Final Rule: Child Support Technical Corrections

AT-20-07

Publication Date: June 9, 2020
Current as of:

ACTION TRANSMITTAL

AT-20-07

DATE: June 9, 2020

TO: State and Tribal IV-D Agencies

SUBJECT: Final Rule: Child Support Technical Corrections

ATTACHMENT: Child Support Technical Corrections Final Rule published in Federal Register  (PDF)

This final rule published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2020, addresses President Donald Trump’s directives in Executive Order 13771 on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs and Executive Order 13777 on Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda. This rule eliminates identified regulatory requirements which were outdated or unnecessary. Additionally, this regulation provides policy clarifications, makes conforming amendments to the regulations as a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-123), and revises regulations to provide more timely wage information used for locate and enforcement purposes.

Noteworthy Elements:

The final rule contains the following provisions:

  • Eliminates the following regulatory requirements, which were outdated, unnecessary, or both:
    • Removes 45 CFR 303.71, Requests for full collection services by the Secretary of the Treasury. States are no longer widely using this enforcement tool, and there are other more effective enforcement procedures since the inception of this provision.
    • Removes 45 CFR 303.73, Applications to use the courts of the United States to enforce court orders. It is no longer needed since states have enacted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (2008) that establishes procedures for enforcing interstate orders.
    • Removes 45 CFR 307.30, Federal financial participation at the 90 percent rate for statewide computerized support enforcement systems and 45 CFR 307.31, Federal financial participation at the 80 percent rate for statewide computerized support enforcement systems. The enhanced funding provisions are outdated and have expired in the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 651 — 669).
  • Corrects references in 45 CFR 305.65 to address a technical fix needed in the regulations.
  • Updates agency information in 45 CFR 309.20 and 309.170 to include current references.
  • Corrects outdated references in 45 CFR 309.75 and 309.155 to OMB Circulars A-133 and A-87, respectively, that are superseded by the “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards” (Uniform Guidance) in 45 CFR Part 75.
  • Makes the following technical amendments to the “Flexibility, Efficiency, and Modernization in Child Support Final Rule” (FEM) that need policy clarification:
    • Revises the compliance date for sending notices to both parents after the state learns the noncustodial parent is incarcerated under 45 CFR 303.8(b)(7)(ii), for those states that previously considered incarceration to be voluntary unemployment, to match the timeframe under 45 CFR 302.56(a)‑(g), or 1 year after completion of the first quadrennial review of the state’s guidelines that commences on or after December 21, 2017.
    • Revises 45 CFR 303.11(b)(9) and 307.11(c)(3) to include Social Security Retirement (SSR) benefits when referring to concurrent Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) under title II.
    • Provides an optional component for income withholding orders under 45 CFR 307.11(c)(3)(iii).
  • Makes conforming regulation revisions to 45 CFR 302.33, 302.51, and 303.7 as a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, increasing the annual collection fee from $25 to $35 and increasing the threshold when the fee must be imposed from $500 to $550 of collections received by the state and disbursed to the family.
  • Reduces the timeframe in 45 CFR 303.108(c) for reporting wage information to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) from the end of the fourth month following the quarterly reporting period to the end of the second month to obtain more timely data.

REFERENCES: 45 CFR 302, 303, 305, 307, and 309.

SUPERSEDES: PIQ-18-02 and AT-19-01.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 9, 2020: This is the date when the final rule revisions go into effect. Compliance with individual requirements may vary. Please see the “Compliance dates” section of the rule for exceptions.

INQUIRIES: Contact your OCSE Regional Program Specialist or the Division of Policy and Training at OCSE.DPT@acf.hhs.gov.

Scott M. Lekan
Acting Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement