§48-18-105. General duties and powers of the Bureau for Child Support enforcement.

In carrying out the policies and procedures for enforcing the provisions of this chapter, the bureau shall have the following power and authority:

(1) To establish policies and procedures for obtaining and enforcing support orders and establishing paternity according to this chapter;

(2) To undertake directly, or by contract, activities to obtain and enforce support orders and establish paternity;

(3) To undertake directly, or by contract, activities to establish paternity for minors for whom paternity has not been acknowledged by the father or otherwise established by law;

(4) To undertake directly, or by contract, activities to collect and disburse support payments;

(5) To contract for professional services with any person, firm, partnership, professional corporation, association or other legal entity to provide representation for the bureau and the state in administrative or judicial proceedings brought to obtain and enforce support orders and establish paternity;

(6) To ensure that activities of a contractor under a contract for professional services are carried out in a manner consistent with attorneys' professional responsibilities as established in the rules of professional conduct as promulgated by the Supreme Court of Appeals;

(7) To contract for collection services with any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity to collect and disburse amounts payable as support;

(8) To ensure the compliance of contractors and their employees with the provisions of this chapter, and to terminate, after notice and hearing, the contractual relationship between the bureau and a contractor who fails to comply;

(9) To require a contractor to take appropriate remedial or disciplinary action against any employee who has violated or caused the contractor to violate the provisions of this chapter, in accordance with procedures prescribed in legislative rules promulgated by the commission;

(10) To locate parents who owe a duty to pay child support;

(11) To cooperate with other agencies of this state and other states to search their records to help locate parents;

(12) To cooperate with other states in establishing and enforcing support obligations;

(13) To exercise such other powers as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of this chapter;

(14) To establish and maintain procedures under which expedited processes, administrative or judicial are in effect for obtaining and enforcing support orders and establishing paternity according to this chapter;

(15) To promulgate all emergency and legislative rules pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a [§§ 29A-1-1 et seq.] of this code as are required by this chapter: Provided, That all rules which are in effect at the time of the implementation of this section shall continue in full force and effect until the commissioner of the Bureau for Child Support enforcement promulgates a rule or rules regarding the same subject matter;

(16) To adopt standards for staffing, record-keeping, reporting, intergovernmental cooperation, training, physical structures and time frames for case processing;

(17) To review the state plan for child and spousal support to determine its conformance or nonconformance with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. §654;

(18) To cooperate with judicial organizations and the private bar to provide training to persons involved in the establishment and enforcement of child support orders; and

(19) To promulgate legislative rules pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a [§§29A-1-1] of this code which may aid the Bureau for Child Support enforcement in the establishment and enforcement of child support orders. In addition to the specific designation of such rules that constitute emergency rules within the meaning of section fifteen [§29A-3-15], article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the commissioner may promulgate other rules as emergency rules when such rule is necessary to ensure that the state is awarded federal funds for the actions described in the rule or when the promulgation of such rule is necessary to prevent substantial harm to the public interest by ensuring that child support is timely collected and disbursed.