Wyoming Child Support When a Grandparent Is Raising a Grandchild

The POWER Program Requires Cooperation

When child-support or paternity issues apply, a nonexempt POWER applicant must cooperate with Wyoming Child Support Enforcement as a condition of receiving a performance payment. DFS does not refer cases where no child-support issues exist, and an approved good-cause claim can exempt an applicant from cooperation.

Cooperation means you agree to help identify the child's non-custodial parent or parents and support the state's efforts to establish or enforce a child support order. When you sign the DFS application, you assign the child's rights to past, present, and future child support payments to the state. Wyoming uses those collections to partially offset the cost of the public assistance being paid on the child's behalf.

How the Pass-Through Works

Wyoming operates a child support pass-through for families receiving POWER cash assistance. When the state collects child support from the non-custodial parent, a portion of that money is passed through to you as the caregiver rather than being kept entirely by the state.

Here is the important distinction for other benefit programs: the child support that passes through to you is treated as exempt income for POWER purposes, meaning it does not reduce your cash grant. However, that same money counts as unearned income for SNAP calculations. It will factor into your household's gross income when DFS determines your food benefit amount.

What If Cooperation Would Put You or the Child at Risk

DFS recognizes that not every family situation is safe for child support enforcement. If pursuing child support would put you or the child in danger — because of domestic violence, a history of abuse, threats, or risk of parental abduction — you can request a Good Cause Exemption.

To claim good cause, you complete DFS form 543/545/546. You will need to provide supporting evidence, such as:

• A protective order or restraining order
• Law enforcement reports documenting threats or violence
• A written statement from a domestic violence advocate, counselor, or medical provider
• Court records showing the parent's history

While DFS reviews your claim, child support enforcement is held in abeyance — they will not pursue the parent until the review is complete. If good cause is granted, you are excused from the cooperation requirement and still receive the POWER cash benefit.

Child Support Without POWER

Even if you are not receiving POWER cash assistance, you may still want to pursue child support from the child's parents. Wyoming law allows a person furnishing a child's physical care or support to bring a civil action for past and future child and medical support (W.S. 14-2-204(b)).

In a child-protection proceeding where legal custody, other than temporary guardianship, is vested by court order in someone other than the child's parents, the court must inquire into the financial condition of the parents or other legally obligated person and, after notice and a hearing, order a reasonable support amount for the time the dispositional order is in force. Payment is made through the juvenile court clerk to the person with legal custody (W.S. 14-3-435).

How Child Support Affects Other Benefits

The interaction depends on the program:

• POWER: Pass-through child support is exempt income and does not reduce the grant
• SNAP: Child support received counts as gross unearned income for the household
• Medicaid/CHIP: Child support is not taxable income and is excluded from MAGI-based health coverage calculations
• SSI: SSA excludes one-third of child support paid by an absent parent for an SSI child; the remaining countable amount reduces the SSI payment after applicable exclusions

If the child receives both POWER and has child support income, the net effect depends on how much support is collected and passed through. For most kinship households, the POWER grant plus the passed-through child support still represents a meaningful monthly increase.

Getting Started

If you are applying for POWER, child support cooperation is built into the process — DFS will handle the referral to Child Support Enforcement. If you need to request a good cause exemption, ask your DFS caseworker for the forms at your intake interview.

The Wyoming Financial Help for Kinship Caregivers guide explains the child support cooperation requirement in detail, including how to document a good cause claim and how child support income interacts with every other benefit program available to your household.

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