case handling that includes cases that have been closed
for more than 180 days. The criteria for longitudinal re-
views shall be established by regulation by the Secretary
of Health and Human Services. The Office of Child Sup-
port Enforcement shall continue to impose timeframes for
implementation and audit standards for each mandated
function under part D of title IV of the Social Security
Act.
SEC. 607. CHILD SUPPORT ASSURANCE DEMONSTRATION
PROJECTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to encourage States to
provide a guaranteed minimum level of child support for
every child not receiving such support, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services (hereafter in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall make grants to not less
than 6 States to conduct demonstration projects for the
purpose of establishing or improving a system of assured
minimum child support payments in accordance with this
section.
(b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—An application for
grants under this section shall be submitted by the Gov-
ernor of a State and shall—
(1) contain a description of the proposed child
support assurance project to be established, imple-
mented, or enhanced using amounts provided under
this section, including the specific activities to be un-
dertaken and the agencies that will be involved;
(2) specify whether the project will be carried
out throughout the State or in limited areas of the
State;
(3) estimate the number of children who will be
eligible for assured minimum child support payments
under the project, and the amounts to which such
children will be entitled on average as individuals
and in the aggregate;
(4) describe the child support guidelines and re-
view procedures which are in use in the State and
any expected modifications;
(5) contain a commitment by the State to carry
out the project during a period of not less than 3
fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 1996;
(6) specify the extent to which the State has
implemented (or will implement during the duration
of the project) major enforcement initiatives, such as
central registries, centralized administration, auto-
mated computer systems, administrative law sys-
tems, universal wage withholding, updating of or-
ders, access to State data bases, legal procedures for
paternity establishment (including in-hospital pater-
nity establishment), and enforcement tools;
(7) specify the current relative quality of the
State enforcement system as compared to other
States, including the ratio of collections to accounts
receivables for the immediate past year, the ratio of
collections to accounts receivables for all past years,
the ratio of collections to administrative expendi-
tures, and the paternity establishment rate;
(8) provide assurances that the State perform-
ance meets or exceeds the national median paternity
establishment rate (as defined in section 452(g)(2)
of the Social Security Act) and provide assurances
the State will continue to improve its performance in
the number of cases in which—
(A) paternity is established,
(B) child support orders are collected, and
(C) child support collections are made; and
(9) contain such other information as the Sec-
retary may require by regulation.
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall use amounts pro-
vided under a grant awarded under this section to carry
out a child support assurance project designed to provide
a minimum monthly child support benefit for each child
in the State to the extent that such minimum child sup-
port is not paid in a month by the noncustodial parent.
(d) REQUIREMENTS.—(1) A child support assurance
project funded under this section shall provide that—
(A) the custodial parent is eligible for the as-
sured child support benefit if—
(i) such parent establishes paternity and
has a child support order established;
(ii) more than 1 year has passed since
such parent applied, in writing to the State for
the establishment of paternity and a child sup-
port order and has complied with the require-
ments of paragraph (3), but neither paternity
nor a child support order has been established
due to circumstances beyond the control of the
parent; or
(iii) with respect to the custodial parent,
the danger of physical abuse of such parent is
shown;
(B) the assured child support benefit shall be
paid promptly to the custodial parent at least once
a month and shall be offset and reduced to the ex-
tent that the custodial parent receives child support
in a month from the noncustodial parent; and
(C) in the event that the family as a whole be-
comes ineligible for Aid to Families With Dependent
Children under part A of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act due to consideration of assured child sup-
port benefits, the continuing eligibility of the care-
taker for Aid to Families With Dependent Children
under such title shall be calculated without consider-
ation of the assured child support benefit.
(2) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘child’’
means an individual who is of such an age, disability, or
educational status as to be eligible for child support as
provided by the law of the State in which such individual
resides.
(3) The requirements of this paragraph are as fol-
lows:
(A) Provide the name of the alleged father.
(B) Provide sufficient information to verify the
identity of the person named, including the present
address of the person, the past or present place of
employment of the person, the past or present school
attended by the person, the name and address of the
person’s parents, friends or relatives that can pro-
vide location information for the person, the tele-
phone number of the person, the social security
number of the person, the date of birth of the per-
son, or other information that, if reasonable efforts
were made by the State, could lead to identify a par-
ticular person to be served with process.
(C) Continue to provide all other relevant infor-
mation that the applicant has that may be requested
by the State.
(D) Appear at required interviews, conference
hearings or legal proceedings, if notified in advance
and an illness or emergency does not prevent attend-
ance.
(E) Submit (along with the child) to genetic
tests.
(4) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘cir-
cumstances beyond the control of the parent’’ includes—
(A) failure of the State to make reasonable and
timely efforts to locate the noncustodial parent,
(B) instances in which the noncustodial parent
cannot be located despite the State’s reasonable ef-
forts because the noncustodial parent has dis-
appeared or moved out of the country,
(C) instances in which the noncustodial parent
has been located but the State has failed to serve
such parent with the legal papers,
(D) cases in which the State or courts have
failed to complete the legal process to establish pa-
ternity or set an award, and
(E) other cases in which the State’s or court’s
action or inaction has resulted in the failure to es-
tablish paternity or set an award.
(e) CONSIDERATION
AND PRIORITY
OF APPLICA-
TIONS.—The Secretary shall consider all applications re-
ceived from States desiring to conduct demonstration
projects under this section and shall approve the 6 applica-
tions which appear likely to contribute significantly to the
achievement of the purpose of this section. In selecting
States to conduct demonstration projects under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall consider geographic diversity, va-
riety in types of support guideline models used, and vari-
ation in population of the applicants.
(f) EVALUATION
AND REPORTS.—(1) Each State
that conducts a demonstration project under this section
shall, as a part of such demonstration project, conduct an
interim and a final evaluation of the effectiveness of the
demonstration project and shall submit an interim and
final report to the Secretary concerning the results of the
evaluation and any improvements in child support enforce-
ment.
(2) The evaluation and report submitted by a State
to the Secretary shall analyze and describe (in such a
manner as prescribed by the Secretary)—
of the total amounts expended to pay the costs associated
with the project funded under this section in years after
the first year such project is conducted in a State if the
State meets the improvements specified in subsection
(b)(6).
(k) TREATMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT BENEFIT.—
Any assured child support benefit received by an individ-
ual under this section shall be considered child support
for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(l) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated and are appropriated
such sums as may be necessary in each of the fiscal years
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000, to carry out the pur-
poses of this section.
TITLE VII—STATE ROLE
SEC. 701. PROHIBITION OF RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR
IV–D SERVICES.
Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section
602, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (27), by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(28) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after para-
graph (28) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(29) provide that an applicant may not be de-
nied services under the plan solely because of the ap-
plicant’s nonresidency in that State.’’.
SEC. 702. ADVOCATING FOR CHILDREN’S ECONOMIC SECU-
RITY.
Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section
701, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (28), by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(29) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after para-
graph (29) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(30) provide that the State agency administer-
ing the plan shall advocate to promote the greatest
economic security possible for children, within the
ability of the individual who owes a child support ob-
ligation to pay such obligation.’’.
SEC. 703. DUTIES OF IV–D AGENCIES.
Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section
702, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (29), by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(30) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after para-
graph (30) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(31) provide that the State agency administer-
ing the plan shall provide to all custodial parents—
‘‘(A) a written description of available
services and a statement articulating the prior-
ity of distribution and the degree of confiden-
tiality of information;
‘‘(B) a statement that before the agency
consents to a dismissal with prejudice or a re-
duction of arrearages, the agency shall provide
notice to the last known address at least 30
days before dismissal;
‘‘(C) written quarterly reports on case sta-
tus;
‘‘(D) a statement that services under this
part are mandatory if an individual is deter-
mined eligible under part A; and
‘‘(E) a statement that while eligibility
under part A is being determined, an applicant
is eligible for services under this part and all
application fees are deferred pending such de-
termination.’’.
SEC. 704. BROADER ACCESS TO SERVICES.
It is the sense of the Congress that State and local
child support enforcement agencies should provide—
(1) offices in easily accessible locations near
public transportation,
(2) office hours that allow parents to meet with
attorneys and caseworkers without taking time off
from work, and
(3) office environments conducive to discussion
of legal and personal matters in privacy (e.g., indi-
vidual interview rooms and child care facilities).
SEC. 705. PROCESS FOR CHANGE OF PAYEE IN IV–D CASES.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by
section 502, is amended by inserting after paragraph (33)
the following new paragraph:
‘‘(34) Procedures under which a change in
payee may not require a court hearing or order to
take effect and may be done administratively, as
long as a statement by an agency official is included
in the court or administrative file documenting the
change.’’.
TITLE VIII—EFFECTIVE DATE
SEC. 801. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amend-
ments made by this Act shall take effect on and after Jan-
uary 1, 1997.
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