{
  "id": "RL32937",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32937",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 306637,
      "date": "2005-06-07",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:43:05.242029",
      "title": "Child Support Enforcement: Side-by-Side Comparison of Current Law and Welfare Reauthorization Bills (S. 667 and H.R. 240)",
      "summary": "In the 109th Congress, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means\nSubcommittee\non Human Resources have approved legislation that would reauthorize and revise the Temporary\nAssistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant. This legislation,  S. 667  and\n H.R. 240 , also includes many changes to the Child Support Enforcement (CSE)\nprogram, a component of the government\u2019s social safety net. In 1996, Congress passed\nsignificant\nchanges to the CSE program as part of its reform of welfare. S.  667 was reported by the\nSenate Finance Committee on March 17, 2005 ( S.Rept. 109-51 ). H.R.  240 was approved\nby the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources on March 15, 2005.\n \n Although not identical, both bills are similar in focus, direction, and content with respect to the\nCSE provisions. Both bills include provisions that seek to improve the CSE program and raise\ncollections so as to increase the economic independence of former welfare families and provide a\nstable source of income for all single-parent families with a noncustodial parent. Both bills provide\nincentives (in the form of federal cost sharing) to states to direct more of the child support collected\non behalf of families to the families themselves, thereby reducing the amount that state and federal\ngovernments retain (often referred to as a family-first policy). Under both bills, families currently\nreceiving TANF benefits as well as former TANF recipients would potentially receive a larger share\nof child support that was collected on their behalf.\n \n The approach used by the bills differ significantly, however, with regard to how states would\nhelp TANF families receive more child support.  S. 667  provides federal cost-sharing\nfor the  entire amount  that the state disregards and passes through to families, whereas, under\n H.R. 240 , federal cost sharing incentives would be offered to encourage states to\n establish  a child support pass-through provision  or increase  the amount of existing\nchild support\npass-through payments. Also, H.R.  240 provides a more limited amount of federal cost\nsharing for state pass-through and disregard policies than S.  667. \n \n Both bills revise some CSE enforcement tools and add others; increase funding for the Federal\nParent Locator Service (FPLS); increase funding for federal technical assistance to the states; require\nstates to review child support orders of TANF families every three years; require that a report be\nsubmitted to Congress on undistributed child support collections; and designate Indian tribes and\ntribal organizations as persons authorized to have access to information in the FPLS.  S. 667  increases funding for the CSE access and visitation program; requires states to adopt a later\nversion of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) so as to facilitate the collection of\nchild support payments in interstate cases; and requires that medical child support be provided by\neither or both parents.  H.R. 240  includes a provision that would establish a $25 annual\nuser fee for individuals who have never been on TANF but received at least $500 via CSE services\nin any given year. This report will be updated as needed.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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}