OAR 137-055-1320: Access to FPLS for Purposes of Parentage Establishment; Child Support Establishment, Modification or Enforcement; or Determining Who Has or May Have Parental Rights

(1) For the purposes of this rule and OAR 137-055-1360, the following definitions apply: (a) "FPLS" means the Federal Parent Locator Service operated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. (b) "Original requestor" means a party to a parentage or child support case who is seeking FPLS information, directly, through an attorney, or through court request. (c) “Custodial Parent” includes a caretaker or caretaker relative as defined in OAR 461-120-0610. (d) “Legal Guardian” means a person appointed as a guardian under ORS chapter 125 or similar provision. (e) "Reasonable evidence of possible domestic violence" means: (A) A record on the Oregon Judicial Information Network or the Law Enforcement Data System that an order of protection has or had been issued against the original requestor in favor of the person being sought; or (B) A record that the person being sought has or had been granted good cause pursuant to ORS 412.024 not to establish parentage or to establish or enforce a support order against the original requestor; or (C) A record that the person being sought has or had been granted an order for nondisclosure of information or an ACP order for nondisclosure of information pursuant to OAR 137-055-1160 in a case where the original requestor is or was the other party in a legal action. (f) "Reasonable evidence of possible child abuse" means that there is a record with the Oregon Department of Human Services child welfare program that the original requestor has been investigated for alleged abuse of any child. (2) For the purposes of this rule, an authorized person is: (a) A custodial parent, legal guardian, attorney, or agent of a child (other than a child receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)), seeking to establish parentage or to establish, modify or enforce a support order. (b) A court or agent of the court which has the authority to issue an order of parentage or support and maintenance of a child or to serve as the initiating court to seek such an order from another state; or (c) A state agency responsible for administering an approved child welfare plan or an approved foster care and adoption assistance plan. (3) An authorized person as defined in section (2) of this rule, may request information to facilitate the discovery or location of any individual: (a) Who is under an obligation to pay child support; (b) Against whom a child support obligation is sought; (c) To whom a child support obligation is owed; or (d) Who has or may have parental rights with respect to a child. (4) If available from FPLS, the information that may be provided about an individual described in subsections (3)(a)-(d) of this rule includes: (a) The address and verification of the social security number of the individual sought; (b) The name, address and federal employer identification number of the employer of the individual sought; and (c) Information about income from employment and benefits from employment, including health care coverage. (5) A request pursuant to this rule must be made in writing directly to the Division of Child Support (DCS) and must contain: (a) The purposes for which the information is requested; (b) The full name, social security number (if known) and date of birth or approximate date of birth of the individual sought; (c) The full name and date of birth and social security number of the person making the request; (d) Whether the individual is or has been a member of the armed forces or if the individual is receiving federal compensation or benefits, if known; (e) If the request is from the court, the signature of the judge or agent of the court; and (f) If the request is from an individual not receiving TANF, the individual must attest: (A) That the request is made to obtain information or facilitate discovery for the purpose of establishing parentage or establishing, modifying or enforcing child support obligations; (B) That the information will be used solely for those reasons and will be kept confidential; and (C) If the individual is a parent, that he or she is the parent with physical custody of the child. (6) The request may be made on a form adopted by the Oregon Child Support Program and available from any program office. (7) When DCS receives a request from an authorized person pursuant to subsections (2)(a) or (2)(b) of this rule, it will determine if there is any record of possible domestic violence by the original requestor against the individual sought or any record of possible child abuse by the original requestor. (8) If reasonable evidence of domestic violence or child abuse is found pursuant to section (7) or FPLS does not return information due to a family violence indicator, an authorized person may ask the court to determine, pursuant to 42 USC 653(b)(2)(B), whether disclosure of the information could be harmful to the parent or child sought. (a) If the court concludes that disclosure of the information would not be harmful to the parent or child, DCS will submit the request along with the court’s determination to FPLS. (b) If the court concludes that disclosure of the information would be harmful to the parent or child, the request will be denied.