To enforce the support obligations owed by absent
parents to their children, locate absent parents, establish paternity, and
obtain child, spousal and medical support.
TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:
Formula Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
States and some tribes provide support enforcement services directly to
individuals who are receiving federally-funded Foster Care Maintenance
Payments, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) (or those
who cease to receive TANF), and to individuals not otherwise eligible for such
services. TANF, Medicaid, and certain federally-funded Foster Care applicants
or recipients must have assigned support rights to the State. Non-TANF
individuals other than those who cease to receive TANF and/or who provide
authorization to the IV-D agency to continue support enforcement services,
must have signed a written application for support enforcement services. The
State must provide services to locate absent parents, establish paternity and
enforce support obligations.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: All States, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Guam. Each of these jurisdictions
is required to establish or designate a single and separate State Child
Support Enforcement Agency. Tribes are eligible and we currently have five
tribal child support programs.
Beneficiary Eligibility: The State must provide
support enforcement services to: (1) All applicants for, or recipients of TANF,
Foster Care Maintenance Payments, and Medicaid, for whom an assignment to the
State of support rights has been made and who are in need of such services;
(2) all individuals who cease to receive TANF; (3) individuals who provide
authorization to the IV-D agency to continue support enforcement services; and
(4) any other individual who is in need of such services and who has applied
for them.
Credentials/Documentation: The State IV-D
agencies and tribes must be operating in accordance with an approved Title
IV-D State plan. Costs eligible for Federal funding will be determined in
accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 and 45 CFR 304.
Pre-application Coordination: State officials prepare
and review state plans and amendments. Regional Office staff are available for
consultation or assistance in preparation of State plans and amendments. The
standard application forms, as furnished by Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS) and required by OMB Circular No. A-102, must be used for this
program. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372,
"Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should
consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in
his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be
followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for
review. High level State officials review State Plans and amendments before
they are submitted. Regional ACF Office staff are available for consultation
or assistance in preparation of State plans and amendments. The standard
application forms, as furnished by Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
and required by OMB Circular No. A-102, must be used for this program. This
program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental
Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or
official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for
more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying
for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.
Application Procedure: Applications are made in
the form of a State Plan, prepared in the format provided by the Office of
Child Support Enforcement. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB
Circular No. A-110.
Award Procedure: States are awarded funds
quarterly based on their estimates of funds needed to provide support
enforcement services to individuals eligible under an approved Title IV-D
State plan.
Deadlines: State estimates must be submitted 60
days prior to the period of the estimate.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: State Plans
and amendments submitted as new State Plans, and Plan amendments may require
up to 90 days for approval.
Appeals: The State may request reconsideration of
plan disapproval or plan amendment disapproval within 60 days after that
disapproval.
Renewals: Once approved, State IV-D plans remain
in effect until amended or revised.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching Requirements: Federal Financial
Participation (FFP) for States and territories is 66 percent of the
administrative costs incurred by the State pursuant to an approved Title IV-D
State plan. This includes costs incurred by certain court and law enforcement
officials pursuant to cooperative agreements with the IV-D agency. Incentive
payments are made to States from the Federal share of TANF recoupments. For
Paternity Laboratory costs the Federal financial participation is 90 percent.
Tribal Child Support programs receive 90 percent Federal Financial
Participation.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Federal
funds are awarded quarterly on a fiscal year basis. The Electronic Transfer
System is used for monthly cash draw from Federal Reserve Banks based on
quarterly awards.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports: Quarterly financial reports of
administrative expenditures and child support collections and annual program
reports including caseload data are required by Office of Child Support
Enforcement (OCSE).
Audits: Periodic audits are made as part of the
recipient's systems of financial management and internal control in accordance
with Public Law 98-502, the Single Audit Act of 1984. "In accordance with
the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), Audits of
States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, nonfederal entities
that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will
have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal
entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt
from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No.
A-133." In addition, grants and cooperative agreements are subject to
inspection and audits by DHHS and other Federal government officials. OCSE
conducts data reliability audits of variables used to compute performance
measures. These audits were mandated by The Child Support Incentive Act of
1998.
Records: The IV-D agency must maintain records
necessary for the proper and efficient administration of the State IV-D plan.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification: 75-1501-0-1-609.
Obligations: (Grants): FY 01 $2,945,189,000; FY
02 est $3,452,313,000; and FY 03 est $3,482,800,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance: In
FY01, from $3,847,000 to $329,936,000. In FY 2002, from $4,493,000 to
$385,372,000; and in FY 2003, from $4,510,000 to $386,863,000.
In all fiscal years, 54 grants were awarded or are expected to be awarded to
States, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. Tribal
programs received $2,057,000 in FY 2001; estimated $17,600,000 in FY 2002; and
estimated $34,800,000 in FY 2003. Child Support collections were nearly $19
billion in FY 2001, estimated $20.4 billion in FY 2002; and estimated $22
billion in FY 2003.
Regional or Local Office: Regional Representative,
Department of Health and Human Services. (See Appendix IV of the Catalog for
addresses and telephone numbers.)
Headquarters Office: Gaile Maller, Director of
the Planning, Research and Evaluation Division in the Office of Child Support
Enforcement,Department of Health and Human Services, 4th Floor, 370 L'Enfant
Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447. Telephone: (202) 401-5368. FTS is not
available.
Web Site Address: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse.
