If all parental rights are terminated and/or relinquished, the child can be placed for adoption. Adoptions can be completed through DHS or privately. A report of DHS adoptions is provided to local office management staff on a quarterly basis.
For private adoptions, Child Support Services (CSS) depends on notification from a customer so the case can be reviewed further. When CSS has verified that a child has been adopted, current support will no longer be charged. CSS will collect past due balances that accrued prior to the date of the adoption.
When an adoption has been verified:
- If there is only one child on the case, place the case in the appropriate status (04, 06, or 08)
- If there is more than one child on the case, and only one child is adopted:
- End current support for the adopted child and
- Review court order (all child/per child) to see if current support should be updated for other children on case
- Review receipt history to determine if balance adjustments are necessary or if a Finance Action Request should be sent to move receipts
After any Amended IWOs issue, update the CHU screen with the date of adoption and removal reason 07 (REMOVED – ADOPTED). This timing is important because the case could convert to Priority 07, preventing the issuance of IWOs and other automated enforcement remedies. However, if the case is already in Priority 07, manually generate an IWO (there is a process for employers who use electronic IWOs as well).
It is important to regularly review the DHS adoption reports in order for timely OSIS updates to be performed. This eliminates CSS erroneously charging and potentially over-collecting current support.