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Child support attorneys will make recommendations to the courts that non-custodial parents be referred to TWP as hearings are scheduled for contempt of court for non-payment of support. If participation in TWP is ordered, the county director or designee in the county in which the noncustodial parent resides will receive the referral to the work program. The county director or designee will be responsible for coordinating the TWP activities for the NCP. Preparing for the Court Hearing Prior to the court hearing, the Child Support Office must verify the status of the TANF case of the NCP’s child(ren) to ensure the case is currently in active status and is anticipated to remain active in the month following the court hearing date. The Child Support Office will provide the Economic Assistance Office in the county in which the custodial parent resides a list of TANF cases needing this verification and the date of the court hearing or other due date. Depending upon the number of cases involved, the Child Support Office will make the request sufficiently in advance of the due date to allow time for review and response, no less than three work days. The county director or designee will review the TANF case status, upon request by the Child Support Office, and provide a TANF case status report including the start date of the next job readiness/job search class for the county. If the non-custodial parent resides in a county other than that of the custodial parent, the county director or designee will contact the director of the county in which the non-custodial parent resides to verify the start date of the next job readiness/job search class for that county. The TANF case record of the custodial parent will be documented to show the request and case status report. If the TANF case will close because the person has missed the reevaluation-appointment and the case closure could be prevented at the time of the TANF status request from the Child Support Office, the EW should immediately try to contact the TANF recipient to determine why the review was not done timely. If the individual states his/her intention to close the TANF case, allow the case to close or remain closed and report this status to the Child Support Office. If the individual states his/her intent to continue TANF, set a time to complete the review and report the case status when completed. The Economic Assistance county office must complete such reviews within TANF time frames for regular reviews and within the deadline to report the TANF status to the Child Support Office prior to the court hearing date. If the TANF case is not currently active or is anticipated to close, the child support attorney will not request referral of the NCP to TWP in the contempt of court hearing for failure to pay support. Also, if the next scheduled job readiness/job search class start date is too far into the future to

Volume III | Chapter 9 expect the NCP who may need more than placement services to reasonably be served

9190 MISSISSIPPI [ PROGRAM COMPONENTS: COORDINATION OF SERVICES]

Revised 08 - 01 - 12 MISSISSIPPI [ PROGRAM COMPONENTS: COORDINATION OF SERVICES]

Revised 08 - 01 - 12