Assignment and Transfer of Juvenile Cases during a Deprived Action

This article provides instruction for assignment and transfer of deprived cases based on OAH per Section 1-4-702 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes. Oklahoma Child Support Services (CSS) Center for Operations receives child support case information from the Office of Administrative Hearings: Child Support (OAH) when a district court in a deprived court case has deferred jurisdiction for child support issues to OAH per Section 1-4-702 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes.

• CSS Center for Operations notifies the district office by e-mail of the deferral and documents the information on the automated Oklahoma Support Information System (OSIS) case log.
• CSS district office staff prepares a hearing notice, notify the parties of the hearing date, set the case for the appropriate hearing on the OAH court docket, and document this information on the OSIS case log.

1. No existing child support order – When there is no existing child support order and a case transfer is required from the initial district office (Office A) to the district office serving the county in which the court has jurisdiction over the deprived action (Office B), child support staff follow the procedures in (1) through (6).
   1. Office A stops processing the child support case except for the completion of any genetic testing that has previously been set and strikes any court hearings set at the request of CSS due to the court in the new county assuming jurisdiction over all issues.
   2. Office A:
      1. updates OSIS Case Data Update Screen (CSCU) screen to the new office code and case transfer staff user identification number;
      2. documents the case transfer on the Case Log Add (CSLOGA) screen; and
      3. transfers the physical case file to Office B.
   3. When the juvenile court that is exercising jurisdiction is Oklahoma County, Office A contacts the Oklahoma County Juvenile Court (OKJ) office. If OKJ determines the child support case needs to be transferred, OKJ updates the CSCU and CSLOGA screens, communicates with, and requests the physical case file from Office A.
   4. When the juvenile court that is exercising jurisdiction is Tulsa County, Office A contacts the Tulsa East (TUE) office. If TUE determines the child support case needs to be transferred, TUE updates the CSCU and CSLOGA screens, communicates with, and requests the physical case file from Office A.
   5. Office B checks on the status of the deprived action with the Child Welfare (CW) worker, paying particular attention to any paternity establishment issues. Office B contacts the CW worker to:
      1. check on the status of the juvenile deprived action;
      2. determine the stage of the deprived action;
      3. determine whether any orders have been entered by the juvenile court regarding paternity or child support;
      4. check whether paternity has been determined by the juvenile court; and
      5. determine whether parental rights have been terminated.
   6. Office B establishes and enforces child support and paternity orders in that juvenile deprived action.
2. Existing child support order
   1. When there is an existing child support order, child support staff follow the procedures in (A) through (D).
      1. Upon receipt of the SoonerCare (Medicaid) referral through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) automated system, Office A notifies Office B when research of the OKDHS automated system shows there is a CW case in a county in the service area of Office B.
      2. Office A stops all enforcement action in that case except for non-judicial enforcement remedies. Office A completes genetic testing on a case where appropriate when establishing paternity for a child born after the child support order was entered.
      3. The current OSIS office assignment code for the child support case remains with Office A.
         1. This office assignment includes the periods prior to the issuance of an order from the juvenile court, after the order has been entered, and during the passive enforcement period.
         2. During the juvenile court action, Office B may request a copy of the child support order, a current arrearage computation, and other relevant information from Office A’s case file as needed to advise the juvenile court or the OKDHS CW office about the existing child support order. That action does not cause reassignment of the child support case to Office B on OSIS.
      4. Office B may request the child support case be transferred to that office when there are child support issues being addressed in the juvenile court. Upon dismissal of the juvenile court action, Office B transfers the case back to Office A.
   2. Child support order within the district office service area. Child support staff build and work the case.
   3. Child support order outside the district office service area.
      1. If there is an existing Family Group Number (FGN), child support staff:
         1. transfer the non-TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) SoonerCare (Medicaid) referral through the OSIS IV-A/OHCA Referral Listing (RFLI) screen or notify the receiving office by e-mail if the referral is received through the OSIS Pending Updates Inquiry (PUI) screen; and
         2. document the reason for transfer on the CSLOGA screen.
      2. If there is not an existing FGN, child support staff:
         1. transfer the non-TANF SoonerCare (Medicaid) referral through the OSIS IV- A/OHCA Referral Listing (RFLI) screen or notify the receiving office by e-mail if the referral is received through the OSIS Pending Updates Inquiry (PUI) screen; and
         2. send an e-mail to the receiving office explaining the reason for the referral transfer.
3. Split jurisdiction. Split jurisdiction means a juvenile court (Court A) has exclusive jurisdiction over one or more children on a child support case while another court (Court B) retains jurisdiction over another child(ren) in the same family. In cases involving split jurisdiction, child support staff follow the procedures in (1) and (2).
   1. The district office serving Court B coordinates to request that Court A defer jurisdiction on paternity and child support issues to Court B to address all children on a single order.
      1. If Court A defers jurisdiction to Court B, the district office serving Court B proceeds to establish paternity, establish child support orders, and enforce child support orders for all children.
      2. If Court A does not defer jurisdiction to Court B, the district office serving Court B establishes paternity and establishes and enforces child support for the child(ren) who is not in the juvenile court case.
   2. Within Oklahoma County, split jurisdiction cases are assigned to the OKJ office. After the deprived action is dismissed, the child support case is transferred to the appropriate district office based upon the location of the previous order or new custodial person’s zip code if no order existed prior to the child’s placement in OKDHS custody.
4. Docketing examples:
   1. There is one child support order entered in the deprived case for a mother to pay for children by multiple fathers. The child support order may be docketed in the appropriate county as to each father.
   2. A mother is ordered to pay child support for children she had by multiple fathers. There is an existing district court child support order for one child but not the others. The child support order from the deprived case is docketed in the existing district court case and in a new district court case for the child without a prior order.
   3. There is one child support order entered in the deprived case against one parent for children in multiple Family Group Numbers (FGNs). The deprived case has been dismissed, and the child support order could be docketed in multiple district court counties. Prior to docketing and transferring the cases to the child support offices that provide services in the counties for those district courts, the child support district office assigned to work the deprived case obtains amended child support orders in the deprived case to separate the obligations for each parent by children in each FGN.
   4. Mother is the only noncustodial parent and is ordered to pay child support of $400 per month for four children in three separate FGNs. Child support staff prepare an amended child support order for $100 per month per child for any child not residing with the mother at the time the juvenile case is dismissed. The child support district office staff assigned to work the deprived case files the amended orders with the deprived court and sends the orders to the district office that serves the county where the mother resides for docketing in that district court.
5. The child support order is filed as a separate document and is not confidential. The order may be captioned with a different case style in order to enforce the child support order in an action other than the deprived proceeding.