1 Child Support 101 Child Support Directors’ Association Annual Conference Anaheim, CA  September, 2007

2 Presenter Wayne D. Doss Head Attorney Child Support Services Department Los Angeles County, CA

3 Course Outline A Brief History of the CSE Program Outline of State Plan Requirements Description of Operational Standards Overview of Program Financing

4 Recommended Reading Social Security Act, Title IV-D 42 U.S.C. §§ 651 et seq. Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders 28 U.S.C. § 1738 (b) Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (1996) Public Law Child Support Performance Incentive Act (1998) Public Law

5 Additional Resources Office of Child Support Enforcement Center for Law and Social Policy NCSEA California DCSS

6 A Brief History of CSE

7 Ancient History 1975: CSE program became law as Title IV-D of Social Security Act Originally designed to recover public assistance paid to families on welfare The government became the “owner” of the rights to all support owed before and during a family’s time on aid

8 Middle Ages 1984: Child Support Amendments took major steps to making program more uniform from state to state Mandated adoption of new enforcement tools, such as mandatory wage withholding Required states to develop single, statewide automation systems

9 Modern Times 1996: Welfare reform changes charted the development of CSE as we know it today: New additions to alphabet soup: NCR, NDNH, UIFSA, FIDM Changes in distribution to foster family self- sufficiency 1998: New federal performance measures and incentive structure foster competition among states

10 State Plan Requirements

11 State Organization Statewide in scope; mandatory on political subdivisions State financial participation required Single and separate organizational unit State to secure compliance where responsibility is delegated through cooperative agreement or contract State must meet federal fiscal and record- keeping requirements

12 Record-keeping Requirements The IV-D agency must maintain records of: Applications for services Location of non-custodial parents Actions to establish paternity, obtain & enforce support and the cost of doing so Amounts, sources and distribution of collections Other admin costs, fees paid & charged

13 Basic Services Establish paternity for children born out-of- wedlock Enforce support for children from any person(s) legally liable Enforce support for a spouse if support already established and living with a child receiving IV-D services. Note: “good cause” exception.

14 Availability of Services  Mandatory assignment of rights to support for all persons receiving Title IV-A & Title IV-E foster care services  All persons receiving non-IV-A Medicaid assistance must cooperate in establishing paternity, if appropriate  Upon application for persons with qualified child(ren) who request services from a IV-D agency

15 State Law Requirements  Mandatory income withholding for current support and arrears  Expedited processes to establish paternity and enforce support  State income tax refund offset  Imposition of liens against real and personal property

16 More State Law Requirements  Provision for establishing paternity until at least age 18  Genetic testing if paternity is disputed  Voluntary paternity acknowledgement process in hospitals, state birth record agencies and elsewhere  Rebuttable or conclusive presumption of paternity for voluntary acknowledgements

17 More State Law Requirements  Procedures for admissibility of voluntary acknowledgement without foundation testimony or other evidence of authenticity or accuracy  Procedures for default judgments in paternity if a defendant is served and fails to answer

18 And More Required State Laws  Provisions for obligors to give security, post bond or other guarantee of payment  Procedures for credit reporting  Provisions for unpaid installments of support to be: a) Judgments by operation of law b) Entitled to full faith and credit c) Not subject to retroactive modification

19 Still More Required State Laws  Procedures for review and adjustment of child support orders  Uniform guidelines for setting support, including provision for health insurance  Must be reviewed every 4 years  Must take into account all income and earnings of a NCP  Rebuttable assumption that guideline support is correct

20 Related State Plan Requirements  Mandated participation in IRS tax refund offset program  Mandatory withholding of state unemployment compensation  Mandatory computerized support enforcement system

21 Standards of Operation

22 Location of NCPs Definition Information concerning the physical whereabouts of the NCP, his employer or sources of income/assets sufficient to take the next appropriate action in a case.

23 Location of NCPs (cont’d) IV-D agencies must use appropriate locate resources, i.e., FPLS, interstate networks, local officials, USPS, current/past employers, utilities, DMV, etc. Initiate searches within 75 days of need Continue automated location attempts at least quarterly, including state employment security files

24 Establishment of Support Within 90 calendar days of locating an alleged father or noncustodial parent, establish an order for support or Complete service of process necessary to commence proceedings or Document unsuccessful attempts to serve process

25 Establishment of Paternity For all cases where paternity has not been established, IV-D agency must:  Provide means to voluntarily acknowledge  Attempt to establish via legal process  In contested cases, provide genetic tests on the request of any party  Seek entry of default order if NCP served with process and failed to respond

26 Review and Adjustment At least every 3 years states must:  At the request of either parent or the state IV-D agency, review and if appropriate adjust order in keeping with guidelines;  Apply a cost of living adjustment using a state approved formula; or  Use automated means to identify cases for review, conduct reviews and make adjustments

27 Interstate Services  Mandate: Enactment of Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA)  All states must establish an interstate registry to receive, distribute and respond to inquiries on all incoming IV-D cases  Initiating states must use long-arm to establish paternity where appropriate  Both initiating and responding jurisdictions obligated to exchange information, provide services

28 Case Closure Cases eligible for closure include:  No current support due, arrears <$500  NCP dead & no action against the estate  Paternity cannot be established  NCP unlocated after 3 years of searches if some ID info or 1 year if no ID info  At request of non IV-A CP & no assigned arrears  Good cause for non-cooperation

29 Program Financing

30 Federal Financial Participation The basic formula for necessary IV-D costs: Federal Match =66% State Match =34% Total =100%

31 Pay for Performance In addition to receiving FFP as a match for costs of operation of the IV-D program, states can earn financial incentives based on success against 5 performance measures A zero sum game: the amount of available incentives is capped, so states compete for a limited pool of performance dollars

32 Performance Measures The 5 program areas for which incentives can be earned: 1. Paternity establishment 2. Support order establishment 3. Current collections 4. Arrearage collections 5. Cost effectiveness

33 Paternity Establishment Optional formula #1: Total # out of wedlock children in IV-D caseload in the fiscal year (or as of end of fiscal year) with paternity established or acknowledged __________________________________ Total # of children in IV-D caseload as of end of preceding year who were born out of wedlock

34 Paternity Establishment Optional formula #2: Total # of minor children born out of wedlock and for whom paternity established or acknowledged during the fiscal year __________________________________ Total # of children born out of wedlock in the preceding fiscal year

35 Support Order Establishment # of IV-D cases with support orders during the fiscal year _____________________________ Total # of IV-D cases during the fiscal year

36 Current Collections # of dollars collected for current support in IV-D cases _____________________________ Total # of dollars owed for current support in IV-D cases

37 Arrearage Collections Total # of eligible IV-D cases paying toward arrears _____________________________ Total # of IV-D cases with arrears due

38 Cost Effectiveness Total # of IV-D dollars collected _____________________________ Total # of IV-D dollars expended

39 Performance Penalties States can be penalized for poor performance on 3 measures: 1. Paternity establishment percentage 2. Support order establishment 3. Current collections

40 Changes Coming Soon A 6 th performance measure to be added to gauge states’ success in securing medical coverage in IV-D cases Effective with Federal Fiscal Year 2007, Deficit Reduction Act eliminates states’ ability to match back performance incentives with 66% FFP

41 Our time is up!