South Carolina General Assembly
108th Session, 1989-1990

Bill 3724

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3724
Ratification Number:       362
Act Number                 336
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Duties of the Department of Social
                           Services
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A336, R362, H3724)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-5-590, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES IN ACCORDANCE WITH AN APPROVED CHILD SUPPORT PLAN, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE SUBSTITUTION OF THE DEPARTMENT WHEN THERE IS AN ASSIGNMENT OF THE RIGHTS TO SUPPORT.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Department substituted upon assignment

SECTION 1. Section 43-5-590(a)(ii) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(ii) assign to the State the rights to support from any other person the applicant may have in his own behalf or in behalf of any other family member for whom the applicant is applying for or receiving aid and which have accrued at the time the assignment is executed or which may accrue in the future. By accepting public assistance for or on behalf of a child or children, by making application for services under Title IV-D, or through placement of a child or children in state-funded foster care or under Title IV-E, except where good cause as determined by the agency exists, the recipient or applicant is considered to have made an assignment to the State Department of Social Services of rights, title, and interest to a support obligation which is owed for the child or children or for the absent parent's spouse or former spouse who is the recipient or the applicant with whom the child is living, if and to the extent that a spousal support obligation has been established, and the child and the child support obligation is being enforced pursuant to Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act. The assignment to the department is considered to have been made up to the amount of public assistance money or foster care board payments paid for or on behalf of the child or children for that period of time as the public assistance monies or foster care board payments are paid. The assignment consists of all rights and interest in a support obligation that the recipient may be owed past, present, or future by a person up to the amount of public assistance money paid to the recipient for or on behalf of the minor child or children or a child in foster care. The department is subrogated to the rights of the child or children or the person having custody of the child or children to collect and receive all support payments. The department has the right to initiate a support action in its own name or in the name of the recipient to recover payments ordered by the courts of this or any other state or to obtain a court order to initiate these payments including an action to determine the paternity of a child. The clerk of court shall execute the necessary order substituting the department and changing the payee of the support to the department upon receipt by the clerk of the notice of assignment."

Department substituted upon assignment

SECTION 2. Section 43-5-590(f) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(f) The department shall provide that the support collection or paternity determination services made available to approved applicants for the Aid to Families With Dependent Children Program under this section be made available to an individual not receiving assistance under the program who files an application for the services with the department. For an individual not otherwise eligible for these services under the program, a fee and cost may be imposed by the department. The fee and cost must be an amount not to exceed the amount permitted by federal law. The fees and cost recoveries as would cause a reduction in the amount of federal matching funds must be retained by the department to offset, dollar for dollar, the federal reductions. When there is an assignment of the rights to support, the clerk of court shall execute the necessary order substituting the department and changing the payee of the support to the department upon receipt by the clerk of the notice of assignment."

Time effective

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Approved the 20th day of February, 1990.