Child Support Enforcement: New Reforms and Potential Issues

Child Support Enforcement: New Reforms and Potential Issues

Order Code 97-408 EPW
Updated July 14, 2004
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Child Support Enforcement:
New Reforms and Potential Issues
Carmen Solomon-Fears
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
P.L. 104-193 (the 1996 welfare reform law) made major changes to the Child
Support Enforcement (CSE) program. Some of the changes include requiring states to
increase the percentage of fathers identified, establishing an integrated, automated
network linking all states to information about the location and assets of parents, and
requiring states to implement more enforcement techniques to obtain collections from
debtor parents. Additional legislative changes were made in 1997, 1998, and 1999, but
not in 2000, 2001, 2002, or 2003. This report describes several aspects of the revised
CSE program and discusses three issues of concern to the 108th Congress — CSE
financing, parental access by noncustodial parents, and distribution of child support
payments. This report will be updated to reflect new developments and issues.
Background
The CSE program, Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act, was enacted in
January 1975 (P.L. 93-647). The CSE program is administered by the Office of Child
Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
and funded by general revenues. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto
Rico, and the Virgin Islands operate CSE programs and are entitled to federal matching
funds. The following families automatically qualify for CSE services (free of charge):
families receiving (or who formerly received) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
(TANF) benefits (Title IV-A), foster care payments, or Medicaid coverage. Other
families must apply for CSE services, and states must charge an application fee that
cannot exceed $25. Child support collected on behalf of nonwelfare families goes to the
family (usually through the state disbursement unit). Collections on behalf of families
receiving TANF benefits are used to reimburse state and federal governments for TANF
payments made to the family.
Between FY1978 and FY2003, child support payments collected by CSE agencies
increased from $1 billion in FY1978 to $21.2 billion in FY2003, and the number of
children whose paternity was established (or acknowledged) increased by 1,274%, from
111,000 to 1.525 million. However, the program still collects only 18% of child support
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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obligations for which it has responsibility1 and collects payments for only 50% of its
caseload. OCSE data indicate that in FY2003, paternity had been established or
acknowledged for about 77% of the nearly 10.0 million children on the CSE caseload
without legally identified fathers. The CSE program is estimated to handle at least 50%
of all child support cases; the remaining cases are handled by private attorneys, collection
agencies, or through mutual agreements between the parents.
Child Support Data — FY2003 (Preliminary)
(caseload numbers are unduplicated)
Total CSE caseload — Total, 15.9 million; TANF, 2.8 million; former-TANF, 7.4 million; never-TANF, 5.8 million
Total CSE collections — Total, $21.176 billion; TANF families, $1.815 billion; former-TANF, $8.452 billion;
never-TANF, $10.909 billion
Payments to families — Total, $19.0 billion; TANF, $837 million; former-TANF, $7.2 billion;
never-TANF, $10.9 billion
Federal share of TANF collections, $1,167 million
State share of TANF collections, $948 million
Incentive payments to States, $356 million (estimate)
Medical support payments, $98 million
Total CSE expenditures — $5.213 billion federal share, $3.448 billion, state share, $1.764 billion
Paternities established and acknowledged — 1,524,569
Support orders established — 1,161,206 (only includes new orders, excludes modifications)
Collections made for 7,982,311 total families; TANF families, 804,450; former-TANF families, 3,817,797;
never-TANF families, 3,360,064
Program Elements
The CSE program provides seven major services on behalf of children: (1) parent
location, (2) paternity establishment, (3) establishment of child support orders, (4) review
and modification of support orders, (5) collection of support payments, (6) distribution
of support payments, and (7) establishment and enforcement of medical support.
Locating Absent Parents. To improve the CSE agency’s ability to locate absent
parents, P.L. 104-193 required states to have automated registries of child support orders,
beginning October 1, 1998, containing records of each case in which CSE services are
being provided and all new or modified child support orders. The state registry includes
a record of the support owed under the order, arrearages, interest or late penalty charges,
amounts collected, amounts distributed, child’s date of birth, and any liens imposed; and
also includes standardized information on both parents, such as name, Social Security
number, date of birth, and case identification number. P.L. 104-193 required states,
beginning October 1, 1997, to establish an automated directory of new hires containing
information from employers, including federal, state, and local governments and labor
organizations, for each newly hired employee, that includes the name, address and Social
Security number of the employee and the employer’s name, address, and tax identification
number. This information generally is supplied to the state new hires directory within 20
days after the employee is hired. P.L. 104-193 also required the establishment of a federal
1 In FY2003, $122.9 billion in child support obligations ($27.1 billion in current support and
$95.8 billion in past-due support) were owed to families receiving CSE services, but only $22.2
billion was paid ($15.7 billion current, $6.5 billion past-due).

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case registry of child support orders and a national directory of new hires.2 The federal
directories consists of information from the state directories and is located in the Federal
Parent Locator Service (FPLS).
P.L. 104-193 allowed all states to link up to an array of data bases and permits the
FPLS to be used for the purpose of establishing parentage; establishing, setting the
amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; or enforcing child custody
or visitation orders.3 It required that a designated state agency, directly or by contract,
conduct automated comparisons of the Social Security numbers reported by employers
to the state directory of new hires and the Social Security numbers of CSE cases that
appear in the records of the state registry of child support orders. (The 1996 law required
the HHS Secretary to conduct similar comparisons of the federal directories.) When a
match occurs the state directory of new hires is required to report to the state CSE agency
the name, date of birth, Social Security number of the employee, and employer’s name,
address, and identification number. The CSE agency then, within two business days,
instructs appropriate employers to withhold child support obligations from the employee’s
paycheck, unless the employee’s income is not subject to withholding.4
Paternity Establishment. Legally identifying the father is a prerequisite for
obtaining a child support order. Like previous law, P.L. 104-193 required TANF block
grant (Title IV-A) applicants and recipients to cooperate in establishing paternity or
obtaining support payments. Moreover, it imposed a penalty for noncooperation; if it is
determined that an individual is not cooperating, and the individual does not qualify for
any good cause or other exception, then the state must reduce the family’s TANF benefit
by at least 25% and may remove the family from the TANF program.
P.L. 104-193 also (1) required that paternity be established for 90% of the CSE cases
needing such a determination (up from 75%), (2) implemented a simple civil process for
establishing paternity, (3) required a uniform affidavit to be completed by men voluntarily
acknowledging paternity and entitles such affidavit to full faith and credit in any state, (4)
stipulated that a signed acknowledgment of paternity be considered a legal finding of
paternity unless rescinded within 60 days; and thereafter may be challenged in court only
on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, (5) provided that no judicial or
administrative action is needed to ratify an acknowledgment that is not challenged, and
(6) required all parties to submit to genetic testing in contested paternity cases. (See CRS
Report RL31467, Paternity Establishment: Child Support and Beyond.)
2 Within three business days after receipt of new hire information from the employer, the state
directory of new hires is required to furnish the information to the national directory of new hires.
3 P.L. 104-193 permitted both custodial and certain noncustodial parents to obtain information
from the FPLS. However, P.L. 105-33, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997(which made numerous
changes to P.L. 104-193), prohibits FPLS information from being disclosed to noncustodial
parents in cases where there is evidence of domestic violence or child abuse and the local court
determines that disclosure may result in harm to the custodial parent or child.
4 There are three exceptions to the immediate income withholding rule: (1) if one of the parties
demonstrates, and the court (or administrative process) finds that there is good cause not to
require immediate withholding, (2) if both parties agree in writing to an alternative arrangement,
or (3) at the HHS Secretary’s discretion, if a state can demonstrate that the rule will not increase
the effectiveness or efficiency of the state’s CSE program.

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Enforcement. Collection methods used by CSE agencies include income
withholding, intercept of federal and state income tax refunds, intercept of unemployment
compensation, liens against property, security bonds, and reporting child support
obligations to credit bureaus. All jurisdictions also have civil or criminal contempt-of-
court procedures and criminal nonsupport laws. Building on legislation (P.L. 102-521)
enacted in 1992, P.L. 105-187, the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act of 1998, established
two new federal criminal offenses (subject to a two-year maximum prison term) with
respect to noncustodial parents who repeatedly fail to financially support children who
reside with custodial parents in another state or who flee across state lines to avoid
supporting them.
P.L. 104-193 required states to implement expedited procedures that allow them to
secure assets to satisfy an arrearage by intercepting or seizing periodic or lump sum
payments (such as unemployment and workers’ compensation), lottery winnings, awards,
judgements, or settlements, and assets of the debtor parent held by public or private
retirement funds, and financial institutions. It required states to implement procedures
under which the state would have authority to withhold, suspend, or restrict use of driver’s
licenses, professional and occupational licenses, and recreational and sporting licenses of
persons who owe past-due support or who fail to comply with subpoenas or warrants
relating to paternity or child support proceedings. It also required states to conduct
quarterly data matches with financial institutions in the state in order to identify and seize
the financial resources of debtor noncustodial parents. P.L. 104-193 authorized the
Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or restrict passports of debtor parents. P.L. 104-193
also required states to enact and implement the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
(UIFSA), and expand full faith and credit procedures. P.L. 104-193 also clarified which
court has jurisdiction in cases involving multiple child support orders.
Financing. The federal government currently reimburses each state 66% of the
cost of administering its CSE program. It also refunds states 90% of the laboratory costs
of establishing paternity. In addition, the federal government pays states an incentive
payment to encourage them to operate effective programs. P.L. 104-193 required the
HHS Secretary in consultation with the state CSE directors to develop a new cost-neutral
system of incentive payments to states. P.L. 105-200, the Child Support Performance and
Incentive Act of 1998, establishes a new cost-neutral incentive payment system.5 P.L.
105-200 also replaced the 100% disapproval penalty with reduced financial penalties for
states that failed to meet the October 1, 1997 deadline for implementing a CSE statewide
automated data processing system.6
5 Before FY2002 child support incentive payments were paid out of the federal share of child
support collections made on behalf of TANF families. As of Oct. 1, 2001, child support incentive
payments are paid with appropriated funds.
6 Federal CSE law requires suspension of all federal CSE payments to the state when its CSE
plan, after appeal, is disapproved. Moreover, states without approved CSE plans could lose
funding for the TANF block grant. P.L. 105-200 imposes substantially smaller financial penalties
on states that failed to meet the automated data systems requirements. The HHS Secretary is
required to reduce the amount the state would otherwise have received in federal child support
funding by the penalty amount for the fiscal year in question. The penalty amount percentage
is 4% in the case of the first year of noncompliance (FY1998); 8% in the second year (FY1999);
16% in the third year (FY2000); 25% in the fourth year (FY2001); or 30% in the fifth or any
subsequent year.

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Collection and Disbursement. Pursuant to P.L. 104-193, as of October 1, 1999,
all states were required to have a centralized automated state collection and disbursement
unit to which child support payments are paid and from which they are distributed.7 P.L.
104-193 generally requires employers to remit to the state disbursement unit income
withheld within seven business days after the employee’s payday. Further, the state
collection and disbursement unit is required to send child support payments to custodial
parents with two business days of receipt of such payments. (See CRS Report RS20352,
Centralized Collection and Disbursement of Child Support Payments.)
Distribution of Support. P.L. 104-193 eliminated the $50 passthrough payment
(i.e., under old law, the first $50 of current monthly child support payments collected on
behalf of an AFDC family was given to the family and disregarded as income to the
family so it did not affect the family’s AFDC eligibility or benefit status). Once a family
went off AFDC, child support arrearage payments generally were divided between the
state and federal governments to reimburse them for AFDC; if any money remained, it
was given to the family. In contrast, under P.L. 104-193, arrearages that are collected
through the federal income tax offset are to be paid to the state (and federal government)
and any arrearage payments made by any other method are to be paid to the family first.
Other Provisions. P.L. 104-193 also made changes related to medical support,
modification of support orders, collection from federal employees and members of the
Armed Forces, fraudulent transfer of property, access and visitation, CSE for Indian
tribes, a work requirement for debtor parents, international enforcement, and the
placement of Social Security numbers on various license applications.
Issues
Restructuring the Financing of the CSE Program. Some policymakers are
concerned that the federal government is financing too large a share of CSE costs, and
contend that the states should pay a greater share of the program’s costs. One
consequence of the CSE’s financing structure is that the federal government has lost
money on the program every year since 1979 and the states (collectively) have made a
“profit” on the program every year until FY2000. Before 1989, state “profits” more than
compensated for federal losses resulting in a net savings for taxpayers. FY2000 is the
first year in which states have not collectively made a “profit” on the CSE program.
Some observers argue that any reduction in the federal government’s financial
commitment to the CSE program could negatively impact states’ ability to serve families.
Moreover, not all benefits of the program can be measured in money terms. Thus, many
argue that indirect savings (i.e., welfare cost avoidance) that occur when a family is kept
off “welfare” because of child support collections and the intangible benefits (e.g.,
personal responsibility and parental involvement of noncustodial parents) make the CSE
program socially worthwhile. (See CRS Report RL30488, Analysis of Federal-State
Financing of the Child Support Enforcement Program.)
Cultivating Parental Involvement to Increase Child Support Collections.
Historically, Congress has agreed that visitation and child support should be legally
separate issues; and that only child support should be under the purview of the CSE
program. Both federal and state policymakers have maintained that denial of visitation
7 P.L. 106-113 includes a provision that imposes substantially smaller financial penalties on states
that failed to meet the centralized collection and disbursement unit requirement. These penalties
are identical to those pertaining to failure to meet automated data systems requirements.

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rights should be treated separately and should not be considered a reason for stopping
child support payments. In recognition of the negative long-term consequences for
children associated with the absence of their father, federal, state, and local initiatives to
promote financial and personal responsibility of noncustodial parents to their children
(e.g., fatherhood initiatives) are receiving more attention. In 1996, P.L. 104-193 provided
$10 million per year for grants to states for access and visitation programs, including
mediation, counseling, education, and supervised visitation. H.R. 4678, passed by the
House on September 7, 2000, included a fatherhood grant program designed to promote
marriage, promote successful parenting and the involvement of fathers in the lives of their
children, and help fathers improve their economic status by providing them with job-
related services. Although the House and Senate did not reach agreement on H.R. 4678,
Congress appropriated $3.5 million for a national fatherhood organization called the
National Fatherhood Initiative and another $500,000 for a fatherhood organization called
the Institute for Responsible Fatherhood and Family Revitalization (P.L. 106-553 and P.L.
106-554). Several bills that include fatherhood initiatives have been introduced in the
108th Congress. President Bush’s FY2004 budget and H.R. 4, as passed by the House on
February 13, 2003, would provide $20 million per year for FY2004-FY2008 in
competitive grants to community and faith-based organizations to help noncustodial
fathers support their families and become more involved in their children’s lives, and to
encourage and support healthy marriages and married fatherhood. On September 10,
2003, the Senate Finance Committee approved its version of H.R. 4, which establishes
a $75 million responsible fatherhood program comprised of four components for each of
the fiscal years 2004-2008. Although H.R. 4 was debated on the Senate floor during the
period March 29-April 1, 2004, consideration of the bill was not completed. It is not yet
known whether the Senate will bring the bill back to the floor this Congress.
Simplifying Distribution Procedures. P.L. 104-193 requires states to pay a
higher fraction of child support collections on arrearages to families that have left welfare
by making these payments to families first. This has resulted in making an already
complicated set of rules for determining who actually gets the child support arrearage
payments more complex. (See CRS Report RS20837, Distribution of Child Support
Collections.) Although some of the complexity ended when the 1996 distribution rules
were completely implemented on October 1, 2000, many policymakers contend that
Congress should simplify the distribution system which currently requires the tracking of
six categories of arrearage payments to properly pay custodial parents. Legislation has
been re-introduced in the 108th Congress that would simplify CSE program distribution
rules as well as extend the “families first” policy by allowing more child support to go to
both ex-welfare families and parents still on welfare. President Bush’s FY2004 budget
and H.R. 4, as passed by the House on February 13, 2003 would give states incentives (1)
to pass through and disregard child support collected on behalf of families receiving
TANF benefits and (2) to simplify child support distribution rules so as to benefit families
who no longer receive TANF benefits. On September 10, 2003, the Senate Finance
Committee approved its version of H.R. 4, which also would provide incentives for states
to pass through to families more of the child support collected on their behalf. As noted
above, the Senate has not yet completed consideration of H.R. 4.