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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 18
West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 43 Chapter 18 WV WORKS Activities/Requirements
18.6.5.D When the Participant Claims Good Cause for Refusal to Cooperate after a BCSE Referral When the participant claims good cause after the referral, the Child Support Specialist refers the case back to the Case Manager for a determination of good cause. The Case Manager enforces the cooperation requirement; however, the Child Support Specialist must participate in the good cause determination in an advisory capacity. The Case Manager must give the Child Support Specialist an opportunity to review and comment on the good cause investigation and the decision. The Case Manager must consider the recommendation of the Child Support Specialist in making the final decision.
All child support payments made on behalf of children who receive WV WORKS must be redirected to BCSE. The first $100 in child support collected for families with one child and $200 for families with more than one child eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) will pass through to families and will not count against WV WORKS, WV WORKS solely state-funded programs, Diversionary Cash Assistance (DCA), or Employment Assistance Program (EAP). Exceptions are as follows: • The case is exempt from referral to the Child Support Specialist due to good cause. • The specified relative refused to cooperate with child support activities after referral to BCSE and good cause was established. • If paternity has not been established, but the putative father voluntarily makes child support payments, such payments are not required to be redirected. After receiving a referral, the Child Support Specialist arranges for support payments to be sent directly to BCSE rather than the specified relative. If direct payments to BCSE cannot be arranged, the participant must forward the payment to BCSE. Failure to do so will result in application of a sanction for WV WORKS for failure to cooperate with child support activities. NOTE: While there is no penalty for Medicaid recipients who refuse to redirect support payments, they must be instructed that being referred to BCSE automatically triggers income withholding, whenever there is an existing court order for support and an identifiable source of income.