§ 310.105 - What procedures governing guidelines for the establishment and modification of child support obligations must a Tribe or Tribal organization include in a Tribal CSE plan?

(a) A Tribe or Tribal organization demonstrates capacity to operate a Tribal CSE program meeting the objectives of title IV-D of the Act when its Tribal CSE plan:

(1) Establishes one set of child support guidelines by law or by judicial or administrative action for setting and modifying child support obligation amounts;

(2) Includes a copy of child support guidelines governing the establishment and modification of child support obligations; and

(3) Indicates whether in-kind or non-cash payments of support will be permitted and if so, describes the type(s) of in-kind (non-cash) support that will be permitted and how such in-kind (non-cash) payments will be converted into cash equivalents if necessary.

(b) The guidelines established under paragraph (a) of this section must at a minimum:

(1) Take into account the needs of the child and the earnings and income of the noncustodial parent; and

(2) Be based on specific descriptive and numeric criteria and result in a computation of the support obligation.

(c) The Tribe or Tribal organization must ensure that child support guidelines are reviewed at least every three years.

(d) The Tribe or Tribal organization must provide that there shall be a rebuttable presumption, in any judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child support, that the amount of the award that would result from the application of the guidelines established under paragraph (a) of this section is the correct amount of child support to be awarded.

(e) A written finding or specific finding on the record of a judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child support that the application of the guidelines established under paragraph (a) of this section would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case shall be sufficient to rebut the presumption in that case, as determined under criteria established by the Tribe or Tribal organization. Such criteria must take into consideration the best interests of the child. Findings that rebut the guidelines must state the amount of support that would have been required under the guidelines and include a justification of why the order varies from the guidelines.