Flexibility, Efficiency, and Modernization in Child Support Enforcement ...
Flexibility, Efficiency, and Modernization in Child Support Enforcement Programs: Final Rule 18th Annual Families & Fathers National Conference Los Angeles, CA February 26 – March 3, 2017
Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children & Families Office of Child Support Enforcement Division of Policy & Training 1
Child Support Performance • Child Support Performance was mostly stable this past year and up since the end of the recession in FY09 • Between FY15 and FY16: – IV-D PEP increased from 100% to 102%
– Statewide PEP decreased from 95% to 94% – Child Support Orders remained at 86% – Current Support Collections remained at 65%
– Arrears Collections remained at 64% – Cost-effectiveness increased from $5.26 to $5.33 • All measures have increased since the end of recession in FY09, except statewide PEP
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Total Distributed Collections • Total Distributed Collections are Up even though Total Caseload and Total Expenditures have declined • Total Distributed Collections increased by 1% between FY15 and FY16 • Since the end of the recession in FY09, Total Distributed Collections have increased by 1.3% per year • Collections per Case increased by 2.5% between FY15 and FY16 • Since the end of the recession in FY09, Collections per Case has increased by 2.7% per year
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Total Distributed Collections and Collections per Case
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What does the rule do? • Incorporates research evidencebased practices • Strengthens procedural fairness and legal evidentiary standards • Streamlines program operations and technology
January 2017
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Selected Provisions • Requires more transparency, public participation, and data when states conduct quadrennial guidelines reviews. • Support orders must be based on “earnings, income and other evidence of ability to pay” and take subsistence needs into account.
• Requires a factual basis for order and limits the use of imputed income. • Requires states to screen civil contempt referrals for the ability to pay or otherwise comply with the order, offer evidence to the court, and provide parental notice that ability to pay is the critical question.
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Selected Provisions • States may not exclude incarceration as a “substantial change in circumstances” or treat it as “voluntary unemployment” in modifying orders. • Requires states to notify parents incarcerated for more than 6 months of their right to request a review and modification. • Allows states to automatically modify orders of incarcerated parents. • Increases state flexibility to unbundle services and close unworkable cases.
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Effective & Compliance Dates • Effective date is 30 days after the date of publication of the Final Rule or January 19, 2017. • Compliance dates, or the dates that States must comply with the final rule, varies for the various sections. • Generally, compliance date will be 60 days after the Final rule is published or February 21, 2017 except for the following provisions.
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Impact on States State child support programs will: • Make the appropriate changes to your policies, procedures and systems for the required provisions. • Ensure that state laws, when needed, are passed before the compliance date. • Determine whether to adopt any of the optional provisions. • Ensure that the quadrennial review is conducted timely and changes are made to the state child support guidelines.
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Impact on Families The final rule helps to: • Set accurate child support obligations based on the noncustodial parents’ ability to pay.
• Increase consistent, on-time payments to families. • Increase the number of noncustodial parents supporting their children. • Reduce the accumulation of unpaid and uncollectible child support arrearages. • Improve customer service.
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OCSE Final Rule Resources Central resource library for all information about the final rule including the AT, OCSE Fact Sheets, Compliance Date chart, and upcoming documents such as the webinar with Trainer Notes, State plan preprint information, etc. • OCSE Fact sheets
• Final Rule Summary; • Guidelines; • Modification for Incarcerated Parents;
• Civil Contempt - Ensuring Noncustodial Parents Have the Ability to Pay; and • Case Closure. • URL: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css/resource/final-rule-resources
January 2017
11
Thank You! Yvette Riddick Director OCSE Division of Policy & Training [email protected]
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Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children & Families Office of Child Support Enforcement Division of Policy & Training 1
Child Support Performance • Child Support Performance was mostly stable this past year and up since the end of the recession in FY09 • Between FY15 and FY16: – IV-D PEP increased from 100% to 102%
– Statewide PEP decreased from 95% to 94% – Child Support Orders remained at 86% – Current Support Collections remained at 65%
– Arrears Collections remained at 64% – Cost-effectiveness increased from $5.26 to $5.33 • All measures have increased since the end of recession in FY09, except statewide PEP
2
Total Distributed Collections • Total Distributed Collections are Up even though Total Caseload and Total Expenditures have declined • Total Distributed Collections increased by 1% between FY15 and FY16 • Since the end of the recession in FY09, Total Distributed Collections have increased by 1.3% per year • Collections per Case increased by 2.5% between FY15 and FY16 • Since the end of the recession in FY09, Collections per Case has increased by 2.7% per year
3
Total Distributed Collections and Collections per Case
4
What does the rule do? • Incorporates research evidencebased practices • Strengthens procedural fairness and legal evidentiary standards • Streamlines program operations and technology
January 2017
5
Selected Provisions • Requires more transparency, public participation, and data when states conduct quadrennial guidelines reviews. • Support orders must be based on “earnings, income and other evidence of ability to pay” and take subsistence needs into account.
• Requires a factual basis for order and limits the use of imputed income. • Requires states to screen civil contempt referrals for the ability to pay or otherwise comply with the order, offer evidence to the court, and provide parental notice that ability to pay is the critical question.
6
Selected Provisions • States may not exclude incarceration as a “substantial change in circumstances” or treat it as “voluntary unemployment” in modifying orders. • Requires states to notify parents incarcerated for more than 6 months of their right to request a review and modification. • Allows states to automatically modify orders of incarcerated parents. • Increases state flexibility to unbundle services and close unworkable cases.
7
Effective & Compliance Dates • Effective date is 30 days after the date of publication of the Final Rule or January 19, 2017. • Compliance dates, or the dates that States must comply with the final rule, varies for the various sections. • Generally, compliance date will be 60 days after the Final rule is published or February 21, 2017 except for the following provisions.
8
Impact on States State child support programs will: • Make the appropriate changes to your policies, procedures and systems for the required provisions. • Ensure that state laws, when needed, are passed before the compliance date. • Determine whether to adopt any of the optional provisions. • Ensure that the quadrennial review is conducted timely and changes are made to the state child support guidelines.
9
Impact on Families The final rule helps to: • Set accurate child support obligations based on the noncustodial parents’ ability to pay.
• Increase consistent, on-time payments to families. • Increase the number of noncustodial parents supporting their children. • Reduce the accumulation of unpaid and uncollectible child support arrearages. • Improve customer service.
10
OCSE Final Rule Resources Central resource library for all information about the final rule including the AT, OCSE Fact Sheets, Compliance Date chart, and upcoming documents such as the webinar with Trainer Notes, State plan preprint information, etc. • OCSE Fact sheets
• Final Rule Summary; • Guidelines; • Modification for Incarcerated Parents;
• Civil Contempt - Ensuring Noncustodial Parents Have the Ability to Pay; and • Case Closure. • URL: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css/resource/final-rule-resources
January 2017
11
Thank You! Yvette Riddick Director OCSE Division of Policy & Training [email protected]
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