1645 Budgeting Child Support Income | TANF

At application, any child support payment paid directly to the AU by an AP is budgeted to determine eligibility and benefit level of the AU

Child support is deleted from the budget when DCSS begins collecting the child support from the AP.

Payments forwarded by DCSS to the AU are limited to a predetermined, maximum amount, called the “Gap”.

Refer to Gap Budgeting in this section.

At application, any child support payment paid through DCSS, along with other countable income, is included to complete the Gross Income Ceiling (GIC) and/or Standard of Need (SON) test. Child support payment through DCSS is not included to determine the benefit level of the AU.

The maximum monthly amount of child support that DCSS forwards to the AU is based on what is called the Gap. The Gap is the difference between the SON and the maximum grant amount for the AU size, minus the AU’s net income. Gap payments do not affect the amount of an AU’s cash assistance.

The actual Gap payment sent to an AU by DCSS may be less than the hypothetical maximum monthly Gap amount if what the AP pays in child support is less than the maximum Gap amount. All child support paid by the AP in excess of the Gap amount is retained by DCSS.

For a sanctioned AU, the Gap amount is the difference between the AU’s SON and what the maximum grant would be without a sanction.

Child support paid by an AP in excess of the AP’s obligated monthly amount may sometimes be sent to an AU in the following month. A payment of this type is not a Gap payment but is sent to the AU in addition to its regular Gap payment.

Income is budgeted based on the best estimate of income that an AU can expect to receive in the future. Receipt of a child support payment in excess of the Gap amount should not be budgeted if the payment is not ongoing and cannot be anticipated.

The receipt of a child support payment that exceeds the Gap amount may indicate an ongoing change in an AU’s circumstances that could impact its continuing eligibility.

When cash assistance is approved for an AU that receives child support from an AP who is not known to DCSS, a system-generated referral of the AP is sent to DCSS. When paternity is either established or excluded by DCSS for the AP in question, DFCS is notified by DCSS.

Follow the steps below at application to determine the financial eligibility of an AU receiving child support payments directly from an AP:

Follow the steps below at application to determine financial eligibility of an AU receiving child support payments from DCSS:

The Gap amount for an AU that does not include a pregnant woman will be based on the parent or grantee relative and the children for whom assistance is being requested.

The Gap amount for an AU that includes a pregnant woman will be based on herself and her dependent children. The unborn child will be excluded from the SON, the family maximum, and the AU size.

Follow the steps below for an active case that was initially approved with direct child support, once the AP’s referral to DCSS has processed and paternity is established: