Strengthen and Vitalize Enforcement of Child Support (SAVE Child Support) Act

Bill: 111-s-3848
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2010-09-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Families
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Child safety and welfare
Congressional oversight
Consumer credit
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Government information and archives
Intergovernmental relations
International organizations and cooperation
Licensing and registrations
Life, casualty, property insurance
Poverty and welfare assistance
Separation, divorce, custody, support
State and local government operations
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2010-09-28
text: 
Strengthen and Vitalize Enforcement of Child Support (SAVE Child Support) Act - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require states to adopt the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, including any amendments officially adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
 
Amends the federal judicial code with regard to full faith and credit for a child support order and continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the order. Declares that a court of a state that has made a child support order has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify it, if the order is the controlling order and the state is the child's state or the residence of any individual contestant, or the contestants consent in a record or open court that the court may continue to exercise jurisdiction to modify its order. Denies such jurisdiction to the first state after the court of another state has made a modification of the order pursuant to established guidelines.
 
Amends SSA title IV part D to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) utilize federal and state enforcement mechanisms in furtherance of the U.S. national policy to comply fully with the obligations of any multilateral child support convention to which the United States is a party; and (2) take necessary steps to ensure compliance with the U.S. treaty obligations under such convention in the event that a state child support enforcement plan does not comply.
 
Authorizes access to the Federal Parent Locator Service for any entity designated as a Central Authority for child support enforcement in a foreign reciprocating country or a foreign treaty country.
 
Requires a state to establish a centralized registry for liens that arise by operation of law against real and personal property for amounts of overdue support owed by a noncustodial parent who resides or owns property in the state. 
 
Requires the Secretary (who, under current law, is merely authorized), through the Federal Parent Locator Service, to compare information concerning individuals owing past-due support with information maintained by insurers (or their agents) concerning insurance claims, settlements, awards, and payments. 
 
Requires a state to establish a registry of payments made on property and casualty insurance claims for purposes of matching individuals with overdue child support.
 
Modifies passport denial procedures in cases of individuals with arrearages of overdue child support.
 
Establishes an expedited process to withhold or suspend driver's or other licenses for nonpayment of such arrearages.
 
Provides for a data match system, using automated data exchanges for the names of incarcerated individuals who have child support orders in order to increase coordination between the state agency and corrections agencies.
 
Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act, with respect to preventing deceptive and harassing practices by debt collection agencies, to subject to its coverage private child support collection agencies and any debt arising from a child support order.
 
Requires a state plan for child and spousal support to provide for a process for including in mandatory annual reviews and reports on the state program information on the policies and practices the state has implemented or plans to implement to facilitate access to and visitation of children by noncustodial parents.
 
Requires the Attorney General to report annually to Congress on the number of individuals prosecuted for failure to pay child support obligations.
 
Requires all child and spousal support application fees to be recovered from the absent parent. Repeals the requirement that such fees be paid by the individual applying for child support collection services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-09-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2010-09-28
text: Introduced in Senate