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1 (January 28, 2015)

handle is hein.crs/crsuntaahjl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service I forr ng [he I ois ative debate siflce 1914 January 28, 2015 The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Program Introduction The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program was enacted into law (P.L. 93-647) in January 1975. When the program was first established its goals were to reimburse the states and the federal government for the welfare payments they provided families and to help other families obtain consistent and ongoing child support payments from the noncustodial parent so that they could remain self- sufficient and stay off welfare. The CSE program has evolved over time from a welfare cost-recovery program into a family-first program that seeks to enhance the well-being of families by making child support a more reliable source of income. The program has the potential to impact more children and for longer periods of time than most other federal programs. In FY2013, it served 16.9 million children (nearly one in four children in the United States). Scope of CSE Program The CSE program is a federal-state program that provides services to both welfare families (who are automatically enrolled free of charge) and non-welfare families (who must sign up and pay an application fee). Families who have never received welfare must pay a $25 annual user fee if the CSE agency collects at least $500 per year for them. The program is available in all 50 states; the District of Columbia; the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands; and about 60 tribal nations. It is generally operated at the county level of government. The CSE program is administered at the federal level by the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The OCSE helps CSE agencies in the states, territories, and tribes develop, manage, and operate their programs effectively and according to federal law. Specifically, OCSE financially supports CSE program operations, provides specified grants to states, provides policy guidance and technical assistance, conducts program audits, supports research through demonstration grants, and operates the Federal Parent Locator Service and the National Directory of New Hires. Program Components The CSE program increases the reliability of child support paid by noncustodial parents by: locating noncustodial parents, establishing paternity, establishing child support orders, reviewing and modifying child support orders, collecting child support payments from noncustodial parents, establishing and enforcing medical child support, and distributing child support payments to custodial parents. CSE Collections and Methods In FY2013, the CSE program collected and distributed $28.0 billion on behalf of families. Nearly two-thirds of CSE collections were for families that had never received cash payments from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Table I .CSE Collections by Family Type, FY2013 TANF Families $0.9 3% Former TANF $8.8 31% Never TANF $18.3 65% Total $28.0 100% Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The majority of the collected payments (95%) went to families and the remainder went to the states and federal government as reimbursement for public assistance dollars that went to families. Most child support payments are collected from noncustodial parents through income withholding. In FY2013, 70% of collections were obtained through income withholding. Other methods of enforcement include * intercept of federal and state income tax refunds; * intercept of unemployment compensation; * liens against property; * intercept of lottery winnings, judgments, or settlements; * authority to seize assets of debtor parents held by public or private retirement funds and financial institutions; * authority to withhold, suspend, or restrict driver's licenses, professional or occupational licenses; recreational or sporting licenses; and * authority to deny, revoke, or restrict passports. Moreover, all jurisdictions have civil or criminal contempt- of-court procedures. Also, federal criminal penalties may be imposed in certain cases, and federal law provides for international enforcement of child support. www.crs.gov 1 7-5701

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