Distribution

Introduction

Support order cases fall into four separate categories: TANFTemporary Assistance for Needy Families, non-TANF, IV-E, and former TANF. In the realm of support orders, the term distribution refers to the assignment of support payments to various “buckets,” or balances, on a particular support case.

Arrears Type Codes

The arrears-type codes are defined as follows:

Arrears Type Code	Description
NANever-assigned arrears	Never-assigned arrears, owed to the person designated by the DCN, that represent the non-TANF arrears accrued when the CPCustodial parent or party was not receiving cash assistance.
PAPermanently Assigned Arrears	Permanently assigned arrears accrued while the CP was on cash assistance. According to the New Jersey FIPSFederal Information Processing Standards, the arrears payments are owed to the CWACounty Welfare Agency for the period of time the CP remains on cash assistance. The arrears are permanently assigned up to the URAUnreimbursed Assistance when the CP no longer receives assistance. The URA is not calculated when the PA type arrears are owed to DCP&PDepartment of Child Protection and Permanency or an out-of-state agency.
UDAUnassigned During Assistance Arrears	Arrears owed to the person designated by the DCN but unassigned and accrued while the CP was on cash assistance. The UDA type arrears represent the portion of arrears accrued that were in excess of the URA.
MEDIMedical Arrears	Medical arrears owed to Medicaid or to the person designated by the DCNDepartmental Client Number.
IVEFIV-E Foster Care Arrears	Arrears that are assigned and payable to the state. The balance consists of any arrears that accrued during the period the children were placed in federally funded foster care.
NFFCNon-Federal Foster Care Arrears	Arrears accrued on a foster care case that is not federally funded.
NIVDNon-IV-D Arrears	Arrears owed on cases not receiving IV-D services.

Distribution of Support Payments for TANF Cases

A TANF case is one in which a family is receiving cash assistance. Current Assistance (TANF) cases regular receipts (all receipt sources except IR—Special Collections/Federal Tax Offset) are distributed as follows:

• Current Support—All obligations (child, spousal, and medical)
• Arrears Payback Amount
• PAPermanently Assigned Arrears
• NANever-assigned arrears
• UDAUnassigned During Assistance Arrears

Distribution of Support Payments for Non-TANF Cases

A non-TANF case is one in which a family is not currently receiving cash assistance. All support due is owed to the CP. Current support payments and arrears payments are distributed to the CP. Distribution of support payments for families that never received cash assistance is outlined in United States Code, 42 U.S.C. § 657(a)(3); the state shall distribute the amount collected to the family as follows:

• Current Support—All obligations (child, spousal, and medical)
• Arrears Payback Amount
• NANever-assigned arrears

Distribution of Support Payments for Former TANF Cases

A former TANF case is one in which a family has at one time received cash assistance during the court order but is not currently receiving cash assistance. Former Assistance cases regular receipts (all receipt sources except IR—Special Collections/Federal Tax Offset) are distributed as follows:

• Current Support—All obligations (child, spousal, and medical)
• Arrears Payback Amount
• NANever-assigned arrears
• PAPermanently Assigned Arrears
• UDAUnassigned During Assistance Arrears

Distribution of Support Payments for DCP&P Cases (IV-E)

A IV-E case is one in which at least one child is in the care and custody of DCP&P.

• Regular payments are applied to the current month’s support and distributed to DCP&P.
• Excess funds are then applied to arrears due to DCP&P.

Distribution of Support Payments for Mixed Indicator Cases

In a mixed indicator case, at least one child is receiving TANF benefits and at least one child is not receiving TANF benefits.

• Regular payments are applied to the current month’s support and distributed proportionally to the CP and the CWA.
• Excess funds may be applied proportionally to current arrears and distributed to the CP and/or the CWA.

Note: Amounts paid through the FOPFederal Offset Program are not considered regular payments. These payments are applied to arrears based on the payment hierarchy.

 

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