[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 2]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR302.51]

[Page 227-228]
 
                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
 
    CHAPTER III--OFFICE OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT (CHILD SUPPORT 
 
PART 302_STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 302.51  Distribution of support collections.

    The State plan shall provide as follows:
    (a)(1) For purposes of distribution in a IV-D case, amounts 
collected, except as provided under paragraph (a)(3) of this section, 
shall be treated first as payment on the required support obligation for 
the month in which the support was collected and if any amounts are 
collected which are in excess of

[[Page 228]]

such amount, these excess amounts shall be treated as amounts which 
represent payment on the required support obligation for previous 
months.
    (2) In title IV-A and title IV-E foster care cases in which 
conversion to a monthly amount is necessary because support is ordered 
to be paid other than monthly, the IV-D agency may round off the 
converted amount to whole dollar amount for the purpose of distribution 
under this section and Sec. 302.52 of this part.
    (3) Amounts collected through Federal income tax refund offset must 
be distributed as arrearages in accordance with Sec. 303.72(h) of this 
chapter, and section 457(a)(2)(B)(iv) of the Act.
    (4)(i) Effective October 1, 1998 (or October 1, 1999 if applicable) 
except with respect to those collections addressed under paragraph 
(a)(3) of this section and except as specified under paragraph 
(a)(4)(ii) of this section, with respect to amounts collected and 
distributed under title IV-D of the Act, the date of collection for 
distribution purposes in all IV-D cases is the date of receipt in the 
State disbursement unit established under section 454B of the Act.
    (ii) If current support is withheld by an employer in the month when 
due, and received by the State in a month other than the month when due, 
the date of withholding may be deemed to be the date of collection.
    (iii) When the date of collection pursuant to this subparagraph is 
deemed to be the date the wage or other income was withheld, and the 
employer fails to report the date of withholding, the IV-D agency must 
reconstruct that date by contacting the employer or comparing actual 
amounts collected with the pay schedule specified in the court or 
administrative order.
    (b) If an amount collected as support represents payment on the 
required support obligation for future months, the amount shall be 
applied to such future months. However, no such amounts shall be applied 
to future months unless amounts have been collected which fully satisfy 
the support obligation assigned under section 403(a)(8) of the Act for 
the current month and all past months.
    (c)(1) The amounts collected by the IV-D agency which represent 
specific dollar amounts designated in the support order for medical 
purposes that have been assigned to the State under 42 CFR 433.146 shall 
be forwarded to the Medicaid agency for distribution under 42 CFR 
433.154.
    (2) When a family ceases receiving assistance under the State's 
title XIX plan, the assignment of medical support rights under section 
1912 of the Act terminates, except for the amount of any unpaid medical 
support obligation that has accrued under such assignment. The IV-D 
agency shall attempt to collect any unpaid specific dollar amounts 
designated in the support order for medical purposes. Under this 
requirement, any medical support collection made by the IV-D agency 
under this paragraph shall be forwarded to the Medicaid agency for 
distribution under 42 CFR 433.154.

[64 FR 6248, Feb. 9, 1999, as amended at 68 FR 25303, May 12, 2003]