F. Alimony or Child Support

Owners must count alimony or child support amounts awarded by the court unless the applicant certifies that payments are not being made and that he or she has taken all reasonable legal actions to collect amounts due, including filing with the appropriate courts or agencies responsible for enforcing payment.

1. The owner may accept printouts from the court or agency responsible for enforcing support payments, or other evidence indicating the frequency and amount of support payments actually received.

2. Child support paid to the custodial parent through a State child support enforcement or welfare agency may be included in the family’s monthly welfare check and may be designated in different ways. In some states these payments are not identified as separate from the welfare grant. In these states, it is important to determine which portion is child support and not to count it twice. In other states, the payment may be listed as child support or as “pass-through” payments. These amounts must be counted as annual income.

3. When no documentation of child support, divorce, or separation is available, either because there was no marriage or for another reason, the owner may require the family to sign a certification stating the amount of child support received.

• G.