Office of Child Support; Duties.

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Sec. 3.

The office shall do all of the following:

(a) Serve as a state agency authorized to administer title IV-D.

(b) Assist a governmental agency or department in locating an adult responsible for the child for any of the following purposes:

(i) To establish parentage.

(ii) To establish, set the amount of, modify, or enforce support obligations.

(iii) To disburse support receipts.

(iv) To make or enforce child custody or parenting time orders.

(c) Coordinate activity on a state level in a search for an adult responsible for the child.

(d) Obtain information that directly relates to the identity or location of an adult responsible for the child.

(e) Serve as the information agency as provided in the revised uniform reciprocal enforcement of support act, 1952 PA 8, MCL 780.151 to 780.183, and the uniform interstate family support act (2015).

(f) Develop guidelines for coordinating activities of a governmental department, board, commission, bureau, agency, or council, or a public or private agency, in providing information necessary for the location of an adult responsible for the child.

(g) Develop, administer, and coordinate with the state and federal departments of treasury a procedure for offsetting the state tax refunds and federal income tax refunds of a parent who is obligated to support a child and who owes past due support. The procedure shall include a guideline that the office submit to the state department of treasury, not later than November 15 of each year, all requests for the offset of state tax refunds claimed on returns filed or to be filed for that tax year.

(h) Develop and implement a statewide information system to facilitate the establishment and enforcement of child support obligations.

(i) Develop and implement guidelines for the allocation and distribution of all child support payments that meet the requirements of federal law, regulation, or rule.

(j) Publicize through regular and frequent, nonsexist public service announcements the availability of support establishment and enforcement services.

(k) Develop and implement in cooperation with financial institutions a data matching and lien and levy system to identify assets of and to facilitate the collection of support from the assets of individuals who have an account at a financial institution and who are obligated to pay support as provided in this act.

(l) Provide discovery and support for support enforcement activities as provided in the support and parenting time enforcement act, 1982 PA 295, MCL 552.601 to 552.650.

(m) Have in effect safeguards against the unauthorized use or disclosure of case record information that are designed to protect the privacy rights of the parties as specified in sections 454 and 454a of title IV-D, 42 USC 654 and 654a, and that are consistent with the use and disclosure standards provided under section 64 of the social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.64.

(n) As provided in section 10 for friend of the court cases, centralize administrative enforcement remedies and develop and implement a centralized enforcement program to facilitate the collection of support.

(o) Coordinate, through the state friend of the court bureau created in section 19 of the friend of the court act, 1982 PA 294, MCL 552.519, the provision of services under title IV-D by friend of the court offices.

(p) According to federal law, determine a method to calculate a maximum obligation for reimbursement of medical expenses in connection with a mother's pregnancy and the birth of a child. The method shall be based on each parent's ability to pay and on any other relevant factor, and apportion the expenses in the same manner as health care expenses are divided under the child support formula established under section 19 of the friend of the court act, 1982 PA 294, MCL 552.519.

History: 1971, Act 174, Imd. Eff. Dec. 2, 1971 ;-- Am. 1985, Act 209, Imd. Eff. Jan. 8, 1986 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 112, Eff. June 30, 1998 ;-- Am. 2002, Act 564, Eff. Mar. 31, 2003 ;-- Am. 2009, Act 238, Imd. Eff. Jan. 8, 2010 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 381, Eff. Mar. 17, 2015 ;-- Am. 2015, Act 254, Eff. Jan. 1, 2016


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