| (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.
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