The fatherhood section, however, reflects a substantially increased emphasis on marriage, in accordance with this year s focus on marriage policy. Where differences between H. 1471 and S. 685 are key, they are noted below. An increase in the emphasis on the promotion of marriage compared to legislation proposed on fathers and families over the last several years. This bill does not address child support issues in the context of services to noncustodial parents. This contracted fatherhood group will use grant money to provide a centralized source of information furthering the goals of marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood and develop a media campaign within state agencies to promote two-parent families.
States have the option to convert state-owed arrearages to the custodial parent.
If a state disregards the amount of child support received by a family when determining that family s TANF grant amount, the state is not required to pay the federal share of the collected child support. Prohibits states from collecting child support to repay the state for Medicaid costs associated with the birth of a child using their child support enforcement agencies. Expands the use of the National Directory of New Hires to allow access to the database to state unemployment compensation programs. Provides an incentive in the form of a tax credit to employers to encourage employer-sponsored childcare. Allow states to actually reduce the Food Stamp allotment for families who fit the criteria above.