The State plan shall provide that the following requirements and criteria to separate the cash handling and accounting functions are in effect.

(a) IV-D responsibility. The IV-D agency will maintain methods of administration designed to assure that persons responsible for handling cash receipts of support do not participate in accounting or operating functions which would permit them to conceal in the accounting records the misuse of support receipts. Such methods of administration shall follow generally recognized accounting standards.

(b) Scope. The requirement in paragraph (a) of this section applies to persons who participate in the collection, accounting or operating functions which include:

(1) IV-D agency employees and employees of any other State or local agency to which IV-D functions have been delegated.

(2) Employees of a court or law enforcement official performing under a cooperative agreement with the IV-D agency.

(3) Employees of any private or governmental entity from which the IV-D agency purchases services.

(c) Exception. The Regional Office may grant a waiver to sparsely populated geographical areas, where the requirements in paragraph (a) of this section would necessitate the hiring of unreasonable numbers of additional staff. The IV-D agency must document such administrative infeasibility and provide an alternative system of controls that reasonably insures that support collections will not be misused.

[44 FR 28803, May 17, 1979, as amended at 47 FR 57281, Dec. 23, 1982]