§ 111-c. Functions, powers and duties of social services officials.
1. Each social services district shall establish a single organizational
unit which shall be responsible for such district's activities in
assisting the state in the location of absent parents, establishment of
parentage and enforcement and collection of support in accordance with
the regulations of the department.

2. Each social services district shall:

a. obtain assignments to the state and to such district of support
rights of each applicant for or recipient of public assistance required
to execute such an assignment as a condition of receiving assistance;

b. report to the state all recipients of public assistance with
respect to whom a parent has been reported absent from the household;

c. obtain information regarding the income and resources of absent
parents whose whereabouts are known, and shall have access to the
statement of net worth filed pursuant to section four hundred
twenty-four-a of the family court act and supporting documentation in
any case where support collection services are being provided as may be
necessary to ascertain their ability to support or contribute to the
support of their dependents;

d. enforce support obligations owed to the state and to the social
services district pursuant to subdivision two of section one hundred
eleven-b of this title; and disburse amounts collected as support
payments in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the
regulations of the department, including the disbursement to the family
in receipt of public assistance of up to the first one hundred dollars
for one child, and up to the first two hundred dollars for two or more
children, collected as current support;

e. make periodic reports and perform such other functions in
accordance with the regulations of the department as may be necessary to
assure compliance with federal child support program requirements.

f. confer with a potential respondent, respondent or other interested
person in a proceeding under article four, five, five-A or five-B of the
family court act in an attempt to obtain support payments from such
potential respondent or respondent;

g. obtain from respondent, when appropriate and in accordance with the
procedures established by section one hundred eleven-k of this chapter,
an acknowledgement of parentage or an agreement to make support
payments, or both;

h. report periodically to consumer reporting agencies (as defined in
section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f))
information regarding past-due support owed by the parent owing support.
Such information must be made available whenever a parent who owes
past-due support, and shall indicate the name of the parent and the
amount of the delinquency. However, such information shall not be made
available to (i) a consumer reporting agency that the office determines
does not have sufficient capability to systematically and timely make
accurate use of such information, or (ii) an entity that has not
furnished evidence satisfactory to the office that the entity is a
consumer reporting agency. In determining whether a consumer reporting
agency lacks sufficient capability to systematically and timely make
accurate use of such information, the office may require such agency to
demonstrate its ability to comply with the provisions of section three
hundred eighty-j of the general business law and any other requirements
the office may prescribe by regulation. A social services official, at
least ten days prior to making the information available to a consumer
reporting agency, must provide notice to the parent who owes the support
informing such parent of the proposed release of the information to the
consumer reporting agency and informing such parent of the opportunity
to be heard and the methods available for contesting the accuracy of the
information.

3. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the social services official shall
not be required to establish the parentage of any child born
out-of-wedlock, or to secure support for any child, with respect to whom
such official has determined that such actions would be detrimental to
the best interests of the child, in accordance with procedures and
criteria established by regulations of the department consistent with
federal law.

4. a. A social services district represents the interests of the
district in performing its functions and duties as provided in this
title and not the interests of any party. The interests of a district
shall include, but are not limited to, establishing parentage, and
establishing, modifying and enforcing child support orders.

b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provision of child
support services pursuant to this title does not constitute nor create
an attorney-client relationship between the individual receiving
services and any attorney representing or appearing for the district. A
social services district shall provide notice to any individual
requesting or receiving services that the attorney representing or
appearing for the district does not represent the individual and that
the individual has a right to retain his or her own legal counsel.

c. A social services district may appear in any action to establish
parentage, or to establish, modify, or enforce an order of support when
an individual is receiving services under this title.