AT-08-09, Final Rule: Child Support Enforcement Program Medical Support

ACTION TRANSMITTAL

AT-08-09

ATTACHMENT: There are three attachments: the State Plan Table of Contents (17KB Adobe PDF); OCSE-21-U4 (State Plan Transmittal Form - 39KB Adobe PDF) ; and State Plan Page 2.4, Collection and Distribution of Support Payments (14KB Adobe PDF).

DATE: August 1, 2008

TO: State Agencies Administrating Child Support Enforcement Plans under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act and Other Interested Individuals

SUBJECT: Notice of State Plan Package Renewal and Revision of the Title IV-D State Plan Preprint: Submission of revised State Plan Page 2.4, Collection and Distribution of Support Payments, reflecting changes made to the State plan provisions of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (the Act) by P.L. 109-171, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA).

BACKGROUND: Sections 454 and 466 of the Social Security Act (the Act) set forth the requirements for submission of a State Plan and Plan amendments for the Child Support Enforcement program. Title VII of the DRA made changes to sections 408, 454, and 457 of the Act, which are reflected in the State Plan and require States to either establish or modify existing laws or procedures

As a condition of receiving Federal financial participation, the State IV-D agency must have an approved State Plan describing the nature and scope of its Child Support Enforcement program, and which meets all Federal requirements. The State Plan consists of the preprinted State Plan Pages and any related attachments and contains all information necessary for the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) to determine whether a State Plan can be approved.

CONTENT: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, OCSE must ask the Office of Managemement and Budget (OMB) for approval of the entire State Plan. On July 3, 2008, OMB approved the State Plan for three years.

The DRA was signed into law by the President on February 8, 2006. Section 7301 of the DRA amended sections 408(a)(3), 454(34) and 457 of the Act with respect to child support distribution rules. State Plan Page 2.4, Collection and Distribution of Support Payments, has been revised to reflect these statutory changes, which have an effective date of October 1, 2009, or as early as October 1, 2008 at State option. Section 454(11) of the Act is relevant to child support distribution; however, this section was not amended by the DRA and did not result in any changes to State Plan Page 2.4.

State Plan Page 2.4 has been revised by adding the State option of distributing child support collections according to former section 457(a)(2)(B) of the Act under PRWORA or new section 457(a)(2)(B) of the Act as amended by the DRA. (Also see section 454(34) of the Act). State Plan Page 2.4 reflects additional State options introduced by the DRA such as the pass-through payments and discontinuation of assignments. State Plan Page 2.4 was further revised to include the limited assignment requirement pursuant to section 408(a)(3) of the Act as amended by the DRA.

RELATED REFERENCES: AT-07-05, AT-00-10, AT-97-17; OCSE-21-U4

ACTION REQUIRED: According to the option taken, States must submit State Plan Page 2.4 by the end of the quarter in which the State Plan Page provisions are implemented, but no later than December 31, 2009. State Plan Page 2.4 must be submitted, along with a completed State Plan Transmittal Form (OCSE-21-U4), to the appropriate ACF Regional Office attesting to compliance with the requirements set forth on the page.

INQUIRIES TO: ACF OCSE Regional Program Managers

Margot Bean,
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

cc: Tribal IV-D Directors