclosure finding vary from state to state.

(See also: Family Violence Indicator)

Notice of Service
A legal document that is filed with the appropriate court to provide proof that a party to a case has been legally served with court documents.
(See also: Affidavit of Service; Good Service; Service of Process)

Obligated
A term meaning a noncustodial parent is required to meet the financial terms of a court or administrative order.

Obligation
The legal amount of support ordered for the benefit of the children, to be paid as support by a parent or spouse in the form of financial support, medical support, spousal support, or health insurance.

Obligee
The person, state or tribal agency, or other institution entity to which child support is owed (also referred to as a custodial party when the money is owed to the person with primary custody of the child).

Obligor
The person ordered to pay child support (also referred to as a noncustodial parent).

Office of Administrative Hearings: Child Support (OAH)
The DHS Legal Division Office of Administrative Hearings: Child Support, which employs and assigns administrative law judges to conduct child support administrative hearings.

Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE)

The federal agency responsible for the administration of the Child Support Enforcement program. Created by Title IV-D of the Social Security Act in 1975, OCSE is responsible for developing child support policy; oversight, evaluation, and audits of state and tribal child support programs; and providing technical assistance and training to the those programs. OCSE operates the Federal Parent Locator Service, which includes the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) and the Federal Case Registry (FCR). OCSE is part of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The federal government, through the child support program, shares the cost of the state program with Federal Financial Participation (FFP).
(See also: Action Transmittal; Dear Colleague Letter; Information Memorandum; Policy Interpretation Question)

Offset
The process of diverting funds paid by the federal government to an obligor and applying the funds toward the balance of the delinquent debt. Also the amount of money that is intercepted from an obligor's state or federal income tax refund or from an administrative payment such as federal retirement benefits, in order to satisfy a child support debt.

Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC)
The Oklahoma Administrative Code is a compilation of all permanent and preemptive administrative rules that have been filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State as of a given date; and executive orders that have been filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State as of a given date. Child Support Services' administrative rules are found in OAC Title 340: Department of Human Services, Chapter 25: Child Support Enforcement Division.

Oklahoma Child Support Services (CSS)
See CSS.

Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS)
The state agency in Oklahoma created to administer and promote social services benefiting the general welfare, protection and security of the people of Oklahoma. Examples of programs within DHS are Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, Foster Care, Child Care Subsidy and Licensing and Child Support Services. See /content/sok-wcm/en/okdhs.html for more information about DHS.

Oklahoma Support Information System (OSIS)
The Oklahoma statewide computer system that supports the business activities of the Oklahoma child support program. It is an on-line information system that was designed to serve the needs of all child support case workers, supervisors, office managers and state office personnel.

One State remedies
The exercise of a state's jurisdiction over a non-resident parent or direct establishment, enforcement, or other action by a state against a non-resident parent in accordance with the longs arm provision of Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) or other state law

Open case
Most often refers to an IVD case that is in 02 (open and active for current support or establishment on a case) status in OSIS; could also include statuses 06 (collecting for arrears only), 08 (collecting for judgment only) and 10 (not collectible usually NCP incarcerated). May also be used to refer to active TANF cases.

Operation of law
The means by which a right or a liability is created for a party because of established legal rules, regardless of the party's actual intent. For example, because the decedent died without a will, his heirs are determined by operation of law.

Order
A legally binding decision that sets forth the responsibilities of the parties to an action. It can include a determination of parentage and a support obligation and set forth other rights of the parties. It may be issued by a judge, master, or other administrative entity authorized to enter orders or an agreement between the parties that has been ratified by an appropriate official.
(See also: Child Support Order, court order; support order)

Order/Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support (NOIA)
This federal form, Office of Management and Budget Form 0970-0154 (OMB 0970-0154), standardizes the information used to request income withholding for child support. It is used to notify employers and other withholders to deduct child support payments from noncustodial parents' (NCPs’) income and send the payments to a state’s Centralized Support Registry for distribution to custodial persons. According to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, this form may be sent directly from the initiating state to an NCP’s employer in another state. Also known as Income Withholding Order (IWO). NOIA and IWO may be used interchangeably.
(See also: income withholding)

Outgoing interstate case
An Oklahoma case where the noncustodial parent is residing or working in another jurisdiction and an outgoing interstate referral has been submitted to that state, tribal program, or country.

Outgoing interstate referral
The outgoing interstate referral is a request for child support services made by Oklahoma to the child support agency of another state, tribal program, or country.

Overpayment
A payment to a custodial person, noncustodial parent, or other entity by CSS to which the entity or person is not entitled.
(See also: bad debt; erroneous payment; retained support)

Overpayment recovery
The process used to record overpayment incidents and establish them as obligations in OSIS for monetary payment.

Parent
An individual who has established a parent-child relationship.
(See also: Acknowledged Father; Adjudicated Father; Alleged Father; Legal Father; Paternity; Presumed Father)

Parentage
The legal mother-child relationship and father-child relationship as determined by the state.
(See also: Acknowledged Father; Adjudicated Father; Alleged Father; Legal Father; Paternity; Presumed Father)

Participant in a case
A child, parent or alleged father or custodial person associated with a child support services case.
(See also: Case Member)

Pass through
(1) In Oklahoma, the support payment sent through the Centralized Support Registry in a non-IV-D case is known as a pass-through payment.

(2) Provision by which states can disburse part of a child support payment collected on behalf of a public assistance recipient instead of keeping the funds to reimburse the state, as well as disregard the payment in determining eligibility for assistance. Although Oklahoma, a few states have elected to retain the pass-through, paying it out of state, rather than federal, money. Also known as child support disregard. or fifty dollar disregard.

Past support
Past-due support or support for a prior period.
(See also: arrears; support for a prior period)

Passport Denial Program
Program created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) that is operated under the auspices of the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program (FOP). Under the Passport Denial Program, cases in which an obligor owes child support arrearages that are greater than the federally mandated threshold and are submitted to the FOP are forwarded to the U.S. Department of State, which flags the obligor’s name and refuses to issue a passport in the event he or she applies for one. After the obligor makes arrangements to satisfy the arrears, states can notify OCSE to request the State Department remove him or her from the program. This program is automatic, meaning that any obligor that is eligible will be submitted to the State Department unless the state submitting the case for tax refund offset specifically excludes him or her from the Passport Denial Program. (Tribes can choose to have access based on an agreement with the state.)
(See also: Federal Tax Refund Offset Program)

Paternity
The legal establishment of fatherhood for a child, either by court determination, administrative process, tribal custom, or voluntary acknowledgment. A paternity acknowledgment involves the legal establishment of fatherhood for a child through a voluntary acknowledgment signed by both parents as part of an in-hospital or other acknowledgment of service.

Payee
The person or entity to whom a check is written.

Payment plan
A payment plan includes, but is not limited to, a plan approved by the court or CSS that provides sufficient security to ensure compliance with a support order or that incorporates voluntary or involuntary income assignment or a similar plan for periodic payment of past-due support and, if applicable, current and future support. A payment plan is intended to incrementally reduce arrears. Also known as Payment Schedule.

Payor
Person who makes a payment, usually a noncustodial parent or someone acting on their behalf.
(See also: Obligor)

Pended payments
Funds which are distributed to case balances but the payee has not yet received the money. Pended payments include, but are not limited to, cancelled by statute and stop pay issuances.

Perfect a lien
Having completed all necessary legal steps to achieve a result, such as obtaining a lien or other security by legal action or by completing and filing all documents with the appropriate entity or public office (such as with the insurance carrier or in the workers' compensation court file) to inform others there is a lien in place.

Performance measures
The method used by the federal government in the calculation of incentive dollars for all states. Performance Measures assess state performance levels in 6 areas: paternity establishment; child support order establishment; collections on current support; collections on arrears; cost-effectiveness; and medical (which is not yet tied to federal incentives). Each state earns 5 scores based on performance in each of the 5 areas. These scores are then multiplied by the state's collections base to arrive at an adjusted federal score. The better the adjusted federal score, the more incentive dollars the state receives. States are accountable for providing reliable data on a timely basis, or they receive no incentives.

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA)
Legislation that provides a number of requirements for employers, public licensing agencies, financial institutions, as well as state, tribal, and federal child support agencies, to assist in locating noncustodial parents and establishing, enforcing, and collecting child support. This legislation created the New Hire Reporting program and the State and Federal Case Registries. Otherwise known as Welfare Reform.

Petition
A legal document filed with a court commencing a legal proceeding.

Petitioner
The person, state, or tribal agency initiating a legal or court action.
(See also: plaintiff)

Physical custody
The physical care and supervision of a child. The child support obligation follows physical custody, not legal custody.

Plaintiff
A person who brings an action. The party who complains or sues in a civil case. Petitioner is used in Oklahoma domestic relations actions.
(See also: petitioner)

Pleadings
Statements or allegations, presented in logical and legal form filed with the court, which constitute a plaintiff’s cause of action or a defendant’s grounds of defense.

Policy
Rules to describe the procedures or practice requirements of an agency.
(See also: Instructions to Staff; Office of Child Support Enforcement)

Policy Interpretation Question (PIQ)
An official reply by the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) to an inquiry submitted by a state or tribal child support agency concerning application of policy. Although questions often arise from a specific practice or situation, the responses are official statements of OCSE policy on the issue.
(See also: Office of Child Support Enforcement)

Postmaster Letter (PML)
A letter to the postmaster requesting verification of the address where a person is believed to reside. Used in locate activities to verify the person's address, however it technically only verifies that the person receives mail at that address.

Power of attorney
A written affidavit authorizing another to act as one's agent or attorney.

Presumed father
A man, who, by operation of law, is recognized as the father of a child until that status is rebutted or confirmed in a judicial proceeding.
(See also: acknowledged father; adjudicated father; alleged father; legal father, Paternity)

Private case
A non-public assistance child support cases. It may be a IV-D or non-IV-D case.

Pro Se
When a party represents himself in a legal matter, rather than being represented by a lawyer. For customers who want to pursue child support actions independently, CSS provides pro se materials on the Self-Help Legal Forms page of the DHS website, at www.okdhs.org.

Proactive matching
Process in which child support case data newly-submitted to the Federal Case Registry (FCR) (Link opens in new window) is automatically compared with previous submissions, as well as with the employment data in the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) (Link opens in new window). The resulting locate information is then returned to the appropriate state(s) for processing.

Probability of Paternity
The possibility that the alleged father is the biological father of the child as indicated by genetic test results. By Oklahoma law, a man is the biological father of the child if a genetic test indicates at least a 99 percent probability of paternity.

Proceeding
The conduct of business before a judge or administrative hearing officer.

Process improvement team (PIT)
A team of employees, mostly front line staff, tasked with analyzing a process and recommending solutions for improvement of that process to make it more efficient and effective.

Promulgate
To publish. To announce officially. To make public as important or obligatory.

PRWORA
See Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.

Public assistance (PA)
Money granted from state, tribal, or federal programs to a person or family for living expenses. Applicants for certain types of public assistance (for example, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF), are automatically referred to their state or tribal child support agency, which will identify and locate the noncustodial parent, establish paternity where appropriate, and obtain child support payments. This allows the state or tribe to recoup or defray some of its public assistance expenditures with funds from the noncustodial parent and may enable the custodial party to become self-sufficient.

Purge
The process of deleting a case from the OSIS computer files. Cases are purged automatically when they meet certain criteria unless a worker chooses to retain.

Purge Conditions
A plan through which an obligor can end a contempt citation. This plan may include paying the current support, if applicable, and all or a portion of the arrearage through a monthly payment or a lump sum purge fee. This plan may also include alternative sentencing options or other court-ordered requirements. Meeting the purge conditions will result in CSS dismissing the contempt citation.

Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)
A court order used in domestic relations cases to provide payments for property division, child support and alimony for support. CSS uses the QDRO to force distribution from some ERISA qualified retirement plans.

Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO)
An order, decree or judgment, including approval of a settlement agreement, issued by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction that provides for medical support for a child of a participant under a group health plan. A QMCSO must contain specific information to meet the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which allows a plan administrator to enroll a child in the parent's health plan. A properly completed National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) is a QMCSO.

Quarterly wage (QW) data
Data on all employees that must be submitted by employers on a quarterly basis to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) in the state in which they operate. This data is then submitted to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). Minimum information must include the employee’s name, address, Social Security number (SSN), wage amount and the reporting period as well as the employer’s name, address and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). The data is then compared against child support order information contained in the Federal Case Registry (FCR) for possible enforcement of child support obligations by wage garnishment. Federal agencies report this data directly to the NDNH.
(See also: National Directory of New Hires)

Receipt
Payment logged within the Oklahoma Support Information System (OSIS) financial system.

Reciprocity
The process by which one jurisdiction grants certain privileges to another jurisdiction on the condition that it receives the same privileges.
(See also: Bilateral Agreement)

Recognized Order
The controlling order as identified by applying the rules of the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (FFCCSOA) used for enforcement from the present time forward. Also known as a controlling order.

Record of payments
The record of payment identifies totals of what has become due and what has been paid by an obligor as of a point in time and includes any interest accruals. This document can be distributed to our external customers and used as evidence in court.

Redirect
A motion and order (or notice and order) for redirection of support payment.

Referral
Request sent to a child support agency from another jurisdiction or a non-IV-D agent or agency asking that a child support case be established.

Refusal of service
A document that is mailed to a recipient via Certified Restricted Delivery and the document was refused by the recipient at the post office. Or, a licensed process server attempted to hand deliver a legal document to a party in the court case and the recipient refused to accept it. Refusal of certified mail or personal service is considered good service upon the recipient under Section 2004 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes (Link opens in new window).

(See also: licensed process server; notice of service)

Registration
The formal filing process by which an order of one jurisdiction is recognized in another jurisdiction. After registration, an action can be taken in a tribunal of the responding jurisdiction as if the order was issued in that jurisdiction. An order may be registered for enforcement, modification, or both.

Regulation
A rule or order for the management of government programs.

Remedies
The means by which a right to child support is enforced.

Respondent
The party answering a petition or motion.
(See also: Defendant)

Responding Jurisdiction
The court of administrative agency with authority over a noncustodial parent or child support order on which an initiating jurisdiction has requested action.

Retained support
Retained support occurs when the custodial person has kept support payment(s) in violation of the assignment of support rights.
(See also: overpayment)

Review and adjustment (a.k.a. Modification)
Periodic process in which current information is obtained from both parties in a child support case and evaluated to decide if a support order needs to be adjusted.

Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (RURESA)
Revised URESA law that sets forth reciprocal laws concerning the enforcement of child support between states.
(See also: Uniform Interstate Family Support Act)

Right-Sizing Orders
The process of establishing and modifying child support orders and setting judgment payments that reflect current circumstances and actual income, unless the evidence supports imputing income to encourage NCP compliance and consistent, reliable support collections for the child(ren) involved.

Rule
Rule as defined by the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act (APA) means any agency statement or group of related statements of general applicability and future effect that implements, interprets or prescribes law or policy or describes the procedures or practice requirements of the agency. The term includes the amendment or revocation of an effective rule. DHS interprets this APA definition to mean a rule is a statement that informs the public and describes the: rights of applicants, recipients and providers; program requirements applicants, recipients and providers must meet and federal and state requirements DHS must meet. DHS rules are in Title 340 of the Oklahoma Administrative Code and all DHS administrative rule numbers begin with "340"

Service by publication
Service of process accomplished by publishing a notice in a newspaper or by posting it on a bulletin board of a courthouse or other public facility, after a court determines that other means of service are impractical or have been unsuccessful. This method of service is not available in every jurisdiction.

Service of process
The delivery of legal paperwork to a person for the purpose of obtaining jurisdiction and to notify of a legal proceeding.

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a federal law that protects soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines from being sued while in active military service of their country. Although the SCRA permits the servicemember to delay court proceedings, there are alternatives to administrative and district court proceedings. All military services have regulations requiring their members to honor court orders and pay child support regardless of the SCRA.
(See also: Member of military service)

Show cause
An order directing a person to appear and bring forth any evidence as to why the remedies requested should not be granted. A show cause order is usually based on a motion and affidavit asking for relief.

Signatory
An individual who signs an agreement, personally or through an agent, and is bound by its terms.

Social Security Act
The law that authorizes the child support program and other Titled programs. Public Law 74-271, approved August 14, 1935.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSD)
A federal Social Security program that provides monthly benefits to people who are no longer able to work because of a significant illness or disability. Depending on the amount of benefits received, SSD can be considered in the calculation and enforcement of child support.
(See also: Supplemental Security Income (SSI))

SoonerCare
Oklahoma's Medicaid program, which provides health care to children under the age of 19, adults with children under the age of 18, pregnant women, and people who are older than 65 or have blindness or another disability. At the federal level, this program is known as SCHIP.

Split jurisdiction
Split jurisdiction means a court has jurisdiction over 1 or more children on a child support case while another court retains jurisdiction over another child(ren) in the same family.

Spousal support
Court ordered support of a spouse or ex-spouse.

State
A state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

State’s Attorney
A lawyer employed in the child support program to represent the state in rendering services pursuant to the Social Security Act, codified in Part D of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code.

State Case Registry (SCR)
A database maintained by each state that contains information on individuals in child support cases. Information submitted to the SCR is transmitted to the Federal Case Registry (FCR), where it is compared to cases submitted to the FCR by other states, as well as to employment data in the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). Matches found are returned to the appropriate states for processing.
(See also: Federal Case Registry; IV-D case; Non-IV-D Order)

State Directory of New Hires
A database maintained by each state that contains information submitted by their employer within 20 days of hire. The data are then transmitted to the NDNH, where they are compared to the employment data from other states as well as child support data in the Federal Case Registry
(See also: National Directory of New Hires; new hire reporting)

State Disbursement Unit (SDU)
The single site in most states where all child support payments are sent for processing.
(See also: Centralized Support Registry)

State Parent Locator Service (SPLS)
A service provided by the state child support agencies to locate parents in order to establish and enforce child support obligations, visitation, and custody orders, or to establish paternity. This information is accessible to tribes through agreement made with a state.

State/Tribal IV-D Case
A case under the state's child support program received from, or sent to, a tribal child support program for case processing.

State Workforce Agencies (SWA)
Agencies in each state that process unemployment insurance claims and maintain databases of employment information and quarterly wage data submitted by employers. Formerly called State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs).
(See also: Unemployment Insurance Claim Data; Quarterly Wage Data; State Directory of New Hires; National Directory of New Hires)

Statement of judgment
A document filed to perfect a lien on real estate in the county where the property is located. It includes the date of the judgment and the amount of the judgment.

Statute
A law resulting from a legislative act.

Statute of Limitations
The cutoff point on the length of time a person has to take a legal action.

Stay
An order by a court that suspends all or some of the proceedings in a case.

Subpoena
A process issued by a court compelling a witness to appear at a judicial proceeding. Sometimes the process will also direct the witness to bring documentary evidence to the court.

Subpoena duces tecum
A court document served requiring production of certain evidence or documents.

Summary of Support Order (SOSO)
This form is used to summarize the child support order when CSS is not providing child support services. After a judge enters a child support order, Oklahoma law requires custodial persons, noncustodial parents or their attorneys complete this form and mail it to Oklahoma's Central Case Registry. This ensures child support orders are properly recorded so Oklahoma's Centralized Support Registry can distribute child support income assignment payments to the correct custodial person.

Summons
A notice to a defendant that an action against him or her has been commenced in the court and a judgment will be issued against him or her if the complaint is not answered within a certain time.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

A federal Social Security program that gives cash assistance to people with limited income and resources who are disabled, blind, or age 65 or older. Children with disabilities may also be eligible for SSI. SSI benefits are not considered in the calculation or enforcement of child support.

(See also: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSD))

Support
All payments or other obligations due and owing to the obligee or person entitled by the obligor under a support order, and may include, but is not limited to, child support, medical insurance or other health benefit plan premiums or payments, child care obligations, support alimony payments and other obligations as specified in Section 118 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes (Link opens in new window).

Support debt
A debt owed to the state of Oklahoma by the natural, legal or adoptive persons who are responsible for support of a child or children receiving public assistance from the DHS or the reasonable expenses of providing for a child or children.

Support for a prior period
The amount of child support ordered under the child support guidelines in Sections 118 through 119 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes in paternity orders and in TANF notice of support debt orders for past months when no child support order was in effect.

Support order
A judgment, decree, order or directive, whether temporary, final or subject to modification, issued by a tribunal for the benefit of a child, a spouse or a former spouse, which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages or reimbursement, and may include related costs and fees, interest, income withholding, attorney's fees, and other relief.
(See also: Obligation)

Tax offset intercept
Past due support withheld (or intercepted) from a noncustodial parent's state or federal income tax return.

Tax offset referral
Arrears owed that are reported to state and federal tax offices to intercept or offset state or federal income tax returns.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Time-limited public assistance payments made to poor families, based on Title IV-A of the Social Security Act. TANF replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children when the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) was signed into law in 1996. The program provides parents with job preparation, work, and support services to help them become self-sufficient. Applicants for TANF benefits are automatically referred to their state or tribal child support agency in order to establish paternity and child support for their children from the noncustodial parent. This allows the state or tribe to recoup or defray some of its public assistance expenditures with funds from the noncustodial parent.
(See also: Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act)

Third party liability
The responsibility that an entity, other than the parties to an action (custodial person and noncustodial parent, usually the parents), has to the state provider of health care coverage for reimbursement.

Tribal IV-D Program
A child support program administered by a federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal organization and funded under title IV-D of the Social Security Act.

Tribal court
A judicial entity authorized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and an individual tribe to hold jurisdiction over that tribe’s members.

Tribunal
A court, administrative agency, or quasi-judicial agency authorized to establish or modify support orders or to determine paternity.

Two-state action
The process a state must follow under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) when it does not have Long Arm Jurisdiction (that is, it cannot legally claim personal jurisdiction over a noncustodial parent who lives in another state). This usually occurs in cases where a state is trying to establish paternity or an initial child support order on behalf of a resident custodial party.
(See also: Initiating jurisdiction; Uniform Interstate Family Support Act)

Unclaimed funds
Support payment that cannot be disbursed because the identity the identity of the payor or the case information is unknown, or the address of the payee is unknown.

Undistributed funds (or payments)
Payments received but not yet distributed for reasons such as lack of order information, missing case types or no further balances reflected as due.

Unemployment compensation intercept (UCI)
Past due support (or intercepted) from an NCP's unemployment benefits.

Unemployment insurance (UI) claim data
Data on unemployment insurance and applicants claimants submitted by state employment security agencies (SESAs) on a quarterly basis to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) (Link opens in new window). Minimum information must include the employee’s name, address, Social Security number (SSN), the benefit amount and reporting period. This data is then compared against child support order information contained in the Federal Case Registry (FCR) (Link opens in new window) for possible enforcement of child support obligations by garnishment.
(See also: National Directory of New Hires)

Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA)
Law enacted by all states that provides mechanisms for establishing and enforcing child support obligations (when a noncustodial parent lives in a different state than the child and the custodial party. UIFSA also allows child support agencies to send withholding orders to employers across state lines. UIFSA does not apply to tribes.
(See also: Direct income withholding)

Uniform Parentage Act (UPA)
The most important uniform act addressing the status of the out of wedlock child. The Uniform Parentage Act asserts that all children should be treated equally without regard to the marital status of the parents. In Oklahoma, the UPA creates a uniform definition of parentage and a uniform two-year time period for challenges to paternity established through marriage, acknowledgments and court orders. It resolves conflicting presumptions of paternity by allowing courts to order genetic testing during the two-year challenge time period if it is in the child's best interest. It gives courts factors to consider when determining if it is in the child's best interest to order genetic testing and requires an attorney or guardian ad litem be appointed for a child if there is a challenge to the paternity establishment.

United States Code (USC)
A congressionally authorized compilation of federal laws that are systematically classified into 1 of 50 titles.

Unreimbursed public assistance (URA)
The cumulative amount of assistance money paid to the family for all months, which has not been repaid by assigned child support payments collected.

Unreimbursed Public Assistance may be referred to as UPA in states other than Oklahoma.

Wage withholding
A procedure by which scheduled deductions are automatically made from wages or income to pay an obligation, such as child support. The provision dictates that an employer must withhold support from a noncustodial parent's wages and transfer that withholding to the appropriate agency (the Centralized Collection Unit or State Disbursement Unit). Also known as income withholding.
(See also: income assignment.)

Waiver
A procedure by which a known right is voluntarily and intentionally relinquished.

Warrant
1. A written order issued and signed by a judge and directed to a peace officer or some other official commanding the official to arrest the person named in the warrant, who is accused of an offense or a failure to appear in court.

2. An unconditional written order by which one person or entity authorizes another person entity to pay a certain sum of money to a third person or entity. A warrant is also known as a money order, check, cashier's check, or bank draft.
(See also: Check)

Workers’ compensation
A form of insurance provided to employees who are injured on the job, in exchange for the relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer.

Writ
A legal order issued by a court ordering or prohibiting some action.

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