Georgia § 19-11-6 - Enforcement of child support payments and alimony for public assistance recipients.

§ 19-11-6. Enforcement of child support payments and alimony for public assistance recipients.

By accepting public assistance for or on behalf of a child or children, including foster care maintenance payments made pursuant to Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act, the recipient shall be deemed to have made an assignment to the department of the right to any child support owed for the child. The department shall be subrogated to the right of the child or children or the person having custody to initiate any support action existing under the laws of this state and to recover any payments ordered by the courts of this or any other state. Amounts collected by the department shall be distributed and deposited by the department in conformity with law. Whenever a family for whom child support services have been provided ceases to receive public assistance, including medical assistance, the department shall continue to provide services and collect such support payments from the absent parent in accordance with standards prescribed pursuant to the federal Social Security Act. The department shall accept applications for child support services from any proper party or person notwithstanding the fact that the child or children do not receive public assistance. When made, this application to the department shall constitute an assignment of the right to support to the department and the proceeds of any collections resulting from such application shall be distributed in accordance with the standards prescribed in the federal Social Security Act. The department shall accept applications for alimony enforcement services from any proper party or person if the right to alimony has been assigned to the department. The application for enforcement shall apply only to alimony while there is a court order for alimony, while the dependent child is living with the spouse or former spouse, and while a child support obligation is also being enforced by the department. The department shall accept applications for IV-D services from noncustodial parent obligors. The department, by virtue of the acceptance of such applications for IV-D services, is authorized to take any action allowed by this chapter including, but not limited to, the review and modification of support awards, whether such awards are modified upward or downward, pursuant to Code Section 19-11-12. The proceeds of any collections resulting from such applications shall be distributed in accordance with the standards prescribed in the federal Social Security Act. The department shall be authorized to charge the obligor a federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 fee of $35.00 for each case. Such fee shall only apply to an obligor when the obligee has never received public assistance payments pursuant to Title IV-A or Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act. The department shall retain such fee and collect such fee through income withholding, as well as by any other enforcement remedy available to the entity within the department authorized to enforce a duty of support. (Ga. L. 1973, p. 192, § 5; Ga. L. 1976, p. 1537, § 5; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1207, §§ 1, 4; Ga. L. 1985, p. 785, § 4; Ga. L. 1987, p. 186, § 2; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1833, § 4; Ga. L. 2003, p. 415, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 2007, p. 667, § 1/SB 42; Ga. L. 2017, p. 646, § 1-17/SB 137; Ga. L. 2018, p. 937, § 2-1/SB 427.) The 2017 amendment, effective October 1, 2017, substituted the present provisions of subsection (f) for the former provisions of subsections (f) and (g), which read: "(f) The department shall be authorized to charge the obligee a federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 fee of $12.00 to be paid at the rate of $1.00 per month after the IV-D agency has collected $500.00 of child support annually for each case. The department shall retain such fee and deduct such fee from child support collections before disbursement to the obligee. Such fee shall only apply to an obligee who has never received public assistance payments pursuant to Title IV-A or Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act. "(g) The department shall be authorized to charge the obligor a federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 fee of $13.00 to be paid in 12 monthly installments after the IV-D agency has collected $500.00 of child support annually for each case. Such fee shall only apply to an obligor when the obligee has never received public assistance payments pursuant to Title IV-A or Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act. The department shall retain such fee and collect such fee through income withholding, as well as by any other enforcement remedy available to the IV-D agency responsible for child support enforcement." The 2018 amendment, effective October 1, 2018, substituted "$35.00" for "$25.00" in the first sentence of subsection (f). Editor's notes. - As enacted, Ga. L. 1987, p. 186, § 5, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that the amendment of this Code section by that Act would apply with respect to divorce decrees entered on or after July 1, 1987. However, Section 2 of Ga. L. 1987, p. 1114, not codified by the General Assembly, rewrote Section 5 of Ga. L. 1987, p. 186, to provide that the amendment of this Code section by that latter Act would apply to process served on or after July 1, 1987 in both pending and new proceedings. U.S. Code. - Title IV-A of the federal Social Security Act, referred to in this Code section, is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq. Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act, referred to in this Code section, is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 670 et seq. Law reviews. - For note on 1992 amendment of this Code section, see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 234 (1992).