child support and establishment of paternity

child support and establishment of paternity In General Sec. 101. (a) Title IV of the Social Security Act is amended by adding after part C the following new part: “Part D— Child Support and Establishment of Paternity “appropriation “Sec. 451. For the purpose of enforcing the support obligations owed by absent parents to their children, locating absent parents, establishing paternity, and obtaining child support, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year a sum sufficient to carry out the purposes of this part. “duties of the secretary “Sec. 452. (a) The Secretary shall establish, within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare a separate organizational unit, under the direction of a designee of the Secretary, who shall report directly to the Secretary and who shall— “(1) establish such standards for State programs for locating absent parents, establishing paternity, and obtaining child support as he determines to be necessary to assure that such programs will be effective; “(2) establish minimum organizational and staffing requirements for State units engaged in carrying out such programs under plans approved under this part; “(3) review and approve State plans for such programs; 88 Stat. 2352 “(4) evaluate the implementation of State programs established pursuant to such plan, conduct such audits of State programs established under the plan approved under this part as may be necessary to assure their conformity with the requirements of this part, and, not less often than annually, conduct a complete audit of the programs established under such plan in each State and determine for the purposes of the penalty provision of section 403(h) whether the actual operation of such programs in each State conforms to the requirements of this part; “(5) assist States in establishing adequate reporting procedures and maintain records of the operations of programs established pursuant to this part in each State; “(6) maintain records of all amounts collected and disbursed under programs established pursuant to the provisions of this part and of the costs incurred in collecting such amounts; “(7) provide technical assistance to the States to help them establish effective systems for collecting child support and establishing paternity; “(8) receive applications from States for permission to utilize the courts of the United States to enforce court orders for support against absent parents and, upon a finding that (A) another State has not undertaken to enforce the court order of the originating State against the absent parent within a reasonable time, and (B) that utilization of the Federal courts is the only reasonable method of enforcing such order, approve such applications; “(9) operate the Parent Locator Service established by section 453; and “(10) not later than June 30 of each year beginning after December 31, 1975, submit to the Congress a report on all activities undertaken pursuant to the provisions of this part. “(b) The Secretary shall, upon the request of any State having in effect a State plan approved under this part, certify the amount of any child support obligation assigned to such State to the Secretary of the Treasury for collection pursuant to the provisions of section 6305 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. No amount may be certified for collection under this subsection except the amount of the delinquency under a court order for support and upon a showing by the State that such State has made diligent and reasonable efforts to collect such amounts utilizing its own collection mechanisms, and upon an agreement that the State will reimburse the United States for any costs involved in making the collection. The Secretary after consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury may, by regulation, establish criteria for accepting amounts for collection and for making certification under this subsection including imposing such limitations on the frequency of making such certifications under this subsection. “(c) (1) There is hereby established in the Treasury a revolving fund which shall lie available to the Secretary without fiscal year limitation, to enable him to pay to the States for distribution in accordance with the provisions of section 457 such amounts as may be collected and paid (subject to paragraph (2)) into such fund under section 6305 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. “(2) There is hereby appropriated to the fund, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, amounts equal to the amounts collected under section 6305 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, reduced by the amounts credited or refunded as overpayments of the amounts so collected. The amounts appropriated by the preceding section shall be transferred at least quarterly from the general fund of the Treasury to the fund on the basis of estimates made by 88 Stat. 2353the Secretary of the Treasury. Proper adjustments shall be made in the amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than the amounts required to be transferred. “parent locator service “Sec. 453. (a) The Secretary shall establish and conduct a Parent Locator Service, under the direction of the designee of the Secretary referred to in section 452(a). which shall be used to obtain and transmit to any authorized person (as defined in subsection (c)) information as to the whereabouts of any absent parent when such information is to be used to locate such parent for the purpose of enforcing support obligations against such parent. “(b) Upon request, filed in accordance with subsection (d) of any authorized person (as defined in subsection (c)) for the most recent address and place of employment of any absent parent, the Secretary shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law, provide through the Parent Locator Service such information to such person, if such information— “(1) is contained in any files or records maintained by the Secretary or by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; or “(2) is not contained in such files or records, but can be obtained by the Secretary, under the authority conferred by subsection (e), from any other department, agency, or instrumentality, or the United States or of any State. No information shall be disclosed to any person if the disclosure of such information would contravene the national policy or security interests of the United States or the confidentiality of census data. The Secretary shall give priority to requests made by any authorized person described in subsection (c) (1). “(c) As used in subsection (a), the term ‘authorized person’ means— “(1) any agent or attorney of any State having in effect a plan approved under this part, who has the duty or authority under such plans to seek to recover any amounts owed as child support (including, when authorized under the State plan, any official of a political subdivision); “(2) the court which has authority to issue an order against an absent parent for the support and maintenance of a child, or any agent of such court; and “(3) the resident parent, legal guardian, attorney, or agent of a child (other than a child receiving aid under part A of this title) (as determined by regulations prescribed by the Secretary) without regard to the existence of a court order against an absent parent who has a duty to support and maintain any such child. “(d) A request for information under this section shall be filed in such manner and form as the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe and shall be accompanied or supported by such documents as the Secretary may determine to lie necessary. “(e) (1) Whenever the Secretary receives a request submitted under subsection (b) which he is reasonably satisfied meets the criteria established by subsections (a), (b). and (c), he shall promptly undertake to provide the information requested from the files and records maintained by any of the departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States or of any State. “(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever the individual who is the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States receives a request from the Secretary for information authorized to be provided by the Secretary under 88 Stat. 2354this section, such individual shall promptly cause a search to be made of the files and records maintained by such department agency, or instrumentality with a view to determining whether the information requested is contained in any such files or records. If such search discloses the information requested, such individual shall immediately transmit such information to the Secretary, except that if any information is obtained the disclosure of which would contravene national policy or security interests of the United States or the confidentiality of census data, such information shall not be transmitted and such individual shall immediately notify the Secretary-. If such search fails to disclose the information requested, such individual shall immediately so notify the Secretary. The costs incurred by any such department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States or of any State in providing such information to the Secretary shall be reimbursed by him. Whenever such services are furnished to an individual specified in subsection (c) (3), a fee shall be charged such individual. The fee so charged shall be used to reimburse the Secretary or his delegate for the expense of providing such services. “(f) The Secretary, in carrying out his duties and functions under this section, shall enter into arrangements with State agencies administering State plans approved under this part for such State agencies to accept from resident parents, legal guardians, or agents of a child described in subsection (c)(3) and, after determining that the absent parent cannot be located through the procedures under the control of such State agencies, to transmit to the Secretary requests for information with regard to the whereabouts of absent parents and otherwise to cooperate with the Secretary in carrying out the purposes of this section. “state plan for child support “Sec. 454. A State plan for child support must— “(1) provide that it shall be in effect in all political subdivisions of the State; “(2) provide for financial participation by the State; “(3) provide for the establishment or designation of a single and separate organizational unit, which meets such staffing and organizational requirements as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe, within the State to administer the plan; “(4) provide that such State will undertake— “(A) in the case of a child born out of wedlock with respect to whom an assignment under section 402(a) (26) of this title is effective, to establish the paternity of such child, and “(B) in the case of any child with respect to whom such assignment is effective, to secure support for such child from his parent (or from any other person legally liable for such support), utilizing any reciprocal arrangements adopted with other States, except that when such arrangements and other means have proven ineffective, the State may utilize the Federal courts to obtain or enforce court orders for support; “(5) provide that, in any case in which child support payments are collected for a child with respect to whom an assignment under section 402(a) (26) is effective, such payments shall be made to the State for distribution pursuant to section 457 and shall not be paid directly to the family except that this paragraph shall not apply to such payments (except as provided in section 457(c)) for any month in which the amount collected is sufficient to make such family ineligible for assistance under the State plan approved under part A; 88 Stat. 2355 “(6) provide that (A) the child support collection or paternity determination services established under the plan shall be made available to any individual not otherwise eligible for such services upon application filed by such individual with the State, (B) an application fee for furnishing such services may be imposed, except that the amount of any such application fee shall be reasonable, as determined under regulations of the Secretary, and (C) any costs in excess of the fee so imposed may be collected from such individual by deducting such costs from the amount of any recovery made; “(7) provide for entering into cooperative arrangements with appropriate courts and law enforcement officials (A) to assist the agency administering the plan, including the entering into of financial arrangements with such courts and officials in order to assure optimum results under such program, and (B) with respect to any other matters of common concern to such courts or officials and the agency administering the plan; “(8) provide that the agency administering the plan will establish a service to locate absent parents utilizing— “(A) all sources of information and available records, and “(B) the Parent Locator Service in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; “(9) provide that the State will, in accordance with standards prescribed by the Secretary, cooperate with any other State— “(A) in establishing paternity, if necessary, “(B) in locating an absent parent residing in the State (whether or not permanently) against whom any action is being taken under a program established under a plan approved under this part in another State, “(C) in securing compliance by an absent parent residing in such State (whether or not permanently) with an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction against such parent for the support and maintenance of a child or children of such parent with respect to whom aid is being provided under the plan of such other State, and “(D) in carrying out other functions required under a plan approved under this part; “(10) provide that the State will maintain a full record of collections and disbursements made under the plan and have an adequate reporting system; “(11) provide that amounts collected as child support shall be distributed as provided in section 457; “(12) provide that any payment required to be made under section 456 or 457 to a family snail be made to the resident parent, legal guardian, or caretaker relative having custody of or responsibility for the child or children; and “(13) provide that the State will comply with such other requirements and standards as the Secretary determines to be necessary to the establishment of an effective program for locating absent parents, establishing paternity, obtaining support orders, and collecting support payments. “payments to states “Sec. 455. From the sums appropriated therefor, the Secretary shall pay to each State for each quarter, beginning with the quarter commencing July 1, 1975, an amount equal to 75 percent of the total amounts expended by such State during such quarter for the operation of the plan approved under section 454 except that no amount shall be88 Stat. 2356paid to any State on account of furnishing collection services (other than parent locator services) to individuals under section 454(6) during any period beginning after June 30, 1976. “support obligations “Sec. 456. (a) The support rights assigned to the State under section 402(a) (26) shall constitute an obligation owed to such State by the individual responsible for providing such support. Such obligation shall be deemed for collection purposes to be collectible under all applicable State and local processes. “(1) The amount of such obligation shall be— “(A) the amount specified in a court order which covers the assigned support rights, or “(B) if there is no court order, an amount determined by the State in accordance with a formula approved by the Secretary, and “(2) Any amounts collected from an absent parent under the plan shall reduce, dollar for dollar, the amount of his obligation under paragraphs (1) (A) and (B). “(b) A debt which is a child support obligation assigned to a State under section 402(a) (26) is not released by a discharge in bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Act. “distribution of proceeds “Sec. 457. (a) The amounts collected as child support by a State pursuant to a plan approved under this part during the 15 months Beginning July 1, 1975, shall be distributed as follows: “(1) 40 per centum of the first $50 of such amounts as are collected periodically which represent monthly support payments shall be paid to the family without any decrease in the amount paid as assistance to such family during such month; “(2) such amounts as are collected periodically which are in excess of any amount paid to the family under paragraph (1) which represent monthly support payments shall be retained by the State to reimburse it for assistance payments to the family during such period (with appropriate reimbursement of the Federal Government to the extent of its participation in the financing); “(3) such amounts as are in excess of amounts retained by the State under paragraph (2) and are not in excess of the amount required to be paid during such period to the family by a court order shall be paid to the family; and “(4) such amounts as are in excess of amounts required to be distributed under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) shall be (A) retained by the State (with appropriate reimbursement of the Federal Government to the extent of its participation in the financing) as reimbursement for any past assistance payments made to the family for which the State has not been reimbursed or (B) if no assistance payments have been made by the State which have not been repaid, such amounts shall be paid to the family. “(b) The amounts collected as child support by a State pursuant to a plan approved under this part during any fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1976, shall be distributed as follows: “(1) such amounts as are collected periodically which represent monthly support payments shall be retained by the State to reimburse it for assistance payments to the family during such period 88 Stat. 2357(with appropriate reimbursement of the Federal Government to the extent of its participation in the financing); “(2) such amounts as are in excess of amounts retained by the State under paragraph (1) and are not in excess of the amount required to be paid during such period to the family by a court order shall be paid to the family; and “(3) such amounts as are in excess of amounts required to be distributed under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be (A) retained by the State (with appropriate reimbursement of the Federal Government to the, extent of its participation in the financing) as reimbursement for any past assistance payments made to the family for which the State has not been reimbursed or (B) if no assistance payments have been made by the State which have not been repaid, such amounts shall be paid to the family. “(c) Whenever a family for whom child support payments have been collected and distributed under the plan ceases to receive assistance under part A of this title, the State may— “(1) continue to collect such support payments from the absent parent for a period of not to exceed three months from the month following the month in which such family ceased to receive assistance under part A of this title, and pay all amounts so collected to the family; and “(2) at the end of such three-month period, if the State is authorized to do so by the individual on whose behalf the collection will be made, continue to collect such support payments from the absent parent and pay the, net amount of any amount so collected to the family after deducting any costs incurred in making the collection from the amount of any recovery made. “incentive payment to localities “Sec. 458. (a) When a political subdivision of a State makes, for the State of which it is a political subdivision, or one State makes, for another State, the enforcement and collection of the support rights assigned under section 402(a)(26) (either within or outside of such State), there shall be paid to such political subdivision or such other- State from amounts which would otherwise represent the Federal share of assistance to the family of the absent parent— “(1) an amount equal to 25 per centum of any amount collected (and required to be distributed as provided in section 457 to reduce or repay assistance payments) which is attributable to the support obligation owed for 12 months; and “(2) an amount equal to 10 per centum of any amount collected (and required to be distributed as provided in section 457 to reduce or repay assistance payments) which is attributable to the support obligation owed for any month after the first twelve months for which such collections are made. “(b) Where more than one jurisdiction is involved in such enforcement or collection, the amount of the incentive payment determined under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall be allocated among the jurisdictions in a manner to be prescribed by the Secretary. “consent by the united states to garnishment and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and a lemony obligations “Sec. 459. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, effective January 1, 1975, moneys (the entitlement to which is based upon remuneration for employment) due from, or payable by, the United States (including any agency or instrumentality thereof and any 88 Stat. 2358wholly owned Federal corporation) to any individual, including members of the armed services, shall be subject, in like manner and to the same extent as if the United States were a private person, to legal process brought for the enforcement, against such individual of his legal obligations to provide child support or make alimony payments. “civil actions to enforce child support obligations “Sec. 460. The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction, without regard to any amount in controversy, to hear and determine any civil action certified by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under section 452(a) (8) of this Act. A civil action under this section may be brought in any judicial district in which the claim arose, the plaintiff resides, or the defendant resides.” Collection of Child Support Obligations (b) (1) Subchapter A of chapter 64 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (relating to collection of taxes) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: “Sec. 6305. COLLECTION OF CERTAIN LIABILITY. “(a) In General.— Upon receiving a certification from the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, under section 452(b) of the Social Security Act with respect to any individual, the Secretary or his delegate shall assess and collect the amount certified by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, in the same manner, with the same powers, and (except as provided in this section) subject to the same limitations as if such amount were a tax imposed by subtitle C the collection of which would be jeopardized by delay, except that— “(1) no interest or penalties shall be assessed or collected, “(2) for such purposes, paragraphs (4), (6), and (8) of section 6334(a) (relating to property exempt from levy) shall not apply, “(3) there shall be exempt from levy so much of the salary, wages, or other income of an individual as is being withheld therefrom in garnishment pursuant to a judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction for the support of his minor children, and “(4) in the ease of the first assessment against an individual for delinquency under a court order against such individual for a particular person or persons, the collection shall be stayed for a period of 60 days immediately following notice and demand as described in section 6303. “(b) Review of Assessments and Collections.— No court of the United States, whether established under article I or article III of the Constitution, shall have jurisdiction of any action, whether legal or equitable, brought to restrain or review the assessment and collection of amounts by the Secretary or his delegate under subsection (a), nor shall any such assessment and collection be subject to review by the Secretary or his delegate in any proceeding. This subsection does not preclude any legal, equitable, or administrative action against the State by an individual in any State court or before any State agency to determine his liability for any amount assessed against him and collected, or to recover any such amount collected from him, under this section.”. (2) The table of sections for such subchapter is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new item: “Sec. 6305. Collection of certain liability.”. 88 Stat. 2359 Amendments to Part A of Title IV (c) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 402(a) of the Social Security Act, in addition to the amounts required to be disregarded under clause (8) (A) of such section, there is imposed the requirement ( and the State plan shall be deemed to include the requirement) that for the 15 months beginning July 1, 1975, in making the determination under clause (7), the State agency shall with respect to any month in such year and in addition to the amounts required to be disregarded under clause (8) (A), disregard amounts payable under section 457 (a)(1). (2) Section 402(a) (9) is amended to read as follows: “(9) provide safeguards which permit the use or disclosure of information concerning applicants or recipients only to (A) public officials who require such information in connection with their official duties, or (B) other persons for purposes directly connected with the administration of aid to families with dependent children;”. (3) Section 402(a) (10) is amended by inserting immediately before “be furnished” the following: “, subject to paragraphs (25) and (26),”. (4) Section 402(a) (11) is amended to read as follows: “(11) provide for prompt notice (including the transmittal of all relevant information) to the State child support collection agency (established pursuant to part D of this title) of the furnishing of aid to families with dependent children with respect to a child who has been deserted or abandoned by a parent (including a child born out of wedlock without regard to whether the paternity of such child has been established);”. (5) Section 402(a) is further amended— (A) by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (23): (B) by inserting immediately before the first word in paragraph (24) the following: “provide that”; and (C) by striking out the period at the end of paragraph (24) and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon and the following: “(25) provide (A) that, as a condition of eligibility under the plan, each applicant for or recipient of aid shall furnish to the State agency his social security account number (or numbers, if he has more than one such number), and (B) that such State agency shall utilize such account numbers, in addition to any other means of identification it may determine to employ in the administration of such plan; “(26) provide that, as a condition of eligibility for aid. each applicant or recipient will be required— “(A) to assign the State any rights to support from any other person such applicant may have (i) in his own behalf or in behalf of any other family member for whom the applicant is applying for or receiving aid, and (ii) which have accrued at the time such assignment is executed, “(B) to cooperate with the State (i) in establishing the paternity of a child born out of wedlock with respect to whom aid is claimed, and (ii) in obtaining support payments for such applicant and for a child with respect to whom such aid is claimed, or in obtaining any other payments or property due such applicant or such child and that, if the relative with whom a child is living is found to be ineligible because of failure to comply with the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph, any aid for which such child 88 Stat. 2360is eligible will be provided in the form of protective payments as described in section 406(b)(2) (without regard to subparagraphs (A) through (E) of such section); and “(27) provide, that the States have in effect a plan approved under part D and operate a child support program in conformity with such plan.”. (6) (A) Section 403 of the Social Security Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the amount payable to any State under this part for quarters in a fiscal year shall with respect to quarters beginning after December 31, 1976, be reduced by 5 per centum of such amount if such State is found by the Secretary as the result of the annual audit to have failed to have an effective program meeting the requirements of section 402(a) (27) in any fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1976 (but, in the case of the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1976, only considering the second, third, and fourth quarters thereof).”. (B) Section 404 of such Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsections: “(c) No State shall be found, prior to January 1, 1977, to have failed substantially to comply with the requirements of section 402(a) (27) if, in the judgment of the Secretary, such State is making a good faith effort to implement the program required by such section. “(d) After December 31, 1976, in the case of any State which is found to have failed substantially to comply with the requirements of section 402(a) (27), the reduction in any amount payable to such State required to be imposed under section 403(h) shall be imposed in lieu of any reduction, with respect to such failure, which would otherwise be required to be imposed under this section.” (7) Section 406 of the Social Security Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), the term ‘aid to families with dependent children’ does not mean payments with respect to a parent (or other individual whose needs such State determines should be considered in determining the need of the child or relative claiming aid under the plan of such State approved under this part) of a child who fails to cooperate with any agency or official of the State in obtaining such support payments for such child. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to make an otherwise eligible child ineligible for protective payments because of the failure of such parent (or such other individual) to so cooperate.”. (8) Section 402(a), (17), (18), (21), and (22), and section 410 of such Act are repealed. Conforming Amendments to Title XI (d) Section 1106 of such Act is amended— (1) by striking out the period at the end of the first sentence of subsection (a) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “and except as provided in part D of title IV of this Act.”; (2) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the following new sentence: “Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, requests for information made pursuant to the provisions of part D of title IV of this Act for the purpose of using Federal records for locating parents shall be complied with and the cost incurred in providing such information shall be paid for as provided in such part D of title IV.”; and (3) by striking out subsection (c). 88 Stat. 2361 Authorization of Appropriations (e) There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare such sums as may be necessary to plan and prepare for the implementation of the program established by this section. Effective Date (f) The amendments made by this section shall become effective on July 1, 1975, except that section 459 of the Social Security Act, as added by subsection (a) of this section shall become effective on January 1, 1975, and subsection (e) of this section shall become effective upon the date of enactment or this Act.