Kansas Statutes 39-718b. Liability of parent or guardian for assistance provided child, exceptions
Terms Used In Kansas Statutes 39-718b
- Assistance: includes such items or functions as the giving or providing of money, food assistance, food, clothing, shelter, medicine or other materials, the giving of any service, including instructive or scientific. See Kansas Statutes 39-702
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Guardian: means an individual or a nonprofit corporation certified in accordance with Kan. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Secretary: means the secretary for children and families, unless otherwise specified. See Kansas Statutes 39-702
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a child’s parent, parents or guardian shall be liable to repay to the secretary for children and families any assistance expended on the child’s behalf, regardless of the specific program under which the assistance is or has been provided. When more than one person is legally obligated to support the child, liability to the secretary shall be joint and several. The secretary shall have the power and authority to file a civil action in the name of the secretary for repayment of the assistance, regardless of the existence of any other action involving the support of the child.
(b) With respect to an individual parent or guardian, the provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to:
(1) Assistance provided on behalf of any person other than the child of the parent or guardian;
(2) assistance provided during a month in which the needs of the parent or guardian were included in the assistance provided to the child; or
(3) assistance provided during a month in which the parent or guardian has fully complied with the terms of an order of support for the child, if a court of competent jurisdiction has considered the issue of support. For the purposes of this subsection, if an order is silent on the issue of support, it shall not be presumed that the court has considered the issue of support. Amounts paid for a particular month pursuant to a judgment under this act shall be credited against the amount accruing for the same month under any other order of support for the child, up to the amount of the current support obligation for that month.
(c) When the assistance provided during a month is on behalf of more than one person, the amount of assistance provided on behalf of one person for that month shall be determined by dividing the total assistance by the number of people on whose behalf assistance was provided.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (b), a child’s parent, parents or guardian shall be liable to repay to an agency or subdivision of another state any assistance substantially similar to that defined in subsection (d) of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 39-702, and amendments thereto, which has been expended in the other state on the child’s behalf, regardless of the specific program under which the assistance is or has been provided. When more than one person is legally obligated to support the child, liability to the agency or subdivision shall be joint and several.
(e) Actions authorized herein are in addition to and not in substitution for any other remedies.