CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES GLOSSARY
INDEX |
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| ARREARS |
A sum of money a non-custodial parent owes for past-due child, medical, or spousal support for a specific time period.
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| ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS, AKA NON-WELFARE ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS |
Prior to October 1, 1998 all past-due unpaid child support was assigned to the
state/county when a family received CalWORKs/Foster Care cash assistance.
Any money collected under an Assignment of Rights was retained by
the county to reimburse the cash assistance paid to the family. With
the enactment of PRWORA, the concept of Assignment of Rights
was significantly modified. As of October 1, 1998, all past-due unpaid
child support is temporarily assigned to the state/county only during
the time the recipient receives cash assistance from a CalWORKs program.
Once he or she stops receiving cash assistance, the arrears become
conditionally assigned and collections are paid to the family unless
the payment is through IRS tax refund intercept. The Federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (FDRA) modified the Assignment of Rights once again. As of October 1, 2009, unpaid past- due child support is not assigned to the state/county. Under FDRA, only child support due during the time a recipient receives cash assistance from a CalWORKs / Foster Care program is assigned to the state/county.
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| CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES (CDCSS) |
The California Department of
Child Support Services is the state agency within the California Health and Human Services
Agency that administers the child support services program in California. The Department was created in January 2000 and is
responsible for the allocation of child support funding and oversight of the local child support offices. Prior to the creation
of CDCSS, the child support program was administered by the California Department of Social Services. http://www.childsup.cahwnet.gov/
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| CALIFORNIA PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE AKA CPLS |
The California Parent Locator Service (CPLS) handles locate requests from
the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS), other states' parent locator
services and from local child support agencies. CPLS attempts to find
the non-custodial parent's home and/or work addresses or assets by
accessing the records of the following agencies: Employment Development
Department, Franchise Tax Board, Department of Motor Vehicles, criminal
justice agencies, public utilities, and records of other state and
local agencies. CPLS is under the purview of the state Department
of Justice.
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| CalWORKs |
Acronym for California Work Opportunities and Responsibility
to Kids Program, The California state legislature created the
program in 1997 to conform to the requirements set in the federal
act, PRWORA. CalWORKs is California's implementation of TANF which
replaces AFDC. Two major changes in the new welfare program, CalWORKs,
are the set time limits on cash assistance and the requirement that
recipients participate in a "Welfare to Work" plan. Both
changes are federally mandated. CalWORKs replaces all AFDC programs
in California and is administered by the California Department of Social
Services.
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| CENTRAL REGISTRY |
The California Central Registry (CCR) receives all
incoming inter-jurisdictional cases and reviews the documents from
other states for completeness. CCR then sends the cases to the local Child Support Services office in the county where the non-custodial parent
resides. CCR is under the direction of the California Dept. of Justice.
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| CONDITIONALLY ASSIGNED ARREARS |
Under PRWORA unpaid past-due child support was temporarily assigned to the
state/county while a family receives CalWORKs/Foster Care cash assistance.
Once the child stops receiving cash assistance, the money that was
temporarily assigned to the state/county becomes conditionally assigned
back to the family. When money is collected, it is paid to the family
unless the collection is through the
IRS tax refund intercept program. If the collection is through
an IRS tax refund interception the funds are retained by the county
to reimburse the aid paid to the family. For Assignment of Rights entered on or after October 1, 2009 under FDRA, unpaid past-due child support is not assigned while a family receives CalWORKs/Foster Care cash assistance.
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| CP |
Acronym for the Custodial Party. The Custodial Party is the individual or agency that has primary
custody of the child(ren); generally the person or agency with whom the child resides.
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| CP/11350 |
CP is an acronym for Civil Paternity. These are legal actions
we file to establish paternity and/or child support and health insurance
coverage. 11350 is the civil action code number under which we file
many of our legal actions. Generally in Alameda county, the term 11350
indicates that we will file to establish child support and/or health
insurance coverage only; paternity is not at issue (i.e. child
conceived during a marriage). A CP is filed to establish paternity, child support, and health insurance coverage.
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| CURRENT ASSISTANCE | A child support case for a child or family currently receiving cash assistance from a CalWORKs/Foster Care program is considered a current assistance case.
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| CURRENT SUPPORT |
A specific dollar amount for child/spousal/medical support set by court
order. Current support is usually set as a monthly obligation amount.
A current support obligation generally continues until the child(ren)
emancipates.
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| DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AKA DSS |
The Department
of Social Services administers the public assistance programs
on the state and county level. These include CalWORKs, Medi-Cal, and Foster Care programs.
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| DISREGARD |
Under California law, if a family is currently receiving cash assistance
from a CalWORKs program, the first $50.00 of current child
support collected each month is sent to the custodial party as a disregard
payment. This $50.00 payment is 'disregarded' by the Welfare Department
when calculating the family's cash grant benefit.
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| DIB |
Acronym for Disability Insurance Benefits. The Employment Development Department (EDD)
will automatically intercept 25% of Disability Insurance Benefits due to a non-custodial parent to pay
for current and past-due child support. The intercepted funds are sent directly to the State Disbursement Unit.
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| EDD |
Acronym for Employment
Development Department. We receive quarterly wage
information for the NCP from EDD to serve Wage Assignments
and to calculate child support.
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| EMANCIPATION |
In California a child emancipates at the age of 18 if the child is not
attending a full-time high school or equivalent program. If the child
is attending high school at age 18, emancipation occurs at the time
of graduation or on their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.
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| FAMILY LAW FACILITATOR |
Every Superior Court in California maintains an Office of the Family
Law Facilitator to provide assistance at no cost to individuals regarding family law matters. A
Family Law Facilitator is an attorney with experience in mediation and/or litigation in family
law. The Family Law Facilitator does not represent any party and there is no attorney-client
privilege between the Facilitator and an individual assisted by the Family Law Facilitator. For more information,
please visit http://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/courts/divs/family/flfo_hours.pdf or www.courtinfo.ca.gov.
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| FAMILY VIOLENCE INDICATOR (FVI) |
The Family Violence Indicator is used by local,
state, and federal child support agencies to protect the privacy and safety of a custodial party, a non-custodial
parent, and/or a dependent child(ren) when there is reasonable evidence of domestic violence or child abuse
and the disclosure of information could be harmful. An FVI will prevent the unauthorized disclosure of
information in a child support case in which there is reasonable evidence of child abuse or domestic violence.
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| FEDERAL CASE REGISTRY (FCR) |
The Federal Case Registry is a national database that processes
and maintains information on individuals who have an active child support case. The FCR receives information from each state as well as
federal government agencies and matches it with previously received information. New information is then shared with the
local agency enforcing the child support case. The FCR is administered by the federal Office of Child
Support Enforcement and is part of the Federal Parent Locator Service.
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| FEDERAL DEFICIT REDUCTION ACT OF 2005 (FDRA) |
The Federal Deficit Reduction Act included changes to the child support enforcement
program that simplify the Assignment of Rights and the child support distribution
rules for families who receive public assistance. For Assignments of Rights entered on
or after October 1, 2009, the assignment will cover only that child support which accrues while the child(ren)
and family are receiving TANF benefits.
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| FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE AKA FPLS |
The Federal Parent Locator Services is
a national computerized database operated by the Federal Office of Child Support. FPLS
provides address and asset information on non-custodial parents. Information
is gathered from federal, state, and local agencies and is used by state and local child support
enforcement agencies to locate non-custodial parents for establishment and enforcement of
child support orders. FPLS includes the Federal Case Registry and the National Directory of New
Hires.
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| FORMER ASSISTANCE |
A child support case for a child or family that
formerly received cash assistance from a CalWORKs/Foster Care program is considered a former assistance
case.
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| FTB |
Acronym for Franchise Tax Board. The Franchise Tax Board assists local child
support agencies with collection of past due child support through wage assignment,
bank liens, property seizures, interception of state tax refunds, and other enforcement
tools.
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| INCOME WITHHOLDING ORDER (IWO) |
A court order or administrative notice to withhold income for payment of child support. An
IWO is served on an employer to make automatic deductions from wages or income, as defined by
PRWORA. The employer is required to withhold support from a non-custodial parent's
wages and send the payment to the State Disbursement Unit (SDU). Also known as Wage Withholding.
Title 22, Division 13, Section 110355 Back to Top |
| INTEREST |
Under the California
Code of Civil Procedure, interest accrues on unpaid money judgments.
In 1992 local child support offices were mandated to calculate interest on
child support, spousal support and medical support arrears in accordance
with this state law. Pursuant to state law, interest is calculated
retroactively to the first delinquent or missed payment and accrues
from that time forward. The interest rate is currently 10% per year.
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| MEDICALLY NEEDY ONLY AKA MNO |
In MNO cases the custodial party has requested that we obtain and enforce
medical support only. We do not collect child support in MNO cases
unless the custodial party requests additional child support enforcement
services, which they can do at any time, or if the child goes on aid
we will pursue child support.
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| MODIFICATION |
Child support orders may be reviewed for modification at the request of
either party (custodial or non-custodial parent). Modifications are
done, for example, to reflect changes in parental income, in childcare
costs or in a parent's obligation to support other children.
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| NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES (NDNH) |
The National Directory of New Hires is a
national database maintained as part of the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) by the
federal Office of Child Support Enforcement. State and Federal agencies report employment
information to the NDNH, which then shares the information with the local child support
services agency. The information includes newly hired data as well as quarterly earnings.
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| NATIONAL MEDICAL SUPPORT ORDER (NMSN) |
Under federal and state law, parties are responsible to provide health insurance for their child(ren). Health Insurance may include vision and dental care. An NMSN is served upon the non-custodial parent's employer to require the employer to provide health insurance to the minor child(ren), if available through the employer at reasonable or no cost.
Title 22, Division 13, Section 110449 Back to Top |
| NEVER ASSISTANCE |
A child support case for a child or family that has never received cash assistance
from a CalWORKs/Foster Care program is considered a never assistance case.
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| NCP |
Acronym for Non-Custodial Parent. The Non-Custodial Parent is the parent that does not have
custody of the child(ren) and may be or is obligated to provide support for the child(ren).
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| NON IV-D CASE |
A case in which the child support order and enforcement of the order are handled by a private attorney, without the assistance of the local Title IV-D child support office. The custodial party and child(ren) in a Non IV-D case are not currently receiving services under the state's Title IV-A (TANF), Title IV-E (foster care), or Title IV-D (child support) programs. All Non IV-D court orders filed on or after October 1, 1998 must be registered with the State Case Registry. (see also Title IV-D case)
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| NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT OF WAGES AKA NOA |
This
is an administrative wage assignment issued pursuant to a court order.
A NOA is not signed by a judge nor filed with the court but has the
full weight and effect of a court issued wage assignment.
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| NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT OF HEALTH INSURANCE AKA NOAH |
This
is an administrative health insurance assignment issued pursuant to
a court order. A NOAH is not signed by a judge nor filed with the
court but has the full weight and effect of a court issued Health
Insurance Coverage Assignment.
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| OFFICE OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT (OCSE). |
The Office of Child Support Agency is the federal agency within the Administration for Families & Children which is within the
Department of Health & Human Services that oversees the federal child support program. Created in 1975 under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act,
OCSE develops national child support policy; oversees, evaluates, and audits State child support programs;
and provides technical assistance and training to State programs. The Office of child Support
Enforcement also operates the Federal Parent Locator Service, which includes the Federal Case
Registry and the National Directory of New Hires.
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| OMBUDSPERSON |
An Ombudsperson is available at every local California child support agency to
assist any individual with the child support program. The Ombudsperson will provide information about the program,
answer questions, resolve issues, and assist participants throughout the Complaint Resolution Process.
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| PATERNITY |
This is the
relationship of a father to a child. Paternity can be legally established through a court order
or through the Paternity Opportunity Program (POPS) by signing a Declaration of Paternity
form. One of the services available through the Alameda County Department of Child Support
Services is the establishment of paternity through a Superior Court order or judgment. Paternity must
be established before child support or medical support can be ordered.
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| PATERNITY OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM, AKA POPs |
POPs
was created by the state legislature in response to the mandate of
the federal Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment Program. A hospital-based
program, POPs provides an opportunity for unmarried parents
to acknowledge paternity at the time of the child's birth. The completed
Paternity Acknowledgment form is sent with the birth certificate to
the Office of Vital Records and a copy of the completed form is given
to each parent. A copy is also sent to Child Support Services. The Paternity Acknowledgment
form is legally binding sixty days after signing.
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| PERMANENTLY ASSIGNED ARREARS |
All
child support arrears assigned to the county/state (under an Assignment
of Rights) prior to September 30, 1998. Pursuant to PRWORA
as of October 1, 1998, Permanently Assigned Arrears also include child
support arrears that accrue while a child is receiving cash assistance
through CalWORKs or Foster Care.
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| PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY & WORK OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1996 AKA PRWORA |
This
federal legislation took effect October 1, 1998 and required major
changes in public assistance programs and in child support enforcement
programs. In many ways PRWORA redefined both welfare and child support
enforcement. Under PRWORA, TANF replaced AFDC. PRWORA set new time
limits and eligibility restrictions on receiving cash assistance.
Each state adopted it's own program to meet the new welfare and child
support requirements; California's program is called CalWORKs. PRWORA
also established new distribution and reporting requirements for child
support programs. Prior to PRWORA there were two case types, welfare
and non-welfare, and two support distribution types: permanently assigned
current support and arrears and never assigned current support and
arrears. With enactment of PRWORA three categories of case-types were
created: current assistance, former assistance and never assistance.
Under PRWORA there are also now six distribution types: never assigned
current support and arrears, permanently assigned current support
and permanently assigned arrears, temporarily assigned arrears, conditionally
assigned arrears, unassigned pre-assistance arrears, and unassigned
during assistance arrears.
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| POE |
Acronym
for Place of Employment.
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| QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER (QDRO) |
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order is a court order required
in some circumstances to assign pension monies for payment of current or past due child support.
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| QUALIFIED MEDICAL CHILD SUPPORT ORDER (QMCSO) |
A Qualified Medical Child Support Order is a court order required
in some circumstances to require medical support and/or health benefit coverage for a child through a
participant's group health plan.
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| RECOUPMENT |
This is the amount of child support collected by Child Support Services under the Assignment of Rights regulations and which is retained by the County to reimburse the cash grant
paid, thereby reducing the unreimbursed assistance pool.
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| SDU, STATE DISBURSEMENT UNIT |
The State Disbursement Unit, referred to as the SDU, is the central collection and distribution location for all child support payments in California. For more information on the SDU, please visit their website at www.casdu.com
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| STATE UTILITY MATCH SYSTEM AKA SUMS |
A number of public utility companies report address information to the
Department of Justice. This information is used by Child Support Services to locate non-custodial
parents.
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| TEMPORARILY ASSIGNED ARREARS |
Under PRWORA, any child support arrears that accrue after October 1, 1998
and before a family receives public assistance are temporarily assigned
to the county during the time the family receives cash assistance.
Any money collected towards those arrears is retained by the county
and applied to the family's unreimbursed assistance pool. Once public
assistance is discontinued the assignment of arrears ends. The temporarily
assigned arrears become conditionally assigned arrears. For Assignment of Rights entered
on or after October 1, 2009 under FDRA, unpaid past-due child support is
not assigned while a family receives CalWORKs/Foster Care cash assistance.
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| TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE TO NEEDY FAMILIES, AKA TANF |
Under
PWRORA, AFDC was abolished and replaced by TANF. TANF changed the
eligibility requirements for receiving public assistance and set a
five-year adult lifetime limit on receiving cash assistance. TANF
is a federal program; in California the state-level program is CalWORKs.
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| TITLE IV-A |
This
refers to Title IV-A of the Social Security Act that established eligibility
and cash assistance for public assistance for needy families in programs
such as CalWORKs. In California, the Department of Social Services is
the designated Title IV-A agency which administers TANF/CalWORKs
cash assistance.
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| TITLE IV-D |
This
refers to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act that addresses child
support enforcement. In California, the Department of Child Support Services and the local child support services
offices are the designated Title IV-D agency.
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| TITLE IV-D CASE |
A case in which either the custodial party or the non-custodial parent has requested IV-D child support services, either through an application or by referral from the local Title IV-A or IV-E agency. A case consists of a custodial party, a non-custodial parent or putative father, and dependent(s). (see also "non-IV-D case")
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| TITLE IV-E |
This
refers to Title IV-E of the Social Security Act that established foster
care cash assistance for needy children. The Department of Social Services is the designated
Title IV-E agency in California.
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| UIB |
Acronym
for Unemployment InsuranceBenefit. Under law, the local child support agency can automatically intercept 25% of a non-custodial parent's
UIB. Unemployment information, such as the employee's name and address, Social Security
number, and UIB benefit detail, is provided to the Federal Case Registry, which then shares
the information with the local child support agencies.
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| UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT AKA UIFSA |
Enacted
in 1992, this federal legislation sets out procedures for enforcing
child support orders across state lines and establishes the concept
of "Continuing Exclusive Jurisdiction." Continuing Exclusive
Jurisdiction sets the parameters for jurisdiction and modification
of child support orders when the parents live in different states.
UIFSA also simplifies income withholding across state lines by requiring
employers to honor wage assignments issued by another state's court.
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| UNASSIGNED DURING ASSISTANCE ARREARS |
As defined by PRWORA, Unassigned During Assistance Arrears are
those child support arrears which accrued while a family received
TANF/CalWORKs or Foster Care cash assistance but which exceed
the unreimbursed assistance pool. Upon collection, these arrears
are paid to the family.
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| UNASSIGNED PRE-ASSISTANCE ARREARS |
As defined by PRWORA, Unassigned Pre-Assistance Arrears are those child
support arrears which accrued before a family received TANF/CalWORKs
or Foster Care cash assistance but which exceed the unreimbursed assistance
pool. Upon collection, these arrears are paid to the family. For Assignment of Rights entered on or after October 1, 2009
under FDRA, child support arrears which accrued before a family received
CalWORKs/Foster Care cash assistance are not assigned.
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| UNREIMBURSED ASSISTANCE POOL AKA UAP |
This
is the cumulative amount of cash grant assistance paid to a family
through TANF/CalWORKs cash assistance or for a child in Foster
Care and which has not been repaid through assigned support collections.
The County cannot retain more in child support collection than the
amount of cash aid paid nor can the County recover more than the total
amount of assigned court-ordered support obligations. If the un-reimbursed
assistance pool is paid in full, any additional child support collection
is paid to the family.
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| UNIFORM RECIPROCAL ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT ACT AKA URESA |
This 1950 legislation was enacted to address enforcement of child support
orders when the parents live in different states. URESA was
revised under the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support
Act (URESA) and in 1992 was replaced by the Uniform Interstate Family
Support Act (UIFSA).
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| WAGE ASSIGNMENT AKA WAGE WITHHOLDING ORDER AKA WAGE GARNISHMENT |
A wage assignment is a court order requiring an employer to deduct a
specified amount of money from an employee's wages. Pursuant to state
law, all child support orders issued in California include a wage
assignment order.
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| WAGE VERIFICATION |
A form we send to a possible employer to verify wages, addresses, etc.
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