Requirement of statutorily prescribed procedures to improve effectiveness of child support enforcement

In order to satisfy section 654(20)(A) of this title, each State must have in effect laws requiring the use of the following procedures, consistent with this section and with regulations of the Secretary, to increase the effectiveness of the program which the State administers under this part: Procedures under which the State child support enforcement agency shall request, and the State shall provide, that for the purpose of enforcing a support order under any State plan approved under this part— Procedures under which— Procedures under which the State is required, in a contested paternity case (unless otherwise barred by State law) to require the child and all other parties (other than individuals found under section 654(29) of this title to have good cause and other exceptions for refusing to cooperate) to submit to genetic tests upon the request of any such party, if the request is supported by a sworn statement by the party— Procedures which require the State agency, in any case in which the agency orders genetic testing— Procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the record of birth of the child of unmarried parents only if— Procedures under which a signed voluntary acknowledgment of paternity is considered a legal finding of paternity, subject to the right of any signatory to rescind the acknowledgment within the earlier of— Procedures— requiring the admission into evidence, for purposes of establishing paternity, of the results of any genetic test that is— Procedures ensuring that, in carrying out subparagraph (A), information with respect to a noncustodial parent is reported— Procedures under which all child support orders which are initially issued in the State on or after January 1, 1994, and are not being enforced under this part will include the following requirements: Procedures which require that any payment or installment of support under any child support order, whether ordered through the State judicial system or through the expedited processes required by paragraph (2), is (on and after the date it is due)— Procedures under which every 3 years (or such shorter cycle as the State may determine), upon the request of either parent or if there is an assignment under part A, the State shall with respect to a support order being enforced under this part, taking into account the best interests of the child involved— Procedures requiring that the social security number of— Procedures under which— the State may, by electronic or other means, transmit to another State a request for assistance in enforcing support orders through high-volume, automated administrative enforcement, which request— shall constitute a certification by the requesting State— the State shall maintain records of— Procedures under which the State has the authority, in any case in which an individual owes overdue support with respect to a child receiving assistance under a State program funded under part A, to issue an order or to request that a court or an administrative process established pursuant to State law issue an order that requires the individual to— Procedures under which the State agency shall enter into agreements with financial institutions doing business in the State— A financial institution shall not be liable under any Federal or State law to any person— For purposes of this paragraph— Procedures under which— unless alternative coverage is allowed for in any order of the court (or other entity issuing the child support order), in any case in which a parent is required under the child support order to provide such health care coverage and the employer of such parent is known to the State agency— The procedures referred to in subsection (a)(1)(A) (relating to the withholding from income of amounts payable as support) must provide for the following: The income of a noncustodial parent shall become subject to such withholding, in the case of income not subject to withholding under subparagraph (A), on the date on which the payments which the noncustodial parent has failed to make under a support order are at least equal to the support payable for one month or, if earlier, and without regard to whether there is an arrearage, the earliest of— Such withholding must be carried out in full compliance with all procedural due process requirements of the State, and the State must send notice to each noncustodial parent to whom paragraph (1) applies— The employer of any noncustodial parent to whom paragraph (1) applies, upon being given notice as described in clause (ii), must be required to withhold from such noncustodial parent’s income the amount specified by such notice (which may include a fee, established by the State, to be paid to the employer unless waived by such employer) and pay such amount (after deducting and retaining any portion thereof which represents the fee so established) to the State disbursement unit within 7 business days after the date the amount would (but for this subsection) have been paid or credited to the employee, for distribution in accordance with this part. The employer shall withhold funds as directed in the notice, except that when an employer receives an income withholding order issued by another State, the employer shall apply the income withholding law of the State of the obligor’s principal place of employment in determining— Provision must be made for the imposition of a fine against any employer who— The procedures specified in this subsection are the following: Procedures which give the State agency the authority to take the following actions relating to establishment of paternity or to establishment, modification, or enforcement of support orders, without the necessity of obtaining an order from any other judicial or administrative tribunal, and to recognize and enforce the authority of State agencies of other States to take the following actions: To order genetic testing for the purpose of paternity establishment as provided in subsection (a)(5). To subpoena any financial or other information needed to establish, modify, or enforce a support order, and to impose penalties for failure to respond to such a subpoena. To require all entities in the State (including for-profit, nonprofit, and governmental employers) to provide promptly, in response to a request by the State agency of that or any other State administering a program under this part, information on the employment, compensation, and benefits of any individual employed by such entity as an employee or contractor, and to sanction failure to respond to any such request. To obtain access, subject to safeguards on privacy and information security, and subject to the nonliability of entities that afford such access under this subparagraph, to information contained in the following records (including automated access, in the case of records maintained in automated data bases): Records of other State and local government agencies, including— Certain records held by private entities with respect to individuals who owe or are owed support (or against or with respect to whom a support obligation is sought), consisting of— In cases in which support is subject to an assignment in order to comply with a requirement imposed pursuant to part A, part E, or section 1396k of this title, or to a requirement to pay through the State disbursement unit established pursuant to section 654b of this title, upon providing notice to obligor and obligee, to direct the obligor or other payor to change the payee to the appropriate government entity. To order income withholding in accordance with subsections (a)(1)(A) and (b). In cases in which there is a support arrearage, to secure assets to satisfy any current support obligation and the arrearage by— intercepting or seizing periodic or lump-sum payments from— For the purpose of securing overdue support, to increase the amount of monthly support payments to include amounts for arrearages, subject to such conditions or limitations as the State may provide. The expedited procedures required under subsection (a)(2) shall include the following rules and authority, applicable with respect to all proceedings to establish paternity or to establish, modify, or enforce support orders: Procedures under which— Procedures under which— Notwithstanding subsection (d) of section 514 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 [29 U.S.C. 1144(d)] (relating to effect on other laws), nothing in this subsection shall be construed to alter, amend, modify, invalidate, impair, or supersede subsections (a), (b), and (c) of such section 514 [29 U.S.C. 1144(a)–(c)] as it applies with respect to any procedure referred to in paragraph (1) and any expedited procedure referred to in paragraph (2), except to the extent that such procedure would be consistent with the requirements of section 206(d)(3) of such Act [29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)] (relating to qualified domestic relations orders) or the requirements of section 609(a) of such Act [29 U.S.C. 1169(a)] (relating to qualified medical child support orders) if the reference in such section 206(d)(3) to a domestic relations order and the reference in such section 609(a) to a medical child support order were a reference to a support order referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) relating to the same matters, respectively. If a State demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary, through the presentation to the Secretary of such data pertaining to caseloads, processing times, administrative costs, and average support collections, and such other data or estimates as the Secretary may specify, that the enactment of any law or the use of any procedure or procedures required by or pursuant to this section will not increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the State child support enforcement program, the Secretary may exempt the State, subject to the Secretary’s continuing review and to termination of the exemption should circumstances change, from the requirement to enact the law or use the procedure or procedures involved. For purposes of this section, the term “overdue support” means the amount of a delinquency pursuant to an obligation determined under a court order, or an order of an administrative process established under State law, for support and maintenance of a minor child which is owed to or on behalf of such child, or for support and maintenance of the noncustodial parent’s spouse (or former spouse) with whom the child is living if and to the extent that spousal support (with respect to such spouse or former spouse) would be included for purposes of section 654(4) of this title. At the option of the State, overdue support may include amounts which otherwise meet the definition in the first sentence of this subsection but which are owed to or on behalf of a child who is not a minor child. The option to include support owed to children who are not minors shall apply independently to each procedure specified under this section. In order to satisfy section 654(20)(A) of this title, each State must have in effect the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, as approved by the American Bar Association on February 9, 1993, including any amendments officially adopted as of September 30, 2008 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. In order to satisfy section 654(20)(A) of this title, each State must have in effect— procedures under which, in any case in which the State knows of a transfer by a child support debtor with respect to which such a prima facie case is established, the State must—