Presidential Message July 21, 1996

MOVING AHEAD ON CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT



Today, President Clinton announced new initiatives to help strengthen 
child support enforcement efforts at the federal and state levels.  
The President announced that the U.S. Postal Service will work with 
states to display "Wanted Lists" of parents who owe support in post 
offices of states that have such lists, and he challenged all states 
to join the "Wanted List" effort.  The President also announced that 
the Department of Health and Human Services's Office of Child Support 
Enforcement has created a home page on the Internet, expanding 
efforts to help find parents who owe support.  The President 
announced executive action to instruct the Department of Justice to 
strengthen criminal prosecutions and penalties for parents who owe 
child support.  The President announced that Colorado will join the 
19 states that currently have their own web sites, and he challenged 
every state to link up and help create a nationwide electronic child 
support enforcement network.  The President has also announced that 
visitors to the White House home page will be able to go directly to 
the Federal child support Internet site.


U.S. Postal Service Posts "Wanted Lists"

Today, the President announced that the U.S. Postal Service has 
agreed to work with states to display "Wanted Lists" of parents who 
owe child support in post offices.  Each state that has such a list 
will be able to provide it to the Postal Service, and it will be 
displayed in post offices within that state.  The President also 
challenged every state to create a "Wanted List" to expand efforts to 
track down parents who owe support and send the strongest possible 
message that evasion of child support responsibilities is a serious 
offense. 


A Child Support Enforcement System Web Site

The Clinton Administration is using the Internet to help people 
access the child support enforcement system more easily and 
effectively -- and to help find those parents who are not paying the 
child support they owe.  The federal Child Support Enforcement web 
page, run by HHS' Office of Child Support Enforcement, provides 
information on the child support enforcement program, tell parents 
where they can apply for child support assistance, and links them to 
the 19 states that currently have their own home pages (currently 
19).  The White House and the Justice Department's home pages are now 
also linked to this site.  The OCSE home page address is: 
/programs/cse/index.htm. 


Strengthening Criminal Prosecution and Penalties

Yesterday, the President directed the Attorney General to take 
actions to strengthen criminal law enforcement against child support 
debtors.  First, the President instructed the Attorney General to 
convene a task force of federal, state, and local prosecutors to 
enhance criminal prosecutions of child support debtors.  Second, the 
President directed the Attorney General to issue guidance on 
sentencing to federal prosecutors, including suggestions for using 
novel and effective sentencing options.  Third, the President 
instructed the Attorney General to draft legislation establishing a 
felony offense for certain cases in which a person willfully avoids 
support payments to a child in another state.  Fourth, the President 
directed the Attorney General to place on HHS' child support 
enforcement web page a list of persons indicted under the federal 
child support law who have fled from criminal prosecution.


Colorado Announces New Child Support Initiatives 

Today, Colorado announced that it will create a new child support 
enforcement web site, making it the 20th state now linked up to the 
federal child support enforcement home page.  Colorado also announced 
that it will begin a fully automated, statewide license revocation 
notification and referral program next month.  Two thousand notices 
will be sent on a monthly basis to delinquent parents, warning them 
that they must contact their local child support office to make 
payment arrangements or risk losing their driver's license.

These initiatives build on Colorado's on-going successful efforts, 
such as its in-hospital paternity establishment program.  Through a 
grant from HHS's Child Support Improvement Demonstration project, 
Colorado has simplified application procedures, eliminated fees and 
waiting periods, and streamlined administration -- resulting in a 
dramatic increase in voluntary acknowledgements.  Since the program 
began, paternity establishment has increased by 150 percent.  
Colorado has also used a grant from HHS to create a model child 
support enforcement office.  

In FY 1995, Colorado distributed over $90 million in child support 
collections, up from about $58 million in FY 1992 -- a 58 percent 
increase.  The number of cases in which families received child 
support assistance rose by about 25 percent, and the number of 
paternities established increased by 50 percent over this period. 

            EFFECTIVE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVES


In-Hospital Paternity Establishment  

The Clinton Administration has made paternity establishment a top 
priority.  Since 1992, paternity establishment has increased by over 
40 percent.  Preliminary data for paternity establishment show an 
estimated 735,000 in FY 1995, up from 515,857 in FY 1992.  The 
Clinton Administration has also granted thirteen waivers for states 
to strengthen paternity establishment efforts. 

In 1993, Congress passed a law proposed by President Clinton that 
required states to establish hospital-based paternity establishment 
programs, as a proactive way to establish paternity in a child's 
life.  Already, early data from just 31 states show that more than 
200,000 paternities were established through the in-hospital 
paternity establishment programs in 1995.  

For example, Colorado has enhanced its in-hospital voluntary 
paternity establishment program with a grant from the Department of 
Health and Human Services' Child Support Improvement Demonstration 
Project.  The Colorado program's simplified application procedures, 
elimination of fees and waiting periods, and streamlined 
administrative process has resulted in dramatic increases in 
voluntary acknowledgements.  Since the program began, paternity 
establishment has increased by 150 percent.

License Revocation  

The President's comprehensive child support enforcement plan requires 
states to use the threat of revoking professional, occupational, and 
drivers' licenses to make delinquent parents pay child support.  Last 
year, President Clinton challenged states to follow the lead set in 
his welfare reform proposal, calling for all states to start programs 
to restrict the licenses of non-paying parents.  States have risen to 
the challenge.  A year ago, only 19 states had passed legislation to 
revoke licenses -- today, 42 states have the ability to use this 
effective child support enforcement tool.  The results are 
impressive: Connecticut reported that it collected $4.8 million over 
a three-month period from delinquent parents notified of the state's 
new license revocation program.  Four months after its first 
notification mailing, Indiana reported that collections were up $1.5 
million. 

Other states are putting their own programs in place based on this 
success.  Colorado, for example, has just announced that it will 
begin a fully automated, statewide license revocation notification 
and referral program next month.  Two thousand notices will be sent 
on a monthly basis to delinquent parents, warning them that they must 
contact their local child support office to make payment arrangements 
or risk losing their driver's license.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that expanding 
license revocation nationwide could increase total child support 
collections by as much as $2.5 billion over 10 years -- reducing 
federal welfare payments by $400 million.  At the Presidents' urging, 
Congress and the NGA have included the President's comprehensive 
child support enforcement plan -- including license revocation -- in 
their welfare reform bills. 

THE CLINTON RECORD ON CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT 

Record Child Support Collections
In 1995, the federal-state partnership collected a record $11 billion 
from non-custodial parents, an increase of $3 billion, or nearly 40 
percent, since 1992.  

Seizing Tax Refunds
In February 1996, HHS announced the collection of a record $828 
million in delinquent child support for 1994 by intercepting income 
tax refunds of non-paying parents.  Benefiting over one million 
families, the amount was nearly 18 percent more than collections from 
income tax refunds for 1993.

Prosecuting Non-Payers
Billions of dollars more in support is owed to children whose parents 
have crossed state lines and failed to pay.  The Justice Department 
is aggressively investigating and prosecuting cases where parents 
cross state lines to avoid payment under the Child Support Recovery 
Act.  Only July 21, the President directed the Justice Department to 
strengthen criminal prosecutions and penalties for parents who owe 
child support.

Executive Action  
On June 18, 1996, President Clinton announced three actions to 
strengthen the child support enforcement system and promote parental 
responsibility.  These actions include: implementing a new program 
that will help track non-paying parents across state lines; 
challenging all states to adopt statewide new hire reporting 
programs; and issuing new regulations requiring women who apply for 
welfare to comply with paternity establishment requirements before 
receiving benefits.  On February 27, 1995, President Clinton signed 
an executive order to make the federal government a model employer in 
the area of child support enforcement.

Improving Paternity Establishment
The Clinton Administration has made paternity establishment a top 
priority.  Since 1992, paternity establishment has increased by over 
40 percent.  The Clinton Administration proposed, and Congress 
adopted, a requirement that states establish hospital-based paternity 
programs as a proactive way to establish paternities early in a 
child's life.  These programs are just now being implemented, but 
data from thirty-one states indicates that more than 200,000 
paternities were established through the program in 1995.  
U.S. Postal Service Posts "Wanted Lists"
The U.S. Postal Service is working with states to display "Wanted 
Lists" of parents who owe child support in post offices.  Each state 
that has such a list will be able to provide it to the Postal 
Service, and the list will be displayed in post offices within that 
state.  The President has also challenged every state to create a 
"Wanted List" to expand efforts to track down parents who owe support 
and send the strongest possible message that evasion of child support 
responsibilities is a serious offense. 

Action through the Internet
HHS's Office of Child Support Enforcement now has a home page on the 
Internet that provides information on the child support enforcement 
program, tell parents where they can apply for child support 
assistance, and links them to states that have their own home pages 
(currently 19).  

Ending Welfare As We Know It
Twenty-three states are now strengthening their child support 
enforcement efforts under waivers granted by the Clinton 
Administration.  President Clinton has also proposed five measures to 
increase collections by an additional $24 billion and reduce federal 
welfare costs by $4 billion over the next 10 years: streamlined 
paternity establishment and stricter cooperation requirements; a 
national new hire reporting system;  uniform interstate child support 
laws; computerized state-wide collections to speed up payments; and 
tough new penalties, such as drivers' license revocation.  At the 
President's urging, Congress and the NGA have included all of the 
Administration's provisions for child support enforcement in their 
welfare reform bills. 
Text of Memo from President Clinton to Attorney General on Criminal

Child Support Enforcement
    To: National Desk
    Contact: White House Press Office, 202-456-2100
    WASHINGTON, July 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was
    released by the White House today:
    July 21, 1996
    MEMORANDUM FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
    SUBJECT: Criminal Child Support Enforcement
    I am proud of the progress we have made over the last 3 years
    in addressing the problem of child support enforcement.
    While State and local agencies have and must have primary
    responsibility for child support enforcement, the Federal
    Government has a crucially important role to play. One aspect
    of that role involves bringing prosecutions under the Child
    Support Recovery Act of 1992, which for the first time created
    a Federal criminal offense for interstate cases, where persons
    willfully fail to pay child support for their child who lives
    in another State.
    The Department of Justice, working through the local
    United States Attorneys' offices, has brought child support
    cases across the Nation to get the message out that a person
    who willfully avoids child support payments for a child in
    another State runs a grave risk of Federal prosecution. Each
    U.S. Attorney's office has a child support coordinator; the
    Federal Bureau of Investigation has committed its resources;
    the Department of Justice has authorized the Department of
    Health and Human Services' Inspector General to investigate
    these cases.
    But these important measures are not enough.
    The Department of Justice, working with the Department of Health
    and Human Services and the States, must pursue all available
    measures to punish those who have tried to evade their child
    support obligations.
    Therefore, I direct you to take the following important steps to
    strengthen our child support enforcement efforts.
    First, I direct you to convene a task force consisting of
    Federal, State, and local prosecutors, the Department of Health
    and Human Services, and the State agencies responsible for child
    support enforcement to enhance criminal prosecution of child
    support debtors. You should consider:
    -- measures to improve the process of referring
    appropriate cases for Federal, State, or local
    criminal enforcement;
    -- the adequacy of all applicable Federal and State laws;
    -- the availability and appropriate allocation of
    resources; and
    -- ways to coordinate Federal, State, and local efforts
    to make enforcement most effective.
    Second, I direct you to review the sentences that have been
    imposed upon those convicted under the Child Support Recovery
    Act, including restitution orders, incarceration, and community
    service, with the goal of identifying novel and effective
    sentencing options, and send guidance to Federal prosecutors
    setting forth factors to consider when seeking sentencing orders
    from courts.
    Third, I direct you to draft legislation to amend the Child
    Support Recovery Act to establish a felony offense for a person
    who willfully fails to pay child support for a child in another
    State where there has been an egregious failure to meet child
    support obligations.
    Fourth, I direct you, as part of your effort to enforce
    criminal laws, to cooperate with the Department of Health and
    Human Services to place on their Internet child support page
    the names of persons who have been indicted under Federal law
    for willfully failing to pay child support and have fled in an
    attempt to escape criminal prosecution.
    Finally, I direct you to report back to me within 90 days on the
    actions you have taken to fulfill this directive.
    WILLIAM J. CLINTON
    -0-
    /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
APWR-07-22-96 1303EDT

Copyright (c) 1996 The Associated Press
Received by NewsEDGE/LAN: 07/22/96 13:06