TCSEP has been approved by the Tribal Council to do the following for persons within the jurisdiction of the Tribal Court:
1) Establish Paternity for any child up to and including 18 years of age;
2) Establish and Modify Child Support Obligations;
3) Enforce Child Support Obligations with both Tribal and non-Tribal employers;
4) Locate custodial and non-custodial parents.
Each of these activities is governed by The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Laws Codified (CS&KT Laws Codified), Tribal Child Support Guidelines, the Federal Full Faith and Credit Act on Child Support Act, and by Federal Code of Regulations governing Tribal Child Support. All staff members are required to be familiar with these documents.
45 CFR § 309.65 (a) – Fourteen (14) Requirements for Tribal Comprehensive Plans:
(a) A Tribe or Tribal organization demonstrates capacity to operate a Tribal IV-D Program meeting the objectives of the Title IV-D of the Act and these regulations by submission of a Tribal IV-D Plan which contains the 14 Requirements listed in paragraphs (a)(1) through (14) of this section:
1) A description of the population subject to the jurisdiction of the Tribal Court or Administrative Program for Child Support Enforcement purposes and certify that there are at least 100 children under the age of majority in the population subject to the jurisdiction of the Tribe in accordance with 309.10 [309.70];
2) Evidence that the Tribe or Tribal organization has in place procedures for accepting all applications for IV-D services and promptly providing IV-D services required by law and regulations;
3) Assurances that the due process rights of the individuals involved will be protected in all activities of the Tribal IV-D Program, including establishment of paternity, and establishment, modification, and enforcement of support orders;
4) Administrative and management procedures [309.75](a) A description of the structure of the IV-D Program and the distribution of responsibilities within the program;
5) Safeguarding procedures [309.80](a) Procedures under which the use or disclosure of personal information received by or maintained by the Tribal IV-D Program will be protected;
6) Assurances that the Tribe or Tribal organization will maintain records as specified [309.85];
7) Copies of all applicable Tribal laws and regulations [309.90];
8) Procedures for the location of non-custodial parents [309.95](a) The Tribal IV-D Program must attempt or locate custodial or non-custodial parents income;
9) Procedures for the establishment of paternity [309.100];
10) Guidelines for the establishment and modification of Child Support Obligations [309.105](a)(1) A Tribal IV-D plan must establish one set of Child Support Guidelines by law or action of the Court for setting and modifying Child Support Obligation amounts;
11) Procedures for income withholding [309.110](a) In the case of each non-custodial parent against whom a support order is or has been issued or modified under the Tribal IV-D Plan, or is being enforced under such plan, so much of his or her income, as defined in 309.05, must be withheld as is necessary to comply with the order;
12) Procedures for the distribution of Child Support collections [309.115](a) The Tribal IV-D Program must distribute collected Child Support Obligations in a timely manner;
13) Procedures for inter-governmental case processing [309.120]; and
14) Tribally-determined performance targets for paternity establishment, support order establishment, amount of current support to be collected, amount of past due support to be collected, and any other performance measures a Tribe or Tribal organization may want to submit (citations to other portions of 45 CFR 309 have been edited for ease of reading the fourteen (14) requirements).
Procedural Revisions
TCSEP Policies and Procedures Manual are subject to revision for continued compliance with CS&KT Laws Codified and with the Federal Regulations regarding Tribal Title IV-D Programs. The Tribal Council will approve changes to the procedures that are directly related to policy decisions in order to ensure continual compliance with Federal Regulations. The procedures that govern the internal operations of the TCSEP office staff will be amended and approved by the Project Director as necessary.
