ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 430
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Buckalew,
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Passed April 12, 1997; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, fifteen and
eighteen, article nine, chapter nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended;
to further amend said article by adding thereto a new
section, designated section twenty; and to amend and reenact
section twenty-four, article two, chapter forty-eight-a of
said code, all relating to conforming the West Virginia
works act and support enforcement law to federal
requirements; legislative findings; defining terms; removing
obsolete language relating to program implementation, waiver
proposals and emergency rules; removing requirement that
rules be promulgated in accordance with administration
procedures act; changing work exemption for new mothers;
requiring personal responsibility contract be signed before
receipt of cash assistance; diversionary assistance allowances; providing for confidentiality of information;
fines and criminal penalties for unauthorized release of
confidential information; and removing the pass-through of
the first fifty dollars of amounts collected as child
support.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,
nine, ten, eleven, twelve, fifteen and eighteen, article nine,
chapter nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that
said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section,
designated section twenty; and that section twenty-four, article
two, chapter forty-eight-a of said code be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 9. HUMAN SERVICES.
ARTICLE 9. WEST VIRGINIA WORKS PROGRAM.
§9-9-2. Legislative findings; purpose.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:
(1) The entitlement of any person to receive federal-state
cash assistance is hereby discontinued;
(2) At-risk families are capable of becoming self- supporting;
(3) A reformed assistance program should both expect and
assist a parent and caretaker-relatives in at-risk families to support their dependent children and children for which they are
caretakers;
(4) Every parent or caretaker-relative can exhibit
responsible patterns of behavior so as to be a positive role
model;
(5) Every parent or caretaker-relative who receives cash
assistance has a responsibility to participate in an activity to
help them prepare for, obtain and maintain gainful employment;
(6) For a parent or caretaker-relative who receives cash
assistance and for whom full-time work is not feasible,
participation in some activity is expected to further themselves,
their family or their community;
(7) The state should promote the value of work and the
capabilities of individuals;
(8) Job development efforts should enhance the employment
opportunities of participants;
(9) An effective public education system is the key to long- term self-support; and
(10) A reformed assistance program should be structured to
achieve a clear set of outcomes; deliver services in an
expedient, effective and efficient manner; and maximize community
support for participants. After five years, there is expected to
be a decrease in the following: (i) The number of persons
receiving public assistance; and (ii) the amount of time an individual remains on public assistance.
(b) The goals of the program are to achieve more efficient
and effective use of public assistance funds; reduce dependency
on public programs by promoting self-sufficiency; and structure
the assistance programs to emphasize employment and personal
responsibility. The program is to be evaluated on the increase
in employment rates in the program areas; the completion of
educational and training programs; the increased compliance in
preventive health activities, including immunizations; and a
decrease in the case-load of division of personnel.
§9-9-3. Definitions.
In addition to the rules for the construction of statutes in
section ten, article two, chapter two of this code and the words
and terms defined in section two, article one of this chapter,
unless a different meaning appears from the context:
(a) "At-risk family" means a group of West Virginians living
in the same household, living below the federally designated
poverty level, lacking the resources to become self-supporting,
and consisting of a dependent minor child or children living with
a parent, stepparent or caretaker-relative; an "at-risk family"
may include an unmarried minor parent and his or her dependent
child or children who live in an adult supervised setting;
(b) "Beneficiary" or "participant" means any parent or
caretaker-relative in an at-risk family who receives cash assistance for himself or herself and family members;
(c) "Cash assistance" means temporary assistance for needy
families or diversionary assistance;
(d) "Challenge" means any fact, circumstance or situation
that prevents a person from becoming self-sufficient or from
seeking, obtaining or maintaining employment of any kind,
including physical or mental disabilities, lack of education,
testing, training, counseling, child care arrangements,
transportation, medical treatment or substance abuse treatment;
(e) "Community or personal development" means activities
designed or intended to eliminate challenges to participation in
self-sufficiency activities. These activities are to provide
community benefit and enhance personal responsibility, including,
but not limited to, classes or counseling for learning life
skills or parenting, dependent care, job readiness, volunteer
work, participation in sheltered workshops or substance abuse
treatment;
(f) "Department" means the state department of health and
human resources;
(g) "Division" means the division of human services;
(h) "Income" means money received by any member of an at- risk family which can be used at the discretion of the household
to meet its basic needs:
Provided, That income shall not include
earnings of minor children in school, payments received from earned income tax credit or tax refunds;
(i) "Personal responsibility contract" means a written
agreement entered into by the division and a beneficiary which
establishes the responsibilities and obligations of the
beneficiary;
(j) "Secretary" means the secretary of the state department
of health and human resources;
(k) "Subsidized employment" means employment with earnings
provided by an employer who receives a subsidy from the division
for the creation and maintenance of the employment position;
(l) "Support services" means, but is not limited to, the
following services: Child care; medicaid; transportation
assistance; information and referral; resource development
services which is assisting families to receive child support
enforcement and supplemental social security income; family
support services which is parenting, budgeting and family
planning; relocation assistance; and mentoring services;
(m) "Unsubsidized employment" means employment with earnings
provided by an employer who does not receive a subsidy from the
division for the creation and maintenance of the employment
position;
(n) "Work" means unsubsidized employment, subsidized
employment, work experience or community or personal development;
and
(o) "Work experience" means unpaid structured work
activities that are provided in an environment where performance
expectations are similar to those existing in unsubsidized
employment and which provide training in occupational areas that
can realistically be expected to lead to unsubsidized employment.
§9-9-4. Authorization for program.
(a) The secretary shall conduct the West Virginia works
program in accordance with this article and any applicable
regulations promulgated by the secretary of the federal
department of health and human services in accordance with
federal block-grant funding or similar federal funding stream.
This program shall be implemented to replace welfare assistance
programs for at-risk families in accordance with this article and
within federal requirements; to coordinate the transfer of all
applicable state programs into the temporary assistance to needy
families West Virginia works program; to expend only the funds
appropriated by the Legislature to establish and operate the
program or any other funds available to the program pursuant to
any other provisions of the code or rules; to establish
administrative due process procedures for revocation or
termination proceedings; and implement such other procedures as
may be necessary to accomplish the purpose of this article.
(b) The secretary may establish the program as one or more
pilot projects to test the policy being evaluated. Any pilot project so established is to be consistent with the principles
and goals set forth in this article. The secretary shall
determine the counties in which to implement the provisions of
this program, considering a fair representation of both rural and
urban areas, and may vary the program components to test the
effectiveness, efficiency and fiscal impact of each prior to
statewide implementation. The secretary shall structure the
initial pilot program, or programs to include a minimum of
fifteen percent of the state population that qualifies for
temporary assistance for needy families, or any successor
program. The pilot program shall eventually include a minimum of
fifteen percent of the participants eligible in other categories,
as funds are available.
(c) The West Virginia works program authorized pursuant to
this act does not create an entitlement to that program or any
services offered within that program, unless entitlement is
created pursuant to a federal law or regulation. The West
Virginia works program, and each component of that program
established by this act or the expansion of any component
established pursuant to federal law or regulation, is subject to
the annual appropriation of funds by the Legislature.
(d) Copies of all rules proposed by the secretary shall also
be filed with the legislative oversight commission on health and
human resources accountability established pursuant to article twenty-nine-e, chapter sixteen of this code.
(e) In conjunction with the performance evaluation of the
department of health and human resources scheduled during the
interim of the Legislature in the year one thousand nine hundred
ninety-seven, the performance evaluation and research division of
the legislative auditor's office shall undertake a statistical
study evaluating the rates at which participants in the pilot
program established under this article move to unsubsidized
employment, subsidized employment and work experience, and report
findings to the joint committee on government operations not
later than the thirtieth day of October, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-seven. The performance evaluation and research
division may review and make recommendations with respect to the
methodology established by the secretary for evaluating the
effectiveness, efficiency and fiscal impact of the pilot project
established pursuant to this section.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this
sectionarticle, the secretary shall implement, not later than the first
day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight,
modifications to the temporary assistance to needy families
program so that the method of calculating the amount of cash
assistance for which a participant's family is eligible,
including treatment of income and assets, does not vary depending
on the participant's county of residence:
Provided, That nothing in this subsection may be construed to require the expansion or
statewide implementation of the program created in this article
until such time as the effectiveness, efficiency and fiscal
impact of the program is tested and evaluated.
§9-9-5. West Virginia works program fund.
There is hereby created a special account within the state
treasury to be known as the "West Virginia Works Program Fund".
Expenditures from the fund shall be used exclusively to meet the
necessary expenditures of the program, including wage
reimbursements to participating employers, temporary assistance
to needy families, employment-related child care payments,
transportation expenses and administrative costs directly
associated with the operation of the program. Moneys paid into
the account shall be from specific annual appropriations of funds
by the Legislature.
§9-9-6. Program participation.
(a) Unless otherwise noted in this article, all adult
recipients of cash assistance shall be required to participate in
the West Virginia works pilot program in accordance with the
provisions of this article. The level of participation, services
to be delivered and work requirements shall be defined within the
terms of the personal responsibility contract and through rules
established by the secretary.
(b) To the extent funding permits, any individual exempt under the provisions of section eight of this article may
participate in the activities and programs offered through the
West Virginia works program.
(c) Support services other than cash assistance through the
works program may be provided to at-risk families to eliminate
the need for cash assistance.
(d) Cash assistance through the works program may be
provided to an at-risk family if the combined family income is
below the income and asset test levels established by the
division:
Provided, That an at-risk family that includes a
married man and woman and dependent children of either one or
both may receive an additional cash assistance benefit in an
amount ten percent greater than the cash assistance benefit
provided to the same size household in which there are no married
adults:
Provided, however,: That an at-risk family shall receive
an additional cash assistance benefit in an amount equal to the
amount of child support collected in a month on behalf of a child
or children of the at- risk family, not to exceed fifty dollars.
§9-9-7. Work requirements
.
Unless otherwise exempted by the provisions of section eight
of this article, the West Virginia works program shall require
that anyone who possesses a high school diploma, or its
equivalent, or anyone who is of the age of twenty years or more,
to work or attend an educational or training program for a minimum of twenty hours per week to receive any form of cash
assistance. In accordance with federal law or regulation, the
work, education and training requirements of this section are
waived for any qualifying participant with a child under six
years of age if the participant is unable to obtain appropriate
and available child care services. In order for any participant
to receive cash assistance, he or she shall enter into personal
responsibility contracts pursuant to the provisions of section
nine of this article.
§9-9-8. Exemptions.
Participants exempt from the work requirements of the works
program pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be
required to develop a personal responsibility contract. The
secretary shall establish by rule categories of persons exempt
only from the work requirements of the program, which categories
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) A parent caring for a dependent child with a life- threatening illness;
(b) Individuals over the age of sixty years;
(c) Full-time students that are less than twenty years of
age and are pursuing a high school diploma or equivalent;
(d) Persons with a physical or mental incapacity or persons
suffering from a temporary debilitating injury lasting more than
thirty days;, as defined by the secretary;
(e) Relatives providing in-home care for an individual that
would otherwise be institutionalized; and
(f) Any woman during the last trimester of pregnancy and the
first six months after the birth of the child but in no case
shall the woman be exempt from the work requirements for more
than a total of six months:
Provided, That, in the case of the
birth of the first child to said woman after said woman first
becomes a cash assistance recipient, the woman may be exempt up
to the time her child reaches twelve months of age.
§9-9-9. Personal responsibility contract.
(a) Every eligible adult beneficiary shall participate in a
program orientation and the development, and subsequent
revisions, of a personal responsibility contract. The contract
shall be defined based on the assessed goals and challenges of
the participant:
(1) If the participant has a recent attachment to the work
force, the contract shall include provisions regarding required
job search activities, identified support services, level of
benefits requested and time limitation.
(2) If the participant does not have a recent attachment to
the work force, the contract shall identify the evaluation or
testing activities, and/or job training activities necessary
prior to job search activities, identified support services,
benefits requested and time limitation.
(3) If it is determined that the participant is not able to
obtain or maintain gainful employment, the contract shall contain
appropriate provisions defining the activities that benefit the
participant, their family or their community.
(4) The participant's contract shall include the requirement
that the participant develop and maintain, with the appropriate
health care provider, a schedule of preventive care for their
dependent child, including routine examinations and
immunizations; assurance of school attendance for school age
children under their care; assurance of properly supervised child
care, including after-school care; and establish paternity or
actively pursue child support, or both, if applicable and if
deemed necessary, nutrition or other counseling, parenting or
family planning classes.
(5) If the participant must overcomes challenges prior to
employment, the contract shall include a list of the identified
challenges and an individual plan for overcoming the same.
(6) If the participant is a teenage parent, the participant
may work, but the contract shall include the requirements that
the participant:
(A) Remain in an educational activity to complete high
school, obtain a general equivalent diploma or obtain vocational
training and make satisfactory scholastic progress;
(B) Attend parenting classes or participate in a mentorship program, or both if appropriate; and
(C) Live at home or in other adult supervised arrangements
if they are unemancipated minor parents.
(7) If the participant is under the age of twenty years and
does not have a high school education or its equivalent, the
contract shall include requirements to participate in mandatory
education or training, which if the participant is unemployed,
may include a return to high school with satisfactory scholastic
progress.
(b) In order to receive cash assistance the participant
shall enter into a personal responsibility contract. If the
participant refuses to sign the personal responsibility contract,
the participant and family members shall be ineligible to receive
cash assistance:
Provided, That a participant who alleges that
the terms of a personal responsibility contract are inappropriate
based on the individual circumstances of the participant may
request and shall be provided a fair and impartial hearing in
accordance with administrative procedures established by the
division and due process of law. A participant who signs a
personal responsibility contract, or complies with a personal
responsibility contract, does not waive his or her right to
request and receive a due process hearing under this subsection.
(c) Personal responsibility contracts shall be drafted by
the division on a case-by-case basis; take into consideration the individual circumstances of each beneficiary; reviewed and
reevaluated not less often than every two years; and, in the
discretion of the division, amended or extended on a periodic
basis.
§9-9-10. Participation limitation; exceptions.
The length of time a participant may receive cash assistance
through the West Virginia works program shall be defined in the
personal responsibility contract:
Provided, That no participant
may receive benefits for a period longer than sixty months,
except in circumstances as defined by the secretary.
§9-9-11. Breach of contract; notice; sanctions.
(a) The division may refuse to extend or renew a personal
responsibility contract and the benefits received by the
beneficiary, or may terminate an existing contract and benefits,
if the division finds any of the following:
(1) The employment of fraud or deception by the beneficiary
in applying for or receiving program benefits;
(2) A substantial breach of the requirements and obligations
set forth in the personal responsibility contract;
(3) A violation of any provision of the personal
responsibility contract, this article, or any rule promulgated by
the secretary pursuant to this article.
(b) In the event the division determines that a personal
responsibility contract or the benefits received by the beneficiary are subject to revocation or termination, written
notice of the violation, revocation or termination shall be
deposited in the United States mail, postage pre-paid and
addressed to the beneficiary at his or her last known address
thirteen days prior to such termination or revocation. Such
notice shall state the action of the division, its reason or
reasons for such termination and grant to the beneficiary a
reasonable opportunity to be heard at a fair and impartial
hearing before the division in accordance with administrative
procedures established by the division and due process of law.
(c) In any hearing granted pursuant to the provisions of
this section, the beneficiary shall maintain the burden of
proving that his or her benefits were improperly terminated and
shall bear his or her own costs, including attorneys fees.
(d) The secretary shall determine by rule de minimis
violations and those violations subject to sanctions and maximum
penalties. In the event the division finds that a beneficiary
has violated any provision of this article, of his or her
personal responsibility contract or any applicable division rule,
the division shall impose sanctions against the beneficiary as
follows:
(1) For the first noncompliance, a one-third reduction of
benefits for three months;
(2) For the second noncompliance, a two-thirds reduction in benefits for three months; and
(3) For the third noncompliance, a termination of benefits
for six months.
(e) For any sanction imposed pursuant to subsection (d) of
this section, if compliance occurs within thirteen days of the
date of the notice of the sanction, the reduction in benefits
shall not be imposed, but the noncompliance shall count in
determining the level of sanction to be imposed for any future
noncompliance. Once a reduction in benefits is in effect, it
shall remain in effect for the designated time period:
Provided,
That if a participant incurs a second noncompliance sanction
during the time period of an imposed first noncompliance
sanction, the sanctions shall run concurrently at the second
noncompliance sanction rate:
Provided, however, That if during
the time period of an imposed second noncompliance sanction, a
third noncompliance occurs, the third noncompliance sanction
shall be imposed and the participant's benefits shall be
terminated. If benefits are terminated, benefits may not be
provided until after the six-month time period and the
noncompliance that caused the termination has been rectified or
excused.
§9-9-12. Diversionary assistance allowance in lieu of monthly
cash assistance.
(a) In order to encourage at-risk families not to apply for ongoing monthly cash assistance from the state, the secretary may
issue one-time diversionary assistance allowances to families in
an amount not to exceed three months of cash assistance in order
to enable such families to become immediately self-supporting:
Provided, That receipt of such allowance, regardless of amount,
shall count as three months of the sixty months designated under
the provisions of section ten of this article.
(b) The secretary shall establish by rule the standards to
be considered in making diversionary assistance allowances.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require
that the division or any assistance issued pursuant to this
section be subject to any of the provisions of chapter thirty-one
or chapter forty-six-a of this code.
§9-9-15. Interagency coordination.
The Legislature encourages the development of a system of
coordinated services, shared information and stream-lined
application procedures between the program and the other agencies
within the department to implement the provisions of this
article. The secretary shall require the coordination of
activities between the program and the following agencies:
(a) The child support enforcement division for the purpose
of establishing paternity, promoting cooperation in the pursuit
of child support, encouraging noncustodial parents to get job
search assistance and determining eligibility for cash assistance and support services;
(b) The bureau of public health for the purpose of
determining appropriate immunization schedules, delivery systems
and verification procedures; and
(c) The bureau of medical services for the purpose of
reporting eligibility for medical assistance and transitional
benefits.
The secretary may require the coordination of procedures and
services with any other agency he or she deems necessary to
implement this program:
Provided, That all agencies coordinating
services with the division shall, when provided with access to
division records or information, abide by state and federal
confidentiality requirements including the provisions of section
twenty of this article.
The secretary shall propose any rules, including emergency
rules, necessary for the coordination of various agency
activities in the implementation of this section.
§9-9-18. Relationship with other law.
If any provision of this article conflicts with any other
provision of this code or rules, the provisions of this article
shall supersede such provisions:
Provided, That the provisions
of this article shall not supersede any provisions which are
required or mandated by federal law.
Any reference in this code or rules to "aid to families with dependent children" means "temporary assistance for needy
families" or any successor state program funded under Part A,
Title IV of the Social Security Act.
§9-9-20. Confidentiality, fines and penalties.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this code or rules, all
records and information of the department regarding any
beneficiary or beneficiary's family members shall be confidential
and shall not be released, except under the following
circumstances:
(1) If permissible under state or federal rules or
regulations;
(2) Upon the express written consent of the beneficiary or
his or her legally authorized representative;
(3) Pursuant to an order of any court based upon a finding
that said information is sufficiently relevant to a proceeding
before the court to outweigh the importance of maintaining the
confidentiality established by this section:
Provided, That all
confidential records and information presented to the court shall
after review be sealed by the clerk and shall not be open to any
person except upon order of the court upon good cause being shown
therefor; or
(4) To a department or division of the state, pursuant to
the terms of an interagency agreement.
(b) Any person who knowingly and willfully releases or causes to be released the confidential records and information
described in this section, except under the specific
circumstances enumerated in this section, is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than five hundred dollars or confined in the county or regional
jail for not more than six months, or both.
CHAPTER 48A. ENFORCEMENT OF FAMILY OBLIGATIONS.
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION; CHILD
SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT DIVISION; ESTABLISHMENT AND
ORGANIZATION.
§48A-2-24. Disbursements of amounts collected as support.
(a) Amounts collected as child or spousal support by the
child support enforcement division shall be distributed within
ten days of receipt, except as otherwise specifically provided in
this chapter. Such amounts shall, except as otherwise provided
under the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, be
distributed as follows:
(1) Any amounts which are collected periodically which
represent monthly support payments shall be paid by the child
support enforcement division to the appropriate administrative
unit of the department of health and human resources to reimburse
it for assistance payments to the family during that period (with
appropriate reimbursement of the federal government to the extent
of its participation in the financing);
(2) Amounts as are in excess of amounts required to
reimburse the department of health and human resources under
subdivision (1) of this subsection and are not in excess of the
amount required to be paid during such period to the family by a
court order shall be paid to the obligee; and
(3) Amounts that are in excess of amounts required to be
distributed under subdivisions (1)and (2) of this subsection
shall be: (A) Paid by the child support enforcement division to
the appropriate administrative unit of the department of health
and human resources (with appropriate reimbursement of the
federal government to the extent of its participation in the
financing) as reimbursement for any past assistance payments made
to the family for which the department has not been reimbursed;
or (B) if no assistance payments have been made by the department
which have not been repaid, such amounts shall be paid to the
obligee.
(b) (1) Whenever a family for whom support payments have
been collected and distributed under the provisions of this
chapter ceases to receive assistance from the department of
health and human resources, the child support enforcement
division shall provide notice to the family of their rights with
regard to a continuation of services. Unless notified by the
family that services are no longer desired, the child support
enforcement division shall continue to collect amounts of support payments which represent monthly support payments from the
obligor and pay any amount so collected, which represents monthly
support payments, to the family (without requiring any formal
reapplication and without the imposition of any application fee)
on the same basis as in the case of other obligees who are not
receiving assistance from the department of health and human
resources.
(2) So much of any amounts of support so collected shall be
paid, first, to the obligee until all past due support owed to
the family by the obligor has been paid. After all arrearages
owing to the family have been paid, any amounts of support
collected which are in excess of the required support payments
shall be distributed in the manner provided by paragraphs (A) and
(B), subdivision (34), subsection (a) of this section with respect
to excess amounts described in said subsection.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this
section, amounts collected by the child support enforcement
division as child support for months in any period on behalf of
a child for whom the department of health and human resources is
making foster care maintenance payments shall:
(A) Be paid by the child support enforcement division to the
appropriate administrative unit of the department of health and
human resources to the extent necessary to reimburse the
department for foster care maintenance payments made with respect to the child during such period (with appropriate reimbursement
of the federal government to the extent of its participation in
financing);
(B) Be paid to the appropriate administrative unit of the
department of health and human resources to the extent that the
amounts collected exceed the foster care maintenance payments
made with respect to the child during such period but do not
exceed the amounts required by a court order to be paid as
support on behalf of the child during such period; and the
department of health and human resources may use the payments in
the manner it determines will serve the best interests of the
child, including setting such payments aside for the child's
future needs or making all or a part thereof available to the
person responsible for meeting the child's day-to-day needs; and
(C) Be paid to the appropriate administrative unit of the
department of health and human resources if any portion of the
amounts collected remains after making the payments required
under paragraphs (A) and (B) of this subdivision, to the extent
that such portion is necessary to reimburse the department of
health and human resources (with appropriate reimbursement to the
federal government to the extent of its participation in the
financing), for any past foster care maintenance payments, or
payments of aid to families with dependent children which were
made with respect to the child (and with respect to which past collections have not previously been retained);
(d) Any payment required to be made under the provisions of
this section to a family shall be made to the resident parent,
legal guardian or caretaker relative having custody of or
responsibility for the child or children.
(e) The commission shall establish bonding requirements for
employees of the child support enforcement division who receive,
disburse, handle or have access to cash.
(f) The director shall maintain methods of administration
which are designed to assure that employees of the child support
enforcement division or any persons employed pursuant to a
contract who are responsible for handling cash receipts do not
participate in accounting or operating functions which would
permit them to conceal in the accounting records the misuse of
cash receipts:
Provided, That the director may provide for
exceptions to this requirement in the case of sparsely populated
areas in this state where the hiring of unreasonable additional
staff in the local office would otherwise be necessary.
(g) No penalty or fee may be collected by or distributed to
a recipient of child support enforcement division services from
the state treasury or from the child support enforcement fund
when child support is not distributed to the recipient in
accordance with the time frames established herein.
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