Federal Criminal Prosecution

In this Topic

  1. Introduction
  2. Criteria
  3. Cases not Considered
  4. Additional Considerations
  5. PSOC Referral Forms and PSOC Locate Forms
  6. Project Save Our Children (PSOC) Documents
  7. NJCSI Handout Materials

Introduction

The Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act of 1998 (formerly known as the Child Support Recovery Act of 1992) makes the willful non-payment of child support a federal crime if the NCP’s state of residence is different from that of the child(ren) or if the NCPNon-custodial parent moves to a different state with the intent of avoiding payment of child support. PSOCProject Save Our Children is a collaborative task force comprising the federal OCSEOffice of Child Support Enforcement, the OIGOffice of the Inspector General, the Office of Investigations, criminal justice agencies, and state CSChild Support Agencies. The purpose of the project is to identify, analyze, investigate, prosecute, and evaluate the outcomes of the most flagrant, criminal nonsupport cases. There are five regional offices located within the federal OCSE Area Audit Offices. The offices are located in Columbus, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; Dallas, Texas; New York, New York; and Sacramento, California. All offices were open by November 1999.

Under PSOCProject Save Our Children, the OIG is responsible for investigating the cases referred by the OCSSOffice of Child Support Services. Local inability to locate the NCP does not preclude the referral of the case. Because the focus on homeland security has increased, the responsibility of locating the defendant has, for the most part, fallen back on the investigators from the OCSE, who are located in regional offices throughout the United States. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is responsible for the criminal prosecution of the NCP.

Criteria

To prosecute a defendant in federal court, the case must meet the following criteria:

  • In the case of a felony prosecution, the obligation must be unpaid for two years, or the amount of the past-due obligation must be greater than $5,000 for a misdemeanor or $10,000 for a felony. Priority is given to cases in the following circumstances:
    • Child support arrears are at least $20,000.
    • Children are under the age of 18, or, for extenuating circumstances, a child has a disability.
    • There have been no voluntary payments for the past year.
      • Nonvoluntary payments: special collections, state tax refund, Homestead Rebate, levy/FIDMFinancial Institution Data Match, judgment, CSLNChild Support Lien Network, lottery, CPCustodial parent or party recoupment, NSFNon-Sufficient Funds recoupment, or bench warrant payments
  • The child and the NCP must reside in different states.
  • The NCP has a past-due child support obligation.
  • The NCP has the ability to pay the court-ordered child support.
  • The NCP did willfully fail to abide by the stipulations of the court order and has documentable income and/or assets.

Cases not Considered

The case may not be considered under the following circumstances:

  • The NCP is receiving SSISupplemental Security Income, GAGeneral Assistance, or TANFTemporary Assistance for Needy Families.
  • The NCP is disabled or receiving disability benefits.
  • The NCP is currently in an alcohol/drug rehabilitation program.
  • The NCP is incarcerated.

Additional Considerations

In addition to the above criteria, the indicators below increase the potential for the case to be accepted for PSOC submission and investigation by the OIG:

  • The NCP demonstrates a pattern of flight from state to state to avoid payment, or after Service of Process for contempt.
  • There is a pattern of deception by the NCP to avoid payment, for example, changing employment, concealing assets or location, or using false names and/or SSNSocial Security Numbers.
  • The NCP fails to make support payments after being held in contempt.
  • Circumstances exist that dictate the need for immediate federal intervention; for example, the CP and/or the child’s special medical needs are unmet, or the CP and/or child are in danger of eviction and homelessness.
  • The failure to make child support payments has a connection to other potential federal charges, for example, bank fraud, federal income tax charges, or other related criminal conduct.

PSOC Referral Forms and PSOC Locate Forms

Two forms must be completed when submitting a case for PSOC:

  • State Request for PSOC Locate Services form
  • State Referral: Federal Criminal Prosecution for Non-support form

Considerations when filling out the forms:

  1. Both forms must be submitted at the same time.
  2. County PCSEProbation Child Support Enforcement Unit staff members should not send the State Request form to Washington, D.C. That is the responsibility of the PSOC Coordinator at the OCSS.
  3. The two forms can be signed only by the “Authorized Official,” which is the PSOC Coordinator at the OCSS. Please do not sign the forms in the space reserved for the PSOC Coordinator’s signature.
  4. The PCSE staff member completes nearly all of Section I on both forms. The wage and income history information is to be completed by the PSOC Coordinator.
  5. The PCSE staff member must explain in detail all enforcement remedies that were exhausted in Section VII (attach a separate sheet if necessary) of the State Referral: Federal Criminal Prosecution for Non-support form. Please do not write “refer to NJKiDS” or “all enforcement actions completed.” The OIG does not have access to NJKiDSNew Jersey’s Federally certified, statewide automated case management system for tracking all information related to child support cases. NJKiDS monitors cases to ensure that case actions are completed within required time frames. NJKiDS is also used to provide statistics, reports, and information about child and alimony/ spousal support enforcement in New Jersey to Federal, State, and local authorities. NJKiDS serves as the State Case Registry for IV-D support cases. and will not be able to prosecute cases with such vague statements.
  6. All PSOC referrals must be submitted to the Administrative Office of the Courts PSOC Liaison for review:

Patti DiMassa, PSOC Liaison

Administrative Office of the Courts

Probation/CSE Services

171 Jersey Street/ Bldgs 6 & 7

PO Box 960

Trenton, NJ 08625

609-421-5111

patti.dimassa@judiciary.state.nj.us

Note: Do not submit the forms directly to the OCSS, the OIG, or the federal OCSE.

Project Save Our Children (PSOC) Documents

For more information, please refer to the following documents:

NJCSI Handout Materials

For more information and guidance, please refer to the following document:

 

 

Institute for Families, School of Social Work  Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey - Child Support Program Manual 2020 Release