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Alaska Statutes.

Title 25. Marital and Domestic Relations

Chapter 27. Child Support Services Agency

Section 20. Duties and Responsibilities of the Agency.

AS 25.27.020. Duties and Responsibilities of the Agency.

(a) The agency shall

(1) seek enforcement of child support orders of the state in other jurisdictions and shall obtain, enforce, and administer the orders in this state;

(2) adopt regulations to carry out the purposes of this chapter and AS 25.25, including regulations that establish

(A) procedures for hearings conducted under AS 25.27.170 and for administrative enforcement of support orders;

(B) subject to AS 25.27.025 and to federal law, a uniform rate of interest on arrearages of support that shall be charged the obligor upon notice if child support payments are 10 or more days overdue or if payment is made by a check backed by insufficient funds; however, an obligor may not be charged interest on late payment of a child support obligation, other than a payment on arrearages, if the obligor is

(i) employed and income is being withheld from the obligor's wages under an income withholding order;

(ii) receiving unemployment compensation and child support obligations are being withheld from the obligor's unemployment payments under AS 23.20.401 ; or

(iii) receiving compensation for disabilities under AS 23.30 and child support obligations are being withheld from the obligor's compensation payments;

(C) procedures for establishing and disestablishing paternity under AS 25.27.165 and 25.27.166, including procedures for hearings; and

(D) procedures under which the agency shall enter into contracts or agreements with financial institutions, including brokerage houses, insurance companies, and other companies providing individual investment, transaction, or deposit accounts, doing business in the state to develop and operate an automated data match system as required by 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(17); the agency may pay a reasonable fee to a financial institution for conducting a data match under a contract or agreement under this subparagraph; the fee may not exceed the actual costs incurred by the financial institution for conducting the data match;

(3) administer and enforce AS 25.25 (Uniform Interstate Family Support Act);

(4) establish, enforce, and administer child support obligations administratively under this chapter;

(5) administer the state plan required under 42 U.S.C. 651 - 669 (Title IV-D, Social Security Act) as amended;

(6) disburse support payments collected by the agency to the obligee, together with interest charged under (2)(B) of this subsection;

(7) establish and enforce administratively under this chapter, or through the superior courts of the state, child support orders from other jurisdictions pertaining to obligors within the state;

(8) enforce and administer spousal support orders if a spousal support obligation has been established with respect to the spouse and if the support obligation established with respect to the child of that spouse is also being administered;

(9) obtain a medical support order that meets the requirements of AS 25.27.060(c) and 25.27.063;

(10) act on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Services in the enforcement of AS 47.07.025 (b);

(11) establish or disestablish, administratively under AS 25.27.165 - 25.27.166 or through court action, the paternity of a child;

(12) promptly provide to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, in a format approved by the bureau, any final agency decision administratively establishing or disestablishing the paternity of a child born in this state; and

(13) act as the central registry for all child support orders and exchange information as required by federal law.

(b) In determining the amount of money an obligor must pay to satisfy the obligor's immediate duty of support, the agency shall consider all payments made by the obligor directly to the obligee or to the obligee's custodian before the time the obligor is ordered to make payments through the agency. After the obligor is ordered to make payments through the agency, the agency may not consider direct payments made to the obligee or the obligee's custodian unless the obligor provides clear and convincing evidence of the payment.

(c) If admitted to the practice of law in the state, the director of the agency, or the director's designee, shall sign a complaint or other pleadings on behalf of the agency in an action to establish or enforce a support obligation under this chapter in which the agency is not represented by the attorney general.

(d) The agency may issue an administrative order or request a court order that requires an individual in arrears under an order of support for a child who is receiving assistance under AS 47.07, or under AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.420 or a successor program, or for a child whose parent, guardian, or designee of the parent or guardian has applied for aid from the agency under AS 25.27.100 , to make payments according to an approved payment plan or, if the individual is not incapacitated, to participate in appropriate work activities.

(e) To the extent required by federal law and as necessary for locating individuals for child support purposes, the agency, the child support enforcement agency of another state, or the federal government is entitled to have access to information used by the Department of Public Safety or a successor agency to locate an individual for purposes relating to motor vehicles or law enforcement.

(f) The agency shall, by regulation, establish procedures and standards for the forgiveness of an arrearage owed to the state under AS 25.27.120 . The agency may forgive arrears under this section, with the approval of the commissioner and without the approval of the Department of Law, if

(1) the obligor

(A) has or obtains employment for which income withholding is initiated under AS 25.27.250 within 60 days after the date the obligor is approved for the forgiveness program;

(B) enrolls in and successfully completes an employment training program approved by the agency and obtains employment for which income withholding is initiated under AS 25.27.250 within 30 days after completion of the employment training program; or

(C) enters into an agreement with the agency for alternative payment procedures if the agency determines that there are unusual circumstances justifying a waiver of income withholding;

(2) the obligor is in compliance with additional requirements and limitations imposed by the agency by regulation to assure that forgiveness of the arrearage is in the best interest of the child and of the state; and

(3) the obligor makes monthly payments pursuant to a payment agreement approved by the agency; if the obligor misses more than two monthly payments in a calendar year or more than two consecutive payments without approval of the agency for good cause, the obligor is not eligible to continue in the arrears forgiveness program under this section.

(g) During each year in which an obligor complies with the requirements for the forgiveness of an arrearage under (f) of this section and any regulations adopted by the agency under that subsection, the agency may forgive up to 20 percent of the total arrearage owed to the state under AS 25.27.120 , including any interest owed on that debt. For purposes of determining the amount of the forgiveness, the arrears shall be calculated as of the date the obligor is approved for participation in the forgiveness program.

(h) The agency may establish by regulation requirements and limitations on eligibility in addition to those stated in (f) and (g) of this section.