New & Notable in The PORT

New Content

Policy FYIs

Policy FYI-430 SUBJECT: Clerk of Court Contact Email List Updates

Policy FYI-431 SUBJECT: Clerk of Court Contact Email List Updates

Revisions

Tech Tips

Featured Topic

The featured topic this month is the Federal Administrative Offset (FAO) Program Policy.

When there is past-due support on a case, the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) submits tax offset requests to the Office of Child Support Services (OCSS). If the child support debt meets the federal requirement for a federal tax refund offset, the OCSS sends the past-due child support information to the Department of the Treasury .

Before any funds are sent to the DCSS, the obligor is sent a Pre-Offset Notice and may request an administrative review to challenge the debt. The notice provides the obligor with details of how to make an administrative review request, and the timeframe allowed for making a request.

If the past-due support debt qualifies for a tax offset, the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service processes a tax refund by working through the OCSS. The offset payment is then sent to the DCSS.

Timeframes for receiving and sending funds:

When the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service processes a tax refund, the tax refund offset funds are typically received within two to three weeks.

The DCSS disbursement:

Non-joint refund: Federal law requires a state to disburse a non-joint refund offset no later than 30 calendar days after receipt unless there is a special circumstance (for example, a pending appeal).

Joint refund: A state may hold the tax refund offset from a joint tax return for up to six months before disbursing (on rare occasions, a state may need to hold a joint refund offset for more than six months).

In the Spotlight

AZCARES Highlights: As everyone is aware by now, P1 has been extended for another four weeks and the P1 teams will continue to work through all processes that need additional testing and modification to achieve the . If you missed the AZCARES Townhall on 3/22, it is available to download.