Library: Policy
340:25-5-285. International cases
Revised 9-15-16
(a) Legal basis. Oklahoma Department of Human Services Child Support Services (CSS) follows the provisions of Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:25-5-270 when Oklahoma is providing child support services on international cases, except for time frames specified per Section 303.7 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(b) Foreign reciprocating countries. CSS initiates or responds to proceedings with foreign reciprocating countries per Section 659A of Title 42 of the United States Code. • 1 & 2
(c) Conversion of child support orders to foreign currency.
(1) Upon request of a foreign responding tribunal, CSS converts the child support order amount into foreign currency and prepares certificates or other documents to be issued by the Oklahoma tribunal per Section 601-304 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes (43 O.S. § 601-304).
(2) Upon request of a foreign initiating tribunal to enforce an order specified in foreign currency, CSS converts the child support order amount into United States dollars and requests an Oklahoma tribunal to make a finding of the converted child support amount. • 3 & 4
(d) Modification of international orders.
(1) When modification of an order of a foreign country is requested and that country cannot or will not modify its order, CSS seeks a modification of the foreign order in an Oklahoma tribunal when Oklahoma has personal jurisdiction over both parties, as provided per 43 O.S. § 601-615.
(2) When CSS determines another state has jurisdiction over both parties, CSS forwards a Child Support Enforcement Transmittal # 1 to the state with jurisdiction over the parties requesting that state to register and modify the foreign order.
Revised 6-17-22
1. (a) Oklahoma Human Services Child Support Services (CSS) staff follows the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) Information Memorandum IM-03-07, available from the OCSE website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pol/IM/2003/im-03-07.htm, to process cases involving foreign reciprocating countries (FRC). For a list of foreign reciprocating countries, refer to Appendix 1 of IM-03-07.
(b) CSS staff follows OCSE’s A Caseworker’s Guide to processing cases with FRCs, located in IM-03-07, when sending an outgoing application to a Convention country or an FRC. CSS must provide translation of the application, all accompanying documents, and orders into a language the FRC accepts.
2. Bilateral agreements.
(1) Oklahoma does not have bilateral agreements that have not been superseded by a federal reciprocity agreement.
(2) For proceedings with countries with which CSS does not have reciprocal enforcement agreements, CSS staff contacts the CSS State Office Central Registry to request assistance to establish a bilateral agreement.
3. CSS staff contacts the CSS State Office contract monitor for translation services, assistance in obtaining an English translation when CSS is requested to enforce or modify a foreign order and the requesting party is unable to provide an English translation.
4. When converting child support order amounts between United States (U.S.) dollars and foreign currency, CSS staff:
(1) uses the exchange rate recognized by the U.S. of State;
(2) includes language in the Order for Modification and Order Confirming Arrears specifying the:
(A) amount of arrears in foreign currency;
(B) current exchange rate as of the date of the referral or application;
(C) U.S. dollar amount equivalent; and
(D) current child support amount in U.S. dollars, when applicable; and
(3) follows the federal OCSE Policy Interpretation Question PIQ-04-01 regarding processing cases with foreign reciprocating countries. The response to Question 6 states there is no federal rule on what date is applied for converting the foreign country's order amount into a U.S. amount. Question 6 further states the decision should be made based on state law and procedure. PIQ-04-01 is available from the OCSE website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pol/PIQ/2004/piq-04-01.htm.
