Family Support Act: Mandating State Child Support Enforcement Services
| Publication year | 1992 |
| Pages | 255 |
| Citation | Vol. 21 No. 2 Pg. 255 |
1992, February, Pg. 255. Family Support Act: Mandating State Child Support Enforcement Services
The Family Support Act of 1988(fn1) ("FSA") significantly increases federal pressure on states to pursue child support actions against obligors. States must provide child support enforcement ("CSE") services at no charge to obligees, regardless of family income or resources. Strict federal regulations impose time frames and procedures for the establishment, modification and enforcement of support orders.
The FSA's primary aim is to reduce the number of families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children ("AFDC") by (1) mandating tougher child support enforcement by the states, (2) providing employment incentives and (3) expanding work requirements for AFDC recipients. The FSA also is intended to respond to reports and complaints that the states' pursuit of child support is extremely slow, generally unavailable and often ineffective.
This article reviews Colorado's implementation of the FSA requirements for state CSE programs and collection services available to all families with absent parents. The article discusses mandatory wage withholding in all support actions (another FSA requirement) and special enforcement mechanisms available only to the state CSE program. Issues such as an obligee's right to use private counsel in cases being served by the CSE agency or to force the state CSE agency to take action are beyond the scope of this article.
Title IV-D of the Social Security Act of 1975 established the CSE unit system ("IV-D unit system"), which initially was imposed on states participating in the AFDC program.(fn2) The FSA increases service requirements for state IV-D programs. It also instructs states to provide services, on request, to families of all income levels. States must show that they meet federal requirements for the provision of services to AFDC, post-AFDC and non-AFDC clients by submitting a state plan demonstrating compliance.(fn3) The federal government pays 66 percent of the basic cost of the IV-D program in states with an approved state plan and gives incentive payments for collections in AFDC and non-AFDC cases. Colorado distributes these state incentive payments to the county departments of social services.(fn4)
The FSA required the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to issue regulations specifying time frames within which states must serve IV-D clients.(fn5) Federal regulations implementing the FSA were adopted in 1989. Most of the provisions described in this article became effective October 1, 1990.(fn6)
Colorado's Child Support Enforcement Act(fn7) sets forth the statutory basis for the state's IV-D program and describes the services to be provided. The Colorado Department of Social Services ("Colorado Department") promulgates regulations for the state's IV-D units. These units are operated by the county departments of social services and their contractual agents, which generally are the offices of county or district attorneys. IV-D attorneys prosecute child support cases on behalf of the state and do not represent any other parties to the action.(fn8) IV-D unit services are instituted automatically in AFDC cases because AFDC recipients assign their right to support to the state. Counsel involved in all new or ongoing domestic relations actions should determine whether the parties already may be subject to IV-D orders or proceedings.
The Colorado Administrative Procedure Act for the Establishment and Enforcement of Child Support(fn9) describes the administrative procedures to be utilized by the IV-D units. The establishment, modification and enforcement of child support orders all may be accomplished through administrative procedures, although court orders are not subject to IV-D administrative modification or enforcement.(fn10) The administrative process allows IV-D paralegals to obtain, modify and enforce administrative orders for child support.
Any custodian may request CSE services by filing an application and paying a $20 application fee.(fn11) The fee may be waived by a county in cases where it would cause "undue financial hardship." The IV-D agency must (1) send an application form within five working days of a written or telephone request and (2) accept the completed application on the day that it and the application fee are received. Within twenty days of application, the IV-D unit must open a case record, make an initial assessment, solicit missing information from the...
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