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tablish paternity, establish, modify, and enforce sup-
port orders, and to enter support orders in accordance
with child support guidelines established by such tribe
or organization, under which the State and tribe or
organization shall provide for the cooperative delivery
of child support enforcement services in Indian coun-
try and for the forwarding of all funding collected
pursuant to the functions performed by the tribe or
organization to the State agency, or conversely, by the
State agency to the tribe or organization, which shall
distribute such funding in accordance with such
agreement; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new sen-
tence: ‘‘Nothing in paragraph (33) shall void any
provision of any cooperative agreement entered into
before the date of the enactment of such paragraph,
nor shall such paragraph deprive any State of juris-
diction over Indian country (as so defined) that is
lawfully exercised under section 402 of the Act enti-
tled ‘An Act to prescribe penalties for certain acts of
violence or intimidation, and for other purposes’, ap-
proved April 11, 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1322).’’.
(b) DIRECT FEDERAL FUNDING TO INDIAN TRIBES
AND TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 455 (42 U.S.C.
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655) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(b) The Secretary may, in appropriate cases, make
direct payments under this part to an Indian tribe or tribal
organization which has an approved child support enforce-
ment plan under this title. In determining whether such
payments are appropriate, the Secretary shall, at a mini-
mum, consider whether services are being provided to eligi-
ble Indian recipients by the State agency through an agree-
ment entered into pursuant to section 454(33).’’.
(c) COOPERATIVE
ENFORCEMENT
AGREEMENTS.—
Paragraph (7) of section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended
by inserting ‘‘and Indian tribes or tribal organizations (as
defined in subsections (e) and (l) of section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 450b))’’ after ‘‘law enforcement officials’’.
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (c) of sec-
tion 428 (42 U.S.C. 628) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) For purposes of this section, the terms ‘Indian
tribe’ and ‘tribal organization’ shall have the meanings
given such terms by subsections (e) and (l) of section 4 of
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)), respectively.’’.
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Subchapter H—Medical Support
SEC. 2376. CORRECTION TO ERISA DEFINITION OF MEDICAL
CHILD SUPPORT ORDER.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 609(a)(2)(B) of the Em-
ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
1169(a)(2)(B)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘issued by a court of competent
jurisdiction’’;
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause
(ii) and inserting a comma; and
(3) by adding, after and below clause (ii), the
following:
‘‘if such judgment, decree, or order (I) is issued
by a court of competent jurisdiction or (II) is is-
sued through an administrative process estab-
lished under State law and has the force and ef-
fect of law under applicable State law.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
(2) PLAN AMENDMENTS NOT REQUIRED UNTIL
JANUARY 1, 1997.—Any amendment to a plan required
to be made by an amendment made by this section
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shall not be required to be made before the 1st plan
year beginning on or after January 1, 1997, if—
(A) during the period after the date before
the date of the enactment of this Act and before
such 1st plan year, the plan is operated in ac-
cordance with the requirements of the amend-
ments made by this section; and
(B) such plan amendment applies retro-
actively to the period after the date before the
date of the enactment of this Act and before such
1st plan year.
A plan shall not be treated as failing to be operated
in accordance with the provisions of the plan merely
because it operates in accordance with this para-
graph.
SEC. 2377. ENFORCEMENT OF ORDERS FOR HEALTH CARE
COVERAGE.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by sec-
tions 2315, 2317(a), 2323, 2365, 2369, 2372, and 2373 of
this Act, is amended by inserting after paragraph (18) the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(19) HEALTH
CARE
COVERAGE.—Procedures
under which all child support orders enforced pursu-
ant to this part shall include a provision for the
health care coverage of the child, and in the case in
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which a noncustodial parent provides such coverage
and changes employment, and the new employer pro-
vides health care coverage, the State agency shall
transfer notice of the provision to the employer, which
notice shall operate to enroll the child in the non-
custodial parent’s health plan, unless the noncustodial
parent contests the notice.’’.
Subchapter I—Enhancing Responsibility and
Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents
SEC. 2381. GRANTS TO STATES FOR ACCESS AND VISITA-
TION PROGRAMS.
Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669), as amended
by section 2353 of this Act, is amended by adding at the
end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 469B. GRANTS TO STATES FOR ACCESS AND VISITA-
TION PROGRAMS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administration for Children
and Families shall make grants under this section to enable
States to establish and administer programs to support and
facilitate noncustodial parents’ access to and visitation of
their children, by means of activities including mediation
(both voluntary and mandatory), counseling, education, de-
velopment of parenting plans, visitation enforcement (in-
cluding monitoring, supervision and neutral drop-off and
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pickup), and development of guidelines for visitation and
alternative custody arrangements.
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of the grant
to be made to a State under this section for a fiscal year
(beginning with fiscal year 1998) shall be an amount equal
to the lesser of—
‘‘(1) 90 percent of State expenditures during the
fiscal year for activities described in subsection (a); or
‘‘(2) the allotment of the State under subsection
(c) for the fiscal year.
‘‘(c) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The allotment of a State for
a fiscal year is the amount that bears the same ratio
to $10,000,000 for grants under this section for the
fiscal year as the number of children in the State liv-
ing with only 1 biological parent bears to the total
number of such children in all States.
‘‘(2) MINIMUM
ALLOTMENT.—The Administra-
tion for Children and Families shall adjust allotments
to States under paragraph (1) as necessary to ensure
that no State is allotted less than—
‘‘(A) $50,000 for fiscal year 1998 or 1999
or
‘‘(B) $100,000 for any succeeding fiscal
year.
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‘‘(d) NO SUPPLANTATION OF STATE EXPENDITURES
FOR SIMILAR ACTIVITIES.—A State to which a grant is
made under this section may not use the grant to supplant
expenditures by the State for activities specified in sub-
section (a), but shall use the grant to supplement such ex-
penditures at a level at least equal to the level of such ex-
penditures for fiscal year 1995.
‘‘(e) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—Each State to which a
grant is made under this section—
‘‘(1) may administer State programs funded
with the grant, directly or through grants to or con-
tracts with courts, local public agencies, or nonprofit
private entities;
‘‘(2) shall not be required to operate such pro-
grams on a statewide basis; and
‘‘(3) shall monitor, evaluate, and report on such
programs in accordance with regulations prescribed
by the Secretary.’’.
Subchapter J—Effective Dates and
Conforming Amendments
SEC. 2391. EFFECTIVE DATES AND CONFORMING AMEND-
MENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifically
provided (but subject to subsections (b) and (c))—
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(A) any grant, contract, loan, professional
license, or commercial license provided by an
agency of the United States or by appropriated
funds of the United States; and
(B) any retirement, welfare, health, disabil-
ity, public or assisted housing, postsecondary
education, food assistance, unemployment bene-
fit, or any other similar benefit for which pay-
ments or assistance are provided to an individ-
ual, household, or family eligibility unit by an
agency of the United States or by appropriated
funds of the United States.
(2) Such term shall not apply—
(A) to any contract, professional license, or
commercial license for a nonimmigrant whose
visa for entry is related to such employment in
the United States; or
(B) with respect to benefits for an alien who
as a work authorized nonimmigrant or as an
alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence
under the Immigration and Nationality Act
qualified for such benefits and for whom the
United States under reciprocal treaty agreements
is required to pay benefits, as determined by the