National Council of Child Support Directors (NCCSD) - Postion on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program

TANF Reauthorization Ideas.
Office of Family Assistance
5th Floor East
Aerospace Building
370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW
Washington, DC 20447
Attn: Ann Burek, Senior Program Specialist

Re: TANF Reauthorization from a Child Support Perspective

Dear Ms. Burek:

I am writing on behalf of the National Council of Child Support Directors (NCCSD) in response to the solicitation for comments on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program that was published in the Federal Register (66 FR 52773) on October 17, 2001.

The Council organized in 1978, is an association comprised of the nation's child support directors from the 50 states and 4 jurisdictions. NCCSD was established to:

* promote the development of legislation and or policies which will have a positive impact upon the Title IV-D Child Support Program and upon the operation of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act or similar acts in states and foreign nations;

* provide a forum for State IV-D Child Support Directors to discuss common problems and solutions associated with program administration, interstate and international cooperation and federal-state-local relations and other matters deemed important; and

* provide a medium for communication to address both federal agencies concerns and issues of the Council.

The Council recognizes the close ties that exist between the TANF Program and the Child Support Program. While the percentage of families who receive TANF has dropped dramatically, in some parts of the country to as low as 18% of the overall families that the child support program serve, almost 60% of the families that do receive our services are former TANF recipients, and therefore have the same needs as the families who still receive TANF. Ensuring that child support medical and financial orders are established for families while they are receiving TANF is crucial to their ultimate success when they leave TANF and attempt to maintain their self-sufficiency.

Ideally, child support exists instead of welfare. However, maintaining the status quo in the Child Support Program is not enough. We need to ensure that resources continue to be available to allow the Child Support Program to fully implement the enforcement tools established by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Indeed, to attain success, child support agencies need state governments, Congress, and the Administration to provide not only the financial resources, but also staffing capacity, automated capability, and a predictable environment. All are necessary to effectively implement the Child Support Program at an optimum level.

The National Council of Child Support Directors is committed to increasing child support collections and to improving the delivery of child support services to children and families. Increasing collections results in financial stability for more families, which is critical as many families reach the end of strict time limits for public assistance. This requires a commitment to continue to adequately fund the Child Support Program.

NCCSD encourages Congress to work with states, OCSE and professional organizations to develop a viable funding structure to ensure adequate and stable funding for this critical program. During the annual meeting of NCCSD in June 2001, the Council carefully considered many of these issues and developed several resolutions regarding the funding for the child support program. Some of the recommendations are repeated here, and resolutions regarding both medical support as well as funding are attached for your information.

* The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services (OCSE) and Congress should provide for full and sustained Federal Financial Participation (FFP) for all aspects of the Child Support Program at current or enhanced levels.

* Congress should ensure the continuation of 90 percent FFP for genetic testing.

* Congress should amend federal law to extend the use of 80 percent FFP to October 1, 2005, for enhancements to automated systems required by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, including implementation of the medical support notice which is required by federal regulations issued in March 2001.

* When states are required to implement new mandates, or make substantial revisions to existing program requirements, Congress should provide enhanced FFP to reduce the impact on the states' child support budgets.

* To ensure timely and consistent implementation of any of the Medical Child Support Working Group's recommendations that require State child support agencies to assume new responsibilities, Congress should provide enhanced 90 percent FFP for medical support activities for a limited 5-year period.

* OCSE and Congress should work with state IV-D Directors to identify methods for ensuring that stable and adequate levels of investment in the program by federal, state, and local governments advances the child support program's evolving mission and improves outcomes. This investment should reflect overall trends and future directions in the nation's human services delivery system rather than a point-in-time analysis, and adhere to a set of principles that properly relate funding approaches to program needs, goals and performance.

Since the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996, additional emphasis has been placed on the importance of children having the financial and the emotional support of both parents. Programs that provide services such as education and training, job placement, parenting classes, and mentoring are now viewed as critical to helping low-income children escape poverty.

Because welfare today is time-limited and child support is becoming a key family resource, our focus has shifted somewhat from a cost recovery program to one of preparing both parents to take responsibility for the support of their children. In many states' child support programs, additional emphasis is being placed on assisting not just the custodial party, but also the non-custodial parent, to achieve self-sufficiency. The demographic characteristics of these non-custodial parents are similar to the custodial parents who are receiving TANF, and therefore, many need the same type of interventions. The child support program is in the forefront of partnering with organizations that are providing services to assist these parents in obtaining the skills to be able to obtain employment and therefore, contribute to the support of their families. As the provisions of TANF are reviewed, we urge you to continue to allow TANF funds to be used for employment and skill enhancing programs for these parents as this will help assist in their own self-sufficiency, as well as ensure that they can provide child support for their children. We have included a resolution that was approved by our association in February 2000 regarding Fatherhood.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to make you aware of the NCCSD position on Private Access to child support enforcement information and remedies. NCCSD strongly opposes any proposal to allow private access to child support enforcement information and remedies and asks that Congress reject any federal legislation to allow private access to child support data and enforcement remedies through means other than programs operated under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act of 1975, as amended. Private access distracts the mainline child support community from their assigned tasks and is deleterious to the basic purposes and missions of the program. Expanding the powers of private child support collection agencies has the potential to decrease the financial support available for children. The resolution with all the background information on this topic is attached.

Over the coming months as the various provisions of the TANF program are analyzed, we request that the National Council of Child Support Directors be consulted for the impact that changes to TANF might have on the Child Support Program. Legislation that has previously been proposed addressed such issues as a change to the cooperation requirements, the abolition of the assignment of child support rights to the state, and changes to the distribution rules. While some of the changes may reflect good public policy, changes of this nature must be considered in the broader spectrum of all families that receive child support, and what impact changes of this nature would have on the funding of the Child Support Program.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this information. If I may provide additional information, please call me directly at 1-720-947-5050.

Sincerely,

Pauline Burton, President
National Council of Child Support Directors

Attachments:
National Council of Child Support Directors Resolution on Medical Support
National Council of Child Support Directors Resolution on the Incentive Cap
National Council of Child Support Directors Resolution on Funding
National Council of Child Support Directors Resolution on Reinvestment of Federal Automation Penalties
National Council of Child Support Directors Resolution on Fatherhood
National Council of Child Support Directors Resolution on Private Access to Child Support Information