arrearages collected as accruing in the fol-
lowing order:
‘‘(I) to the period after the fam-
ily ceased to receive assistance;
‘‘(II) to the period before the
family received assistance; and
‘‘(III) to the period while the
family was receiving assistance.
‘‘(3) FAMILIES THAT NEVER RECEIVED ASSIST-
ANCE.—In the case of any other family, the State
shall distribute the amount so collected to the fam-
ily.
‘‘(4) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than Oc-
tober 1, 1998, the Secretary shall report to the Con-
gress the Secretary’s findings with respect to—
‘‘(A) whether the distribution of post-as-
sistance arrearages to families has been effec-
tive in moving people off of welfare and keeping
them off of welfare;
‘‘(B) whether early implementation of a
pre-assistance arrearage program by some
states has been effective in moving people off of
welfare and keeping them off of welfare;
‘‘(C) what the overall impact has been of
the amendments made by the Child Support
Enforcement Reform Amendments of 1996 with
respect to child support enforcement in moving
people off of welfare and keeping them off of
welfare; and
‘‘(D) based on the information and data
the Secretary has obtained, what changes, if
any, should be made in the policies related to
the distribution of child support arrearages.
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in subsection (a):
‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘assistance from
the State’ means—
‘‘(A) assistance under the State program
funded under part A; or
‘‘(B) benefits under the State plan ap-
proved under part E.
‘‘(2) FEDERAL
SHARE.—The term ‘Federal
share’ means that portion of the amount collected
resulting from the application of the Federal medical
percentage in effect for the fiscal year in which the
amount is collected.
‘‘(3) FEDERAL MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PERCENT-
AGE.—The term ‘Federal medical assistance per-
centage’ means—
‘‘(A) the Federal medical assistance per-
centage (as defined in section 1118), in the case
of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and
American Samoa; or
‘‘(B) the Federal medical assistance per-
centage (as defined in section 1905(b)) in the
case of any other State.
‘‘(4) STATE
SHARE.—The term ‘State share’
means 100 percent minus the Federal share.
‘‘(c) HOLD HARMLESS PROVISION.—If the amounts
collected which could be retained by the State in the fiscal
year (to the extent necessary to reimburse the State for
amounts paid to families as assistance by the State) are
less than the State share of the amounts collected in fiscal
year 1995 (determined in accordance with section 457 as
in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of
the Child Support Enforcement Reform Amendments of
1996), the State share for the fiscal year shall be an
amount equal to the State share in fiscal year 1995.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 464(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 664(a)(1)) is
amended by striking ‘‘section 457(b)(4) or (d)(3)’’
and inserting ‘‘section 457’’.
(2) Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended—
(A) in paragraph (11)—
(i) by striking ‘‘(11)’’ and inserting
‘‘(11)(A)’’; and
(ii) by inserting after the semicolon
‘‘and’’; and
(B) by redesignating paragraph (12) as
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (11).
(c) EFFECTIVE DATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the amendments made by this section
shall be effective on October 1, 1996, or earlier at
the State’s option.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The amend-
ments made by subsection (b)(2) shall become effec-
tive on the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 103. PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.
(a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454 (42
U.S.C. 654), as amended by section 101(b) of this Act,
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(24);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (25) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding after paragraph (25) the follow-
ing new paragraph:
‘‘(26) will have in effect safeguards, applicable
to all confidential information handled by the State
agency, that are designed to protect the privacy
rights of the parties, including—
‘‘(A) safeguards against unauthorized use
or disclosure of information relating to proceed-
ings or actions to establish paternity, or to es-
tablish or enforce support;
‘‘(B) prohibitions against the release of in-
formation on the whereabouts of 1 party to an-
other party against whom a protective order
with respect to the former party has been en-
tered; and
‘‘(C) prohibitions against the release of in-
formation on the whereabouts of 1 party to an-
other party if the State has reason to believe
that the release of the information may result
in physical or emotional harm to the former
party.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1997.
SEC. 104. RIGHTS TO NOTIFICATION AND HEARINGS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as
amended by section 102(b)(2) of this Act, is amended by
inserting after paragraph (11) the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(12) provide for the establishment of proce-
dures to require the State to provide individuals who
are applying for or receiving services under the State
plan, or who are parties to cases in which services
are being provided under the State plan—
‘‘(A) with notice of all proceedings in
which support obligations might be established
or modified; and
‘‘(B) with a copy of any order establishing
or modifying a child support obligation, or (in
the case of a petition for modification) a notice
of determination that there should be no change
in the amount of the child support award, with-
in 14 days after issuance of such order or de-
termination;’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1997.
Subtitle B—Locate and Case
Tracking
SEC. 111. STATE CASE REGISTRY.
Section 454A, as added by section 144(a)(2) of this
Act, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsections:
‘‘(e) STATE CASE REGISTRY.—
under this part and with respect to which a support
order has been established shall include a record
of—
‘‘(A) the amount of monthly (or other peri-
odic) support owed under the order, and other
amounts (including arrearages, interest or late
payment penalties, and fees) due or overdue
under the order;
‘‘(B) any amount described in subpara-
graph (A) that has been collected;
‘‘(C) the distribution of such collected
amounts;
‘‘(D) the birth date of any child for whom
the order requires the provision of support; and
‘‘(E) the amount of any lien imposed with
respect to the order pursuant to section
466(a)(4).
‘‘(5) UPDATING AND MONITORING.—The State
agency operating the automated system required by
this section shall promptly establish and maintain,
and regularly monitor, case records in the State case
registry with respect to which services are being pro-
vided under the State plan approved under this part,
on the basis of—
‘‘(A) information on administrative actions
and administrative and judicial proceedings and
orders relating to paternity and support;
‘‘(B) information obtained from compari-
son with Federal, State, or local sources of in-
formation;
‘‘(C) information on support collections
and distributions; and
‘‘(D) any other relevant information.
‘‘(f) INFORMATION COMPARISONS AND OTHER DIS-
CLOSURES OF INFORMATION.—The State shall use the
automated system required by this section to extract infor-
mation from (at such times, and in such standardized for-
mat or formats, as may be required by the Secretary), to
share and compare information with, and to receive infor-
mation from, other data bases and information compari-
son services, in order to obtain (or provide) information
necessary to enable the State agency (or the Secretary or
other State or Federal agencies) to carry out this part,
subject to section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986. Such information comparison activities shall include
the following:
‘‘(1) FEDERAL CASE REGISTRY OF CHILD SUP-
PORT
ORDERS.—Furnishing to the Federal Case
Registry of Child Support Orders established under
section 453(h) (and update as necessary, with infor-
mation including notice of expiration of orders) the
minimum amount of information on child support
cases recorded in the State case registry that is nec-
essary to operate the registry (as specified by the
Secretary in regulations).
‘‘(2) FEDERAL
PARENT
LOCATOR
SERVICE.—
Exchanging information with the Federal Parent
Locator Service for the purposes specified in section
453.
‘‘(3) TEMPORARY
FAMILY
ASSISTANCE
AND
MEDICAID AGENCIES.—Exchanging information with
State agencies (of the State and of other States) ad-
ministering programs funded under part A, pro-
grams operated under State plans under title XIX,
and other programs designated by the Secretary, as
necessary to perform State agency responsibilities
under this part and under such programs.
‘‘(4) INTRASTATE AND INTERSTATE INFORMA-
TION COMPARISONS.—Exchanging information with
other agencies of the State, agencies of other States,
and interstate information networks, as necessary
and appropriate to carry out (or assist other States
to carry out) the purposes of this part.’’.
SEC. 112. COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT OF SUPPORT
PAYMENTS.
(a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454 (42
U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections 101(b) and 103(a)
of this Act, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(25);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding after paragraph (26) the follow-
ing new paragraph:
‘‘(27) provide that, on and after October 1,
1998, the State agency will—
‘‘(A) operate a State disbursement unit in
accordance with section 454B; and
‘‘(B) have sufficient State staff (consisting
of State employees) and (at State option) con-
tractors reporting directly to the State agency
to—
‘‘(i) monitor and enforce support col-
lections through the unit in cases being en-
forced by the State pursuant to section
454(4) (including carrying out the auto-
mated data processing responsibilities de-
scribed in section 454A(g)); and
‘‘(ii) take the actions described in sec-
tion 466(c)(1) in appropriate cases.’’.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
STATE
DISBURSEMENT
UNIT.—Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669), as
amended by section 144(a)(2) of this Act, is amended by
inserting after section 454A the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 454B. COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT OF SUP-
PORT PAYMENTS.
‘‘(a) STATE DISBURSEMENT UNIT.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In order for a State to
meet the requirements of this section, the State
agency must establish and operate a unit (which
shall be known as the ‘State disbursement unit’) for
the collection and disbursement of payments under
support orders—
‘‘(A) in all cases being enforced by the
State pursuant to section 454(4); and
‘‘(B) in all cases not being enforced by the
State under this part in which the support
order is initially issued in the State on or after
January 1, 1994 and in which the wages of the
absent parent are subject to withholding pursu-
ant to section 466(a)(8)(B).
‘‘(2) OPERATION.—The State disbursement
unit shall be operated—
‘‘(A) directly by the State agency (or 2 or
more State agencies under a regional coopera-
tive agreement), or (to the extent appropriate)
by a contractor responsible directly to the State
agency; and
‘‘(B) except in cases described in para-
graph (1)(B), in coordination with the auto-
mated system established by the State pursuant
to section 454A.
‘‘(3) 
LINKING
OF
LOCAL
DISBURSEMENT
UNITS.—The State disbursement unit may be estab-
lished by linking local disbursement units through
an automated information network, subject to this
section, if the Secretary agrees that the system will
not cost more nor take more time to establish or op-
erate than a centralized system. In addition, employ-
ers shall be given 1 location to which income with-
holding is sent.
‘‘(b) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—The State disburse-
ment unit shall use automated procedures, electronic proc-
esses, and computer-driven technology to the maximum
extent feasible, efficient, and economical, for the collection
and disbursement of support payments, including proce-
dures—
‘‘(1) for receipt of payments from parents, em-
ployers, and other States, and for disbursements to
custodial parents and other obligees, the State
agency, and the agencies of other States;
‘‘(2) for accurate identification of payments;
‘‘(3) to ensure prompt disbursement of the cus-
todial parent’s share of any payment; and
‘‘(4) to furnish to any parent, upon request,
timely information on the current status of support
payments under an order requiring payments to be
made by or to the parent.
‘‘(c) TIMING OF DISBURSEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the State disbursement unit shall distrib-
ute all amounts payable under section 457(a) within
2 business days after receipt from the employer or
other source of periodic income, if sufficient infor-
mation identifying the payee is provided.
‘‘(2) PERMISSIVE
RETENTION
OF
ARREAR-
AGES.—The State disbursement unit may delay the
distribution of collections toward arrearages until
the resolution of any timely appeal with respect to
such arrearages.
‘‘(d) BUSINESS DAY DEFINED.—As used in this sec-
tion, the term ‘business day’ means a day on which State
offices are open for regular business.’’.
(c) USE OF AUTOMATED SYSTEM.—Section 454A, as
added by section 144(a)(2) and as amended by section 111
of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
‘‘(g) COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPORT
PAYMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The State shall use the
automated system required by this section, to the
maximum extent feasible, to assist and facilitate the
collection and disbursement of support payments
through the State disbursement unit operated under
section 454B, through the performance of functions,
including, at a minimum—
‘‘(A) transmission of orders and notices to
employers (and other debtors) for the withhold-
ing of wages and other income—
‘‘(i) within 2 business days after re-
ceipt from a court, another State, an em-
ployer, the Federal Parent Locator Service,
or another source recognized by the State
of notice of, and the income source subject
to, such withholding; and
‘‘(ii) using uniform formats prescribed
by the Secretary;
‘‘(B) ongoing monitoring to promptly iden-
tify failures to make timely payment of support;
and
‘‘(C) automatic use of enforcement proce-
dures (including procedures authorized pursu-
ant to section 466(c)) if payments are not
timely made.
‘‘(2) BUSINESS
DAY
DEFINED.—As used in
paragraph (1), the term ‘business day’ means a day
on which State offices are open for regular busi-
ness.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall become effective on October 1, 1998.
SEC. 113. STATE DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES.
(a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454 (42
U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections 101(b), 103(a), and
112(a) of this Act, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(26);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (27) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding after paragraph (27) the follow-
ing new paragraph:
‘‘(28) provide that, on and after October 1,
1997, the State will operate a State Directory of
New Hires in accordance with section 453A.’’.
(b) STATE DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES.—Part D of
title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amended by inserting
after section 453 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 453A. STATE DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT
FOR STATES
THAT
HAVE NO DIRECTORY.—Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), not later than October 1,
1997, each State shall establish an automated
directory (to be known as the ‘State Directory
of New Hires’) which shall contain information
supplied in accordance with subsection (b) by
employers on each newly hired employee.
‘‘(B) STATES WITH NEW HIRE REPORTING
IN EXISTENCE.—A State which has a new hire
reporting law in existence on the date of the en-
actment of this section may continue to operate
under the State law, but the State must meet
the requirements of this section (other than
subsection (f)) not later than October 1, 1997.
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
‘‘(A) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘employee’—
‘‘(i) means an individual who is an
employee within the meaning of chapter 24
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
‘‘(ii) does not include an employee of
a Federal or State agency performing in-
telligence or counterintelligence functions,
if the head of such agency has determined
that reporting pursuant to paragraph (1)
with respect to the employee could endan-
ger the safety of the employee or com-
promise an ongoing investigation or intel-
ligence mission.
‘‘(B) EMPLOYER.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘em-
ployer’ has the meaning given such term in
section 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1996 and includes any govern-
mental entity and any labor organization.
‘‘(ii) 
LABOR
ORGANIZATION.—The
term ‘labor organization’ shall have the
meaning given such term in section 2(5) of
the National Labor Relations Act, and in-
cludes any entity (also known as a ‘hiring
hall’) which is used by the organization
and an employer to carry out requirements
described in section 8(f)(3) of such Act of
an agreement between the organization
and the employer.
‘‘(b) EMPLOYER INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraphs (B) and (C), each employer shall
furnish to the Directory of New Hires of the
State in which a newly hired employee works, a
report that contains the name, address, and so-
cial security number of the employee, and the
name and address of, and identifying number
assigned under section 6109 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 to, the employer.
‘‘(B) MULTISTATE EMPLOYERS.—An em-
ployer that has employees who are employed in
2 or more States and that transmits reports
magnetically or electronically may comply with
subparagraph (A) by designating 1 State in
which such employer has employees to which
the employer will transmit the report described
in subparagraph (A), and transmitting such re-
port to such State. Any employer that transmits
reports pursuant to this subparagraph shall no-
tify the Secretary in writing as to which State
such employer designates for the purpose of
sending reports.
‘‘(C) FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT
EMPLOY-
ERS.—Any department, agency, or instrumen-
tality of the United States shall comply with
subparagraph (A) by transmitting the report
described in subparagraph (A) to the National
Directory of New Hires established pursuant to
section 453.
‘‘(2) TIMING
OF
REPORT.—Each State may
provide the time within which the report required by
paragraph (1) shall be made with respect to an em-
ployee, but such report shall be made—
‘‘(A) not later than 20 days after the date
the employer hires the employee; or
‘‘(B) in the case of an employer transmit-
ting reports magnetically or electronically, by 2
monthly transmissions (if necessary) not less
than 12 days nor more than 16 days apart.
‘‘(c) REPORTING FORMAT AND METHOD.—Each re-
port required by subsection (b) shall be made on a
W–4 form or, at the option of the employer, an equivalent
form, and may be transmitted by 1st class mail, magneti-
cally, or electronically.