[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 97 (Thursday, May 21, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23798-23799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11936]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

45 CFR Parts 302, 303 and 307

RIN 0970-AC01


State Parent Locator Service; Safeguarding Child Support 
Information

AGENCY: Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration for 
Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Delay of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the memorandum of January 20, 2009, from 
the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled 
``Regulatory Review,'' this action delays until December 30, 2010, the 
effective date of the final rule entitled ``State Parent Locator 
Service; Safeguarding Child Support Information,'' published in the 
Federal Register on September 26, 2008 (73 FR 56422). The delay in 
effective date is necessary to give Department officials the 
opportunity for further review of the issues of law and policy raised 
by this rule.

DATES: The effective date of the rule amending 45 CFR parts 302, 303, 
and 307 published in the September 26, 2008 Federal Register (73 FR 
56442), which was delayed on March 20, 2009 (74 FR 11879), is further 
delayed until December 30, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvette Riddick, Office of Child 
Support Enforcement, Division of Policy, (202) 401-4885.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On September 26, 2008, a final rule following notice and comment 
period entitled ``State Parent Locator Service; Safeguarding Child 
Support Information'' was published in the Federal Register [73 FR 
56422] to address requirements for State Parent Locator Service 
responses to authorized location requests, State IV-D program 
safeguarding of confidential information, authorized disclosures of 
this information, and restrictions on the use of confidential data and 
information for child support purposes with exceptions for certain 
disclosures permitted by statute. The effective date given for the 
final rule was March 23, 2009.
    In accordance with the memorandum of January 20, 2009, from the 
Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff entitled ``Regulatory 
Review'' [74 FR 4435], on March 3, 2009, we published a notice in the 
Federal Register [74 FR 9171], seeking public comment on a contemplated 
delay of 60 days in the effective date of the rule entitled ``State 
Parent Locator Service; Safeguarding Child Support Information.'' In 
response to comment, the Department issued a subsequent notice on March 
20, 2009 [74 FR 11879] delaying the effective date of the September 26, 
2008 rule by 60 days until May 22, 2009, in order to permit officials 
of the new Administration an opportunity to review and approve the 
policies in the regulation.
    However, subsequent to publication of the March 20, 2009 notice, we 
determined that additional time would be needed for Department 
officials to complete their review of the rule and to assess fully the 
comments received in response to the March 3, 2009 notice. As a result, 
on April 15, 2009, a notice was published in the Federal Register [74 
FR 17445] indicating that the Department was contemplating a further 
delay in the effective date of the ``State Parent Locator; Safeguarding 
Child Support Information'' final rule to December 30, 2010. As 
discussed below, the April 15, 2009 notice generated three comments, 
all of which supported the December 30, 2010 effective date.

II. Provision of This Action

    This action further delays the effective date of the September 26, 
2008 final rule. The effective date of the final rule which would have 
been May 22, 2009, is now December 30, 2010. The delay in the effective 
date is necessary to give Department officials the opportunity for 
further review of the issues of law and policy raised by the rule.

III. Comments Received in Response to the April 15, 2009 Notice

    We received three comments in response to the April 15, 2009 notice 
with comment period on the contemplated delay in the effective date of 
the ``State Parent Locator Service; Safeguarding Child Support 
Information'' final rule. Although the April 15, 2009 notice invited 
comments on the contemplated extension of the effective date of the 
regulation to December 30, 2010, it also generated comments 
recommending changes to substantive areas of the final rule. All 
commenters supported the delayed effective date and as a result, we are 
delaying the effective date of the rule to December 30, 2010 to allow 
sufficient time for Department officials to review issues of law and 
policy raised by the rule.
    A summary of the comments received follows:
    Comments: All three commenters supported the contemplated delay in 
the effective date. Two of the commenters also provided comments that 
are substantive in nature. One commenter was concerned about the 
provisions of the rule that authorize disclosure of State child support 
data to private child support collection agencies (PCAs), companies 
that do not operate under a contract with the State or county child 
support program, but instead contract directly with custodial parents. 
The same commenter also recommended that the Department review the 
child welfare provision of the rule to ensure that it fully complies 
with the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing

[[Page 23799]]

Adoptions Act signed into law on October 7, 2008 after the publication 
of the final rule September 26, 2008. For example, the new law raises a 
set of questions about whether data maintained through the Federal 
Parent Locator Service and the State Parent Locator Service are 
available to assist State child welfare agencies in carrying out their 
responsibilities to locate adult relatives of children removed from 
parental custody in order to identify potential placements.
    The other substantive comment raised similar concerns regarding 
PCAs. In particular, the commenter was concerned with the PCAs being an 
``agent of the child'' for the purpose of locate requests under section 
453 of the Social Security Act. The commenter believes that the PCA in 
child support matters represents the parent, not the child, thus is not 
``the agent of the child'' and is not authorized to receive any Federal 
Parent Locator Service information from the IV-D agency. The commenter 
also suggested that similar to the access provided to title IV Social 
Security Act programs, human service programs serving the same family 
as the child support program should have clear and unambiguous access 
to Federal information. For example, the commenter encouraged the 
Office of Child Support Enforcement to provide the Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program access to child support information to 
determine income eligibility.
    Response: The Department believes that the comments received on the 
notice published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2009 [74 FR 
17445] soliciting comments on the delay in the effective date of the 
rule support the delay in the effective date until December 30, 2010. 
While the substantive comments on the policies contained in the rule 
were not solicited, the delay will provide time for Department 
officials to assess those comments as well as review all issues of law 
and policy raised by the rule.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.563, Child 
Support Enforcement)

    Dated: May 18, 2009.
Kathleen Sebelius,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-11936 Filed 5-20-09; 8:45 am]
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