Division of Family and Economic Security, Bureau of Working Families

Wisconsin Works (W-2) Manual

15.4.3 Three Instances of Noncooperation

A member of a W-2 GroupAn adult custodial parent, all dependent children with respect to whom the individual is a legal custodial parent and all minor children with respect to whom the adult individual’s dependent child is a custodial parent. W-2 Group includes any non-marital co-parent or any spouse of the individual who resides in the same household as the individual and any minor children with respect to whom the spouse or non-marital co-parent is a custodial parent. W-2 Group does not include any person who is receiving cash benefits under a county relief block grant program. This is also referred to as the W-2 Assistance Group (W-2 AG) who fails to cooperate three times without an exemption or good cause remains ineligible until:

  1. All of the members of the W-2 Group cooperate; or
  2. For a period of six months, whichever is later.

If a child support worker notifies the FEPFEPFinancial and Employment Planner that a report of noncooperation was in error, the FEP must:

  1. Contact the BWF Work Programs Help Desk to remove the instance from the CWWCWWCARES Worker Web Child Support Noncooperation Instance Tracking page to avoid case sanction errors; and
  2. Not count that instance as one of the three noncooperation instances.

EXAMPLE: Alia applied for W-2 in January and met with the CSACSAChild Support Agency as scheduled. Alia was found eligible for W-2 and placed in a CSJCSJCommunity Service Job. However, Alia refused to respond to the CSA’s requests to establish the paternity of her child’s father. Alia’s W-2 case was closed in April and this was her first instance of noncooperation with child support.

In June, Alia again applied for W-2, attended her appointments with the CSA, agreed to paternity establishment for her child, and was found eligible for W-2. However, while receiving W-2, Alia chose to refuse the CSA’s requests to pursue child support payments from her child’s father without an exemption or a good cause claim. Alia’s W-2 case was closed in August and this was her second instance of noncooperation with child support.

Alia applied for W-2 again in September, agreed to pursue child support payments from her child’s father, and was found eligible for W-2. While receiving W-2, Alia did not attend the scheduled legal proceedings to establish the child support payments. Alia’s W-2 case was closed in October and this was her third instance of noncooperation with child support.

Because Alia has three instances of failure to cooperate with child support without an exemption or good cause, Alia was found to be ineligible for W-2 for six months due to noncooperation with child support regardless of whether she would choose to cooperate. Alia cannot apply for W-2 again until May the following year, provided she cooperates with Child Support by participating in the legal hearing to establish the child support payment.