{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-237","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 56, § 56-237","heading":"Support collection, parent location and paternity","body":"determination services.\n\nA. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services, hereinafter\n\nreferred to as \"Department\", as the single state agency designated\n\nto administer a statewide plan for child support, is authorized, in\n\naccordance with Title IV, Part D, of the Federal Social Security\n\nAct, as amended, 42 U.S.C., Section 651 et seq., to provide child\n\nsupport services, parent location services, and paternity\n\ndetermination services to enable participation in programs\n\nestablished by federal law.\n\nB. The Department is authorized to:\n\n1. Accept, transfer, and expend funds made available by the\n\ngovernment of the United States, the State of Oklahoma, and public\n\nor private sources, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions\n\nof this section;\n\n2. Adopt rules for child support services;\n\n3. Initiate legal actions and appeal orders as necessary to\n\nimplement the provisions of this section;\n\n4. Enter into contracts or agreements necessary to administer\n\nthis section; and\n\n5. Require agencies and political subdivisions of this state,\n\nits counties and municipalities, persons, sole proprietorships,\n\ncorporations, utilities, partnerships, associations, organizations,\n\nand other legal entities doing business in this state to provide\n\ninformation to the Child Support Enforcement Division to assist in\n\nlocating individuals and in establishing and enforcing court orders.\n\nC. 1. An applicant for or recipient of Temporary Assistance\n\nfor Needy Families, hereinafter referred to as \"recipient\", shall be\n\nrequired to assign to the Department any rights to or support from\n\nany other person which the recipient may have or for a child for\n\nwhom the recipient is applying or receiving assistance in accordance\n\nwith federal regulations and state law.\n\n2. When an order has been entered which provides for payment of\n\nchild support and the obligee pursuant to the order relinquishes\n\nphysical custody of the child to another custodian, without\n\nobtaining a modification of the order to change custody or to\n\nredirect the support to the new custodian, the relinquishment shall\n\ntransfer the child support obligation pursuant to the order to the\n\nnew custodian or the Department if services are being provided under\n\nthe state child support plan as provided in this section. The\n\ntransfer of the obligation shall terminate when the new custodian no\n\nlonger has physical custody of the child, except for the amount of\n\nunpaid support still owing to the custodian or to the Department.\n\n3. In all cases in which support services are being provided\n\nunder the state child support plan as provided in this section,\n\nsupport payments shall be made by the obligor to the Department or\n\nits designee. If a court has ordered support payments to be made to\n\nthe recipient or to the applicant, the Department may send a notice\n\nof the assignment or application to the obligor requiring that all\n\nsupport payments be made to the Division or its designee. The\n\nnotice shall include:\n\na. a statement that the assignment or application has\n\nbeen made,\n\nb. the style and number of the case in which support was\n\nordered,\n\nc. a statement that all payments so ordered shall be made\n\nto the Department or its designee, and\n\nd. a statement that the earnings and income of the\n\nobligor are assigned for collection of support monies\n\nowed.\n\n4. A notice to redirect the payments shall be sent to the\n\nobligor by regular mail with proof of mailing from the United States\n\nPostal Service. If, after notice of the redirection, the obligor\n\ndoes not make payments to the Department as provided in the notice,\n\nthe payments shall not be credited to the amount owed. The obligor\n\nshall notify the Department of any change of address, the name and\n\naddress of the current employer, and access to health insurance and\n\nother insurance policy information within thirty (30) days of any\n\nchange.\noes not make payments to the Department as provided in the notice,\n\nthe payments shall not be credited to the amount owed. The obligor\n\nshall notify the Department of any change of address, the name and\n\naddress of the current employer, and access to health insurance and\n\nother insurance policy information within thirty (30) days of any\n\nchange.\n\nD. When the right to receive support has been assigned to the\n\nChild Support Enforcement Division or upon proper application by an\n\nobligor or by an individual not receiving Temporary Assistance for\n\nNeedy Families, the Division may petition the district court or the\n\nOffice of Administrative Hearings: Child Support, an administrative\n\ncourt of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, for an order:\n\n1. Requiring the obligor to provide health insurance for the\n\ndependent children whenever it is available through employment or\n\nother group plan regardless of whether the obligor has insurance\n\ncoverage available at that time or there has been a change of\n\ncircumstances;\n\n2. Establishing paternity;\n\n3. Requiring medical support, child support, or other support;\n\n4. Enforcing orders for paternity, medical support, child\n\nsupport, or other support;\n\n5. Requiring that the obligor keep the Division informed of the\n\nname and address of the current employer of the obligor and of any\n\nhealth insurance or other insurance policy information of the\n\nobligor within thirty (30) days of any change;\n\n6. Providing for collection and distribution of child support\n\nmonies; and\n\n7. Assisting in the location of absent parents and their\n\nassets, in cooperation with federal agencies, other agencies of this\n\nstate and of other states, territories, and foreign nations\n\nrequesting assistance with the enforcement of support orders entered\n\nin the United States and elsewhere.\n\nE. The Division may petition the district or administrative\n\ncourt to modify any order for support regardless of whether there\n\nhas been a change of circumstances.\n\nF. A reasonable fee and costs may be assessed for services to\n\nindividuals not receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families\n\nnor receiving any other services or programs funded by Title IV,\n\nPart A of the Federal Social Security Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C.,\n\nSections 602 through 619 pursuant to rules adopted by the\n\nDepartment. Any new or increased fee or cost provided by this\n\nsubsection shall require approval by the Legislature.\n\nG. Child support payments made to the Division pursuant to this\n\nsection shall be deposited in the Child Support Escrow Account for\n\ndistribution as may be required by Section 235 of this title, or by\n\n42 U.S.C., Section 651 et seq. Fees or reimbursements of costs\n\ncollected by the Department shall be deposited in the Administration\n\nFund of the Department and may be used and expended by the\n\nDepartment for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this\n\nsection.\n\nH. Except as otherwise authorized by law, all files and records\n\nconcerning the assistance and services provided under this section\n\nor concerning a putative father of a child born out of wedlock are\n\nconfidential. Release of information from the files and records\n\nshall be consistent with federal law and shall be restricted to\n\npurposes directly connected with the administration of the child\n\nsupport collection, paternity determination, parent location, or\n\nother public assistance programs. Information may be released to\n\npublic officials under rules adopted by the Department, consistent\n\nwith federal rules or regulations.","path":["OK Code","Title 56"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os56.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"8bdc040d754b56defc3eca91cc5142d32ec423c71c979899e5e96dd0feea7825","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-236","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-237.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}