Opinion No. (1997)

DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General CLAYTON P. ROCHE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE JAMES C. BRAZELTON, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, STANISLAUS COUNTY, has requested an opinion on the following question: Does a district attorney who provides child support enforcement services for recipients of welfare benefits have discretion to accept less than the total amount of assigned support due from a noncustodial parent in exchange for a release of a real property lien? CONCLUSION A district attorney who provides child support enforcement services for recipients of welfare benefits has discretion to accept less than the total amount of assigned support due from a noncustodial parent in exchange for a release of a real property lien if such partial payment and release will further the purposes of the child support enforcement laws. ANALYSIS The federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program ( 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.) has as one of its components the enforcement of child support obligations owed by noncustodial parents ( 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq.). In California the Department of Social Services ("Department") is charged with administering the federal program at the state level…