9 CAR § 1-104. Structure of the program

(a) The Office of Child Support Enforcement is state-administered and state-operated within the Department of Finance and Administration. (b) Other sections of the department that provide support services for the Office of Child Support Enforcement include: (1) Administrative Services; (2) Information Services; (3) Personnel Management; (4) Driver Services; (5) Motor Vehicle; (6) Revenue Legal Counsel; (7) State Income Tax; (8) State Procurement; (9) Accounting; (10) Budget; (11) Intergovernmental Services; and (12) Employee Benefits. (c)(1) The Office of Child Support Enforcement is the single and separate organizational unit responsible for administering the Title IV-D Child Support Program under the state plan. (2) The unit, supervised by the Administrator of the Office of Child Support Enforcement, consists of: (A) The Office of Child Support Enforcement Central Office; (B) Field offices; and (C) The Arkansas Child Support Clearinghouse. (d) Central Office. (1) The Central Office for the Office of Child Support Enforcement includes the Administrator and management staff who are charged with responsibility for specified areas. (2) Operational functions are performed by: (A) Finance and Administration; (B) Information Systems; (C) Policy; (D) Program Review; (E) Communication and Outreach; (F) General Counsel; (G) Customer Service; (H) Collections; and (I) Program Support. (3) The function of Central Office staff is to provide the necessary support services for field staff and to administer the program at the state level. (e) Field offices. (1) Under direction of the Operations Manager, Field Managers are responsible for supervising the Regional and Extension Office Supervisors. (2)(A) Regional and Extension Office Supervisors are responsible, under the direction of the Field Managers, for supervising the field staff. (B) The field staff are responsible for: (i) Locating noncustodial parents; and (ii) Obtaining the information necessary to initiate administrative procedures to enforce orders or support legal action pursuant and limited to the purpose of the IV-D Program. (C) The field staff work closely with the legal staff to ensure appropriate information is available to support the necessary legal action to collect child and medical support or establish paternity. (3) Office of Child Support Enforcement attorneys represent neither the custodial party nor noncustodial parent, but rather the state’s interest in seeing that children are provided for financially. (f) Arkansas Child Support Clearinghouse. (1) As required by federal law, the Office of Child Support Enforcement operates the Arkansas Child Support Clearinghouse, also known as the State Disbursement Unit, for the collection and disbursement of payments under child support orders in: (A) IV-D cases (enforcement); and (B) Non-IV-D cases (payment processing). (2) The clearinghouse also provides necessary technical assistance and information to employers to ensure the collection and disbursement of payments.