(a) The Secretary of Human Services shall: (1) adopt rules and regulations for the collection of support; (2) adopt standards for staffing, record keeping, reporting, intergovernmental cooperation, and other management operations that are necessary to proper and efficient collection of support; (3) delegate any responsibility for support enforcement to a local department, for as long as: (i) the local government asks that responsibility be delegated to the local department; (ii) the Secretary finds that the local department is capable of carrying out the responsibility; and (iii) a delegation of that responsibility is consistent with guidelines of the Department of Human Services; (4) delegate any responsibility for support enforcement to the clerk of a circuit court, for as long as: (i) the local government and the clerk, with the approval of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland, ask that responsibility be delegated to the clerk; (ii) the Secretary finds that the clerk is capable of carrying out the responsibility; (iii) a delegation of that responsibility is consistent with guidelines of the Department of Human Services; and (iv) the Administration makes a cooperative agreement with the clerk that: 1. includes arrangements for reimbursement for expenditures incurred by the clerk that are reimbursable under federal regulations that relate to federal financial participation in the operation of a support enforcement program; and 2. provides that federal collection incentives that would be payable to the county if the county had a local support enforcement office shall be payable to the Fund established in § 10-106.1 of this subtitle; and (5) adopt regulations establishing procedures for the periodic review and adjustment of child support orders being enforced by a support enforcement agency. (b) The clerk of a circuit court, with the approval of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland, may: (1) make a written agreement with the Secretary of Human Services and the Administration to provide support enforcement services pursuant to a delegation of responsibility under subsection (a) of this section; (2) employ the personnel necessary to perform the support enforcement services, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, including any law on the practice of law by employees of a clerk; and (3) include in the clerk's annual budget request submitted to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland the projected costs of administering the support enforcement program that are not reimbursable under the agreement with the Secretary of Human Services and the Administration.
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