N.Y. Social Services Law § 111-c: Functions, powers and duties of social services officials

§ 111-c. Functions, powers and duties of social services officials.

1. Each social services district shall establish a single organizational

unit which shall be responsible for such district's activities in

assisting the state in the location of absent parents, establishment of

parentage and enforcement and collection of support in accordance with

the regulations of the department.

2. Each social services district shall:

a. obtain assignments to the state and to such district of support

rights of each applicant for or recipient of public assistance required

to execute such an assignment as a condition of receiving assistance;

b. report to the state all recipients of public assistance with

respect to whom a parent has been reported absent from the household;

c. obtain information regarding the income and resources of absent

parents whose whereabouts are known, and shall have access to the

statement of net worth filed pursuant to section four hundred

twenty-four-a of the family court act and supporting documentation in

any case where support collection services are being provided as may be

necessary to ascertain their ability to support or contribute to the

support of their dependents;

d. enforce support obligations owed to the state and to the social

services district pursuant to subdivision two of section one hundred

eleven-b of this title; and disburse amounts collected as support

payments in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the

regulations of the department, including the disbursement to the family

in receipt of public assistance of up to the first one hundred dollars

for one child, and up to the first two hundred dollars for two or more

children, collected as current support;

e. make periodic reports and perform such other functions in

accordance with the regulations of the department as may be necessary to

assure compliance with federal child support program requirements.

f. confer with a potential respondent, respondent or other interested

person in a proceeding under article four, five, five-A or five-B of the

family court act in an attempt to obtain support payments from such

potential respondent or respondent;

g. obtain from respondent, when appropriate and in accordance with the

procedures established by section one hundred eleven-k of this chapter,

an acknowledgement of parentage or an agreement to make support

payments, or both;

h. report periodically to consumer reporting agencies (as defined in

section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f))

information regarding past-due support owed by the parent owing support.

Such information must be made available whenever a parent who owes

past-due support, and shall indicate the name of the parent and the

amount of the delinquency. However, such information shall not be made

available to (i) a consumer reporting agency that the office determines

does not have sufficient capability to systematically and timely make

accurate use of such information, or (ii) an entity that has not

furnished evidence satisfactory to the office that the entity is a

consumer reporting agency. In determining whether a consumer reporting

agency lacks sufficient capability to systematically and timely make

accurate use of such information, the office may require such agency to

demonstrate its ability to comply with the provisions of section three

hundred eighty-j of the general business law and any other requirements

the office may prescribe by regulation. A social services official, at

least ten days prior to making the information available to a consumer

reporting agency, must provide notice to the parent who owes the support

informing such parent of the proposed release of the information to the

consumer reporting agency and informing such parent of the opportunity

to be heard and the methods available for contesting the accuracy of the

information.

3. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the social services official shall

not be required to establish the parentage of any child born

out-of-wedlock, or to secure support for any child, with respect to whom

such official has determined that such actions would be detrimental to

the best interests of the child, in accordance with procedures and

criteria established by regulations of the department consistent with

federal law.

4. a. A social services district represents the interests of the

district in performing its functions and duties as provided in this

title and not the interests of any party. The interests of a district

shall include, but are not limited to, establishing parentage, and

establishing, modifying and enforcing child support orders.

b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provision of child

support services pursuant to this title does not constitute nor create

an attorney-client relationship between the individual receiving

services and any attorney representing or appearing for the district. A

social services district shall provide notice to any individual

requesting or receiving services that the attorney representing or

appearing for the district does not represent the individual and that

the individual has a right to retain his or her own legal counsel.

c. A social services district may appear in any action to establish

parentage, or to establish, modify, or enforce an order of support when

an individual is receiving services under this title.