Issue:
Should states have the option to monitor and enforce child support orders from the inception of the order without the requirement of a written application for IVD services, as long as the custodial parent may opt-out of IV-D services?
Background:
Title IV-D enforcement Non-Public Assistance (NPA) services are largely complaint-driven. NPA customers generally seek enforcement services only after the obligor has failed to comply with the support order, sometimes after years of not having received a payment. For the state IV-D agency, waiting for a complaint before initiating action imposes barriers to effective enforcement. This delay contributes to large arrearages.
To counter a complaint-driven system, Texas experimented with a federally approved pilot project called Integrated Child Support System, or ICSS. ICSS is a self-starting enforcement system in which orders are monitored for payment from the outset, with prompt enforcement action upon failure to pay. Texas immediately starts enforcement action, because a parent is not required to make an application for IVD services, although they may opt-out of the program. In two urban counties, for "opt out" cases, this project yields payment rates of current support at over 80%, which is 22% higher than comparable "application" NPA cases in the same county. The average arrearages are also substantially lower.
NCCSD Statement in Support:
NCCSD supports this change in federal law. Project results clearly demonstrate that all states would benefit from this program, and that children would have a substantially increased opportunity to receive the support that was ordered. This provision of CSIA would allow states to provide early monitoring and enforcement along the lines of the Texas ICSS projects with no longer having to seek federal approval.