“IV-D Child Support Enforcement Program” means the federal, state and tribal child support programs established under Title IV-D, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq., as amended, and Title IV-D rules and regulations.

“IV-D services” means the services that are authorized or required for: the establishment of paternity; establishment, modification, and enforcement of support orders; and, location of noncustodial parents under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq., as amended, and Title IV-D rules and regulations.

“Address of record” means the address of a custodial and noncustodial parent or party that is used for the service of process in child support establishment or modification.

“Arrearage,” “arrears” or “past-due support” shall mean the total unpaid child support obligation owed by a parent who is required by either an administrative or court order to pay child support.

“Administrative Hearings Officer” means the administrative law judge for the Osage Nation Office of Administrative Hearings.

“Administrative procedure” means a method by which support orders are made and enforced by a tribal or state agency in accordance with tribal and state law.

“Assignment” means, unless otherwise specified, any assignment of rights to support under Section 408(a)(3) of the Social Security Act or Section 471(a)(17) of the Act.

“Child” shall mean any person under the age of eighteen (18) who is not emancipated according to the laws of the Nation.

“Child support” shall mean the financial obligation a noncustodial parent has towards his or her child(ren), whether such obligation is established through administrative or judicial process, by stipulation of the noncustodial parent, or by parentage of any child(ren).

“Child support guidelines” shall mean a standard method for setting child support obligations based on the income of the parent(s) and other factors as determined under the laws of the Nation or other applicable federal laws.

“Child support order” shall mean any order, judgment or decree from a court of competent jurisdiction or administrative agency that establishes paternity; establishes, modifies, and enforces support obligations for any child(ren); or establishes either a public or private debt for unpaid support which may include related costs and fees, interest and penalties, income withholding, attorney’s fees and other relief.

“Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA)” means the federal law that limits the amount that may be withheld from earnings to satisfy child support obligations under Section 303(b) of the CCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 1673(b).

“Court” means the Trial Court or the Office of Administrative Hearings or a court of another tribe or state having jurisdiction to determine paternity or child support.

“Court order” means a legally binding edict issued by a court of law, issued by a magistrate, judge, or properly empowered administrative officer. A court order related to child support can dictate how often, how much, what kind of support a noncustodial parent is to pay, how long he or she is to pay it, and whether an employer must withhold support from their wages.

“Custodial parent (CP)” means the person with legal custody of the child(ren) or who exercises physical custody of the child(ren), may be a parent, relative, legal guardian, or custodian appointed by a court.

“Director” means the director of the Osage Nation Child Support Services.

“Enforcement” means the application of remedies to obtain payment of a child support contained in a child support order. Examples of remedies include garnishment of wages, seizure of assets, liens placed on assets, revocation of license (e.g., drivers, business, medical, etc.), denial of U.S. passports, etc.

“Establishment” means the process of proving paternity and/or obtaining a court or administrative order to put a child support obligation in place.

“Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (FFCCSOA)” requires tribes and states to enforce child support orders made by other states if: the issuing state’s tribunal had subject matter jurisdiction to hear and resolve the matter and enter an order; the issuing state’s tribunal had personal jurisdiction over the parties; and, reasonable notice and the opportunity to be heard was given to the parties.

“Income” means any periodic form of payment due to an individual regardless of source.

“Income assignment” means an assignment by operation of law or by court or administrative order of a portion of the monies, income or periodic earning due and owing to the noncustodial parent, the person entitled to the support or to another person designated by the support order or assignment. An income assignment may be for payment of current support, arrearages, or both.

“Income tax interception” shall mean any income tax refund of a noncustodial parent or obligor intercepted directly by the United States, a state, the Nation or other tribal child support enforcement agency, as a remedy for the payment of public and/or child support debt.

“Income withholding” means the procedure by which automatic deductions are made from wages or income to pay a debt such as child support. Income withholding usually is incorporated into the child support order and may be voluntary or involuntary. An employer must withhold support from a noncustodial parent’s wages and transfer that withholding to the appropriate agency.

“Indian tribe” means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe and includes in the list of federally recognized Indian tribal governments as published in the Federal Register pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 479a-1.

“Intercept” means a method of securing child support by taking a portion of nonwage payments made to a noncustodial parent. Nonwage payments subject to interception include federal tax refunds, state tax refunds, unemployment benefits, and disability benefits.

“Locate” means process by which a noncustodial parent (NCP) or alleged father is found for the purpose of establishing paternity, establishing and/or enforcing a child support obligation.

“Lien” means a claim upon property to prevent sale or transfer of that property until a debt is satisfied.

“Noncustodial parent (NCP)” means a parent who does not have legal or physical custody of the child(ren) and has an obligation to pay child support.

“Noncash support” means support provided to a family in the nature of goods and/or services, rather than in cash and has a certain and specific dollar value.

“Obligation” means amount of money to be paid as support by a noncustodial parent and can take the form of financial support for the child. An obligation is a recurring, ongoing obligation, not a one-time debt such as an assessment.

“Obligee” means a person or public agency of another state or tribe to whom a legal obligation is owed child support pursuant to a court or administrative order.

“Obligor” means the person with a legal obligation to pay child support under a child support order pursuant to a court or administrative order; may also be referred to as the noncustodial parent (NCP).

“Office of Administrative Hearings” means the Osage Nation Office of Administrative Hearings authorized to conduct child support establishment and enforcement administrative hearings, including establishing paternity for child support.

“Offset” means an amount of money intercepted from a noncustodial parent’s state or federal tax refund or from an administrative payment such as federal retirement benefits to satisfy a child support debt.

“Osage Nation” shall mean the governing authority as described in Article V Section 1 of the Constitution of the Osage Nation.

“Osage Nation Child Support Services (ONCSS)” shall mean, unless otherwise indicated, the tribal IV-D agency that is designated to administer the child support program for the Osage Nation, in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 654 (the Social Security Act).

“Osage Reservation” shall be defined in accordance with the Constitution of the Osage Nation Article II Section I. The Osage Reservation is duly established by the Congress of the United States (U.S.) pursuant to (1) the Treaty between the U.S. and the Great and Little Osage Indians, Sept. 29, 1865, 14 Stat. 687; (2) Article 16 of the Treaty between the U.S. and the Cherokee Nation of Indians, July 19, 1866, 14 Stat. 799; and (3) the Act of June 5, 1872, ch. 310, 17 Stat. 228 (An Act to Confirm to the Great and Little Osage Indians a Reservation in the Indian Territory), and all other lands under federally restricted status title to which is held by the Nation or the People, or by the U.S. in trust on behalf of the Nation or the People, and any such additional lands as are hereafter-acquired and similarly held by the Nation or the People or the U.S. on behalf of the Nation or the People.

“ONCSS” means the Osage Nation Child Support Services.

“Past-due support,” see Arrearage.

“Payment plan” means, but is not limited to, a plan approved by a judicial or administrative court or a child support enforcement agency to make periodic payments of past-due support to reduce the obligor’s arrearage. A payment plan usually consists of a monthly payment plan that includes current support and past-due support. The plan may provide for an income assignment or similar plan to ensure the past-due support will be paid.

“Payor” means any person or entity paying monies, income, wages or earnings to an obligor. In the case of a self-employed person, the “payor” and “obligor” may be the same person.

“Procedures” means a written set of instructions which describe in detail the step by step actions to be taken by child support enforcement personnel in the performance of a specific function under a tribe or state’s IV-D plan. The IV-D agency may issue general instructions on one or more functions, and delegate responsibility for the detailed procedures to the office, agency, or political subdivisions actually performing the function.

“Parent” shall mean the biological or adoptive mother or father of a child.

“Public assistance” means benefits granted from tribal, federal or state programs to aid eligible recipients (eligibility requirements vary between particular programs). Applicants for certain types of public assistance (e.g., TANF) are automatically referred to their tribal or state IV-D agency for child support services.

“Signatory” means an individual who authenticates a record and is bound by its terms.

“State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

“Support” means payments or other child support obligations owed to the custodial parent or other public entity under a child support order, and may include, but is not limited to, child support, out of pocket medical expenses, child care, and other obligations specified under the child support guidelines.

“Support for a prior period” means the amount of child support ordered under the child support guidelines under this chapter in paternity and/or establishment orders for past months when no child support order was in effect.

“Title IV-D” refers to the title of the Social Security Act that establishes and authorizes the Child Support Enforcement Program, including the Tribal Child Support Enforcement Program.

“Title IV-D agency” means the organization unit in the tribe or tribal organization that has the authority for administering or supervising the tribal IV-D program under Section 455(f) of the Social Security Act.

“Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)” means the federal program that provides temporary assistance to families in need as found in Section 401 et seq. of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.)