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1 (January 15, 2004)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthaagmk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code 97-408 EPW Updated January 15, 2004 Child Support Enforcement: New Reforms and Potential Issues Carmen Solomon-Fears Domestic Social Policy Division Summary P.L. 104-193 (the 1996 welfare reform legislation) 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 that probably will be reexamined by the 108'h Congress - CSE financing, parental access by noncustodial parents, and distribution of 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 FY2002, child support payments collected by CSE agencies increased from $1 billion in FY1978 to $20.1 billion in FY2002, and the number of children whose paternity was established (or acknowledged) increased by 1,268%, from 111,000 to 1.518 million. However, the program still collects only 18% of child support Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web

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