11. Do you have to tell DTA anything about your child's other parent?

You have to assign (turn over) to the state any rights you have to child support for any child for whom you are applying for or receiving assistance. There is no exception to the assignment requirement. You have to sign the assignment form even if you do not have information about the absent parent and even if you have good cause for not cooperating with child support enforcement. DTA Online Guide Transmittal 2022-92 (Child Support) (Nov. 17, 2022). see Appendix E.

Most applicants and recipients (see exceptions below) have to cooperate with (help) the Child Support Enforcement Unit of the Department of Revenue (DOR) get child support from any parent who is not living with the child, prove he is the father (establish paternity) and get a support order. This includes going to court if there is a court proceeding. You can be sanctioned if you do not cooperate. If you are sanctioned, DTA will remove you from the grant and will reduce your grant by your share of the grant or 25% of the payment standard for your family size, whichever is larger. 106 C.M.R. § 703.500. See Question 31 for more details about the consequences of sanctions. See Part 8 for information about how to appeal a sanction.

DTA and DOR will ask you for specific information about any parent who is not living with the child. If you do not have specific information, you will have to provide all the information you have and a sworn statement documenting your efforts to get the information. You should not be sanctioned if you have given all the identifying information you have. 106 C.M.R. § 703.500; 830 C.M.R. § 18.18A.1.

If you have been sanctioned for not cooperating and want to remove the sanction, tell DTA you want to cooperate and sign DTA’s form saying you will cooperate. DTA should remove the sanction within 70 days or as soon as DOR tells DTA you have cooperated (whichever is earlier). 106 C.M.R. § 703.525; see- Appendix E DTA Field Operations Memo 2001-22 (Apr. 25, 2001).

The support rules apply to mothers as well as fathers. A mother who does not live with the child can also be ordered to pay child support. Non-parent caretaker relatives must also meet child support cooperation rules for at least one of the child’s parents.

Exceptions from having to help DOR get child support from the other parent.

  • Good cause. You have good cause for not providing child support information or otherwise cooperating with child support enforcement if you are afraid that doing so will cause you or your child any physical or emotional harm or if you got pregnant by rape or incest. You can verify good cause with statements from social services agencies or from people who know your situation. 106 C.M.R. §§ 703.500-703.524. DOR may try to seek support from a parent even if you are not required to cooperate. Tell DTA and DOR if pursuing child support may harm you or your child, and contact your local legal services program, Appendix D, if DOR insists on pursuing support.
  • You are not the child’s parent. Nonparent caregivers (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) can check a box to say that going after child support is not in the child’s best interest. DTA Online Guide Transmittal 2022-78 (Oct. 13, 2022). DTA Online Guide Transmittal 2021-87 (Nov. 10, 2021) – see Appendix E.
  • You are a Haitian new arrival. You have good cause for not pursuing child support if you recently arrived in the US, you and your spouse or partner are not living together temporarily, and your family is trying to reunify. DTA Online Guide Transmittal 2023-68 (Oct. 3, 2023) – see Appendix E.

Advocacy Reminders

  • You may have good reasons for not wanting to get a support order against the child's parent. Email info@masslegalservices.org for more information about your options.
  • Is the other parent of your child in another country? Many countries do not have agreements to allow the U.S. to pursue child support against a parent in their country. For a list of countries that do not allow the U.S. to pursue support, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css/partners/international. DOR usually does not pursue child support against a parent in another country even if the other country does not prohibit it.
  • If you cannot attend an appointment with DOR or go to court, call the DOR worker right away and ask that the appointment or court date be rescheduled.
  • DTA may say you have not cooperated or have committed fraud because it thinks you gave inconsistent information about your child’s father. DTA Operations Memo 2013-17 (May 1, 2013). For help, contact your local legal services program, Appendix D.
  • DTA may tell you to sign a Mother’s Affidavit to collect the information DOR needs to get an order for genetic testing to establish paternity. You do not have to sign the Mother’s Affidavit. It is DOR’s job, not DTA’s job, to establish paternity. DTA cannot sanction you for not signing. DTA Field Operations Memos 2003-25 (Oct. 3, 2003) and 2004-13 (Mar. 19, 2004).
  • Some two-parent families may get a notice telling them they have to go to the Department of Revenue (DOR) to establish paternity. Families who do not comply may be sanctioned. DTA Field Operations Memo 2009-47 (Aug. 21, 2009). Since the second parent had to show paternity to receive TAFDC, there should be no need to establish paternity. And there may be no legal authority to sanction two-parent families because their benefits are not paid for with federal funds. For help, contact your local legal services program, Appendix D.
  • You do not have to assign child support for a child who receives SSI.
  • If the support that is paid is more than the monthly TAFDC grant plus $50 for two months, the DTA should terminate the TAFDC and reassign the current support to the family. The Department of Revenue should send current support payments to the family. You will need to set up a payment method with DOR - debit card or direct deposit.
  • Removing you from the grant for noncooperation is not authorized by federal law. Email info@masslegalservices.org for more information.
  • It also may be illegal for DTA to reduce your grant for noncooperation by more than 25 percent. Email info@masslegalservices.org for more information.
  • A child born to a married couple – including a same-sex married couple – is the child of both members of the couple. DTA Transitions, July 2013, p. 5. 
10. Do you have to have a Social Security number?
12. Can you get TAFDC if you are a teen parent or pregnant teen?