SECTION 55.143. Arrears Payment Incentive Program

(a) The Arrears Payment Incentive Program is a voluntary program administered by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), a Title IV-D agency, to promote payment by obligors who are delinquent in satisfying child support arrearages assigned to the Title IV-D agency under Texas Family Code §231.104(a). The program is established pursuant to Texas Family Code §231.124. The program provides a credit for every dollar amount paid by the obligor on interest and arrearage balances during each month of the obligor's voluntary enrollment in the program. Participation by an obligor in the program does not prohibit the OAG from pursuing any other collection method authorized by law.

(b) The following criteria must be met for an obligor to be eligible to participate in the program:

(1) There must be a final Texas child support order in the obligor's case;

(2) The obligor must have and maintain a current address on record with the OAG;

(3) There must be at least $500 in both state-owned arrears (the child support obligation assigned to the state under Texas Family Code §231.104(a) that accrued during any month the obligee received TANF/AFDC public assistance benefits), and unrecovered assistance (the amount of money paid in the form of public assistance under the Title IV-A program that has not yet been recovered from collections applied to state-owned arrears for the case);

(4) the child support obligation must not be payable to the Department of Family and Protective Services;

(5) the obligor must not have a pending bankruptcy case;

(6) the obligor's case must not be one in which the OAG is providing intergovernmental services under Texas Family Code Chapter 159; and

(7) the obligor must not be currently incarcerated.

(c) The following conditions apply to an obligor's continued participation in the program:

(1) to receive program matching payment credits reducing state-owned arrears, an obligor must pay the current support obligations for the month in full, including medical and dental support, if any, plus make a payment toward the child support arrears balance;

(2) an obligor must make at least one qualifying arrearage payment within any 180-day period for continued participation in the program. Failure by an obligor to make at least one qualifying arrearage payment within any 180-day period may result in the OAG removing the obligor from the program;

(3) payments must be voluntarily paid by the obligor or by the obligor's employer through income withholding; and

(4) if an obligor enrolled in the program seeks federal bankruptcy protection, the obligor will no longer be eligible to receive program matching payment credits and will be removed from the program while the bankruptcy proceeding is pending.

(d) The following procedures apply to enrollment in the program:

(1) the OAG will make the Texas Attorney General, Child Support Division's Arrears Payment Incentive Program Application (Form 1575) available on its website;

(2) if an obligor has multiple cases and wants each case enrolled in the program, the obligor will need to apply to the program for each case;

(3) the obligor may apply for initial enrollment in the program, regardless of whether the obligor is currently making payments on the case;

(4) if the obligor is removed from the program, there will be a six-month waiting period to be eligible to re-apply; and

(5) an obligor may be immediately eligible for re-enrollment if a lump sum payment equaling at least three full months of support obligations, including any periodic court-ordered arrears payments, is paid through the Texas Child Support State Disbursement Unit.

(e) The following terms apply to the financial incentives to be offered under the program:

(1) if the obligor pays all current support obligations for the month, any additional amounts paid towards the child support arrears will be matched with a dollar-for-dollar credit that will be applied to reduce state-owned child support arrears. Program matching payment credits will not be applied to reduce medical support or dental support arrears. Program matching payment credits will not reduce any family-owned arrears;

(2) an obligor is eligible to earn program matching payment credits from the date of acceptance into the program;

(3) program matching payment credits automatically stop once unrecovered assistance is paid in full or state-owned child support arrears are paid in full, whichever occurs first; and

(4) payments received on other cases involving the obligee may impact the portion of arrears on the obligor's case that are eligible for program matching payment credits.

(f) The following payments are not eligible for program matching payment credits:

(1) federal offsets;

(2) state debt setoffs;

(3) lottery intercepts;

(4) bond forfeitures;

(5) monies received as the result of child support liens or levies; or

(6) payments made directly to the obligee and not through the Texas Child Support State Disbursement Unit.

Source Note: The provisions of this §55.143 adopted to be effective March 16, 2022, 47 TexReg 1223