article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Child Support Assurance Act of 1994''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that-- (1) the number of single-parent households has increased significantly; (2) there is a high correlation between childhood poverty and growing up in a single-parent household; (3) family dissolution often brings the economic consequence of a lower standard of living for the custodian and children; (4) children are nearly twice as likely to be in poverty after a family dissolution as before a family dissolution; (5) one-fourth of the single mothers who are owed child support receive none and another one-fourth of such mothers receive only partial child support payments; (6) single mothers above and below the poverty line are equally likely to receive none of the child support they are owed; and (7) the failure of children to receive an adequate level of child support limits the ability of such children to thrive and to develop their potential and leads to long-term societal costs in terms of health care, welfare, and loss in labor force productivity. (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to enable participating States to establish child support assurance systems in order to improve the economic circumstances of children who do not receive a minimum level of child support from the noncustodial parents of such children and to strengthen the establishment and enforcement of child support awards. The child support assurance approach is structured on a demonstration basis in order to implement and evaluate different options with respect to the provision of intensive support services and mechanisms for administering the program on a national basis. SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT ASSURANCE DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. (a) In General.--In order to encourage States to provide a guaranteed minimum level of child support for every eligible child not receiving such support, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (hereafter in this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall make grants to not more 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 Governor of a State and shall-- (1) contain a description of the proposed child support assurance project to be established, implemented, or improved using amounts provided under this section, including the level of the assured benefit to be provided, the specific activities to be undertaken, 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 they will be entitled on average as individuals and in the aggregate; (4) describe the child support guidelines and review 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 and not more than 5 consecutive fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 1996; (6) contain assurances that the State-- (A) is currently at or above the national median paternity establishment rate (as defined in section 452(g)(2) of the Social Security Act), (B) will improve the performance of the agency designated by the State to carry out the requirements under part D of title IV of the Social Security Act by at least 4 percent each year in which the State operates a child support assurance project under this section in-- (i) the number of cases in which paternity is established when required; (ii) the number of cases in which child support orders are obtained; and (iii) the number of cases with child support orders in which collections are made; and (C) to the maximum extent possible under current law, will use Federal, State, and local job training assistance to assist individuals who have been determined to be unable to meet such individuals' child support obligations; (7) describe the extent to which multiple agencies, including those responsible for administering the Aid to Families With Dependent Children Program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act and child support collection, enforcement, and payment under part D of such title, will be involved in the design and operation of the child support assurance project; and (8) contain such other information as the Secretary may require by regulation. (c) Use of Funds.--A State shall use amounts provided 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 eligible child in the State to the extent that such minimum child support 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) any child (as defined in paragraph (2)) with a living noncustodial parent for whom a child support order has been sought (as defined in paragraph (3)) or obtained and any child who meets ``good cause'' criteria for not seeking or enforcing a support order is eligible for the assured child support benefit; (B) the assured child support benefit shall be paid promptly to the custodial parent at least once a month and shall be-- (i) an amount determined by the State which is-- (I) not less than $1,500 per year for the first child, $1,000 per year for the second child, and $500 per year for the third and each subsequent child, and (II) not more than $3,000 per year for the first child and $1,000 per year for the second and each subsequent child; (ii) offset and reduced to the extent that the custodial parent receives child support in a month from the noncustodial parent; (iii) indexed and adjusted for inflation; and (iv) in the case of a family of children with multiple noncustodial parents, calculated in the same manner as if all such children were full siblings, but any child support payment from a particular noncustodial parent shall only be applied against the assured child support benefit for the child or children of that particular noncustodial parent; (C) for purposes of determining the need of a child or relative and the level of assistance, one-half of the amount received as a child support payment shall be disregarded from income until the total amount of child support and Aid to Families With Dependent Children benefit received under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act equals the Federal poverty level for a family of comparable size; (D) in the event that the family as a whole becomes ineligible for Aid to Families With Dependent Children under part A of the Social Security Act due to consideration of assured child support benefits, the continuing eligibility of the caretaker for Aid to Families With Dependent Children under such title shall be calculated without consideration of the assured child support benefit; and (E) in order to participate in the child support assurance project, the child's caretaker shall apply for services of the State's child support enforcement program under part D of title IV of the Social Security Act. (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 for by the law of the State in which such individual resides. (3) For purposes of this section, a child support order shall be deemed to have been ``sought'' where an individual has applied for services from the State agency designated by the State to carry out the requirements of part D of title IV of the Social Security Act or has sought a child support order through representation by private or public counsel or pro se. (e) Consideration and Priority of Applications.--(1) The Secretary shall consider all applications received from States desiring to conduct demonstration projects under this section and shall approve not more than 6 applications which appear likely to contribute significantly to the achievement of the purpose of this section. In selecting States to conduct demonstration projects under this section, the Secretary shall-- (A) ensure that the applications selected represent a diversity of minimum benefits distributed throughout the range specified in subsection (d)(1)(B)(i); (B) consider the geographic dispersion and variation in population of the applicants; (C) give priority to States the applications of which demonstrate-- (i) significant recent improvements in-- (I) establishing paternity and child support awards, (II) enforcement of child support awards, and (III) collection of child support payments; (ii) a record of effective automation; and (iii) that efforts will be made to link child support systems with other service delivery systems; (D) ensure that the proposed projects will be of a size sufficient to obtain a meaningful measure of the effects of child support assurance; (E) give priority, first, to States intending to operate a child support assurance project on a statewide basis, and, second, to States that are committed to phasing in an expansion of such project to the entire State, if interim evaluations suggest such expansion is warranted; and (F) ensure that, if feasible, the States selected use a variety of approaches for child support guidelines. (2) Of the States selected to participate in the demonstration projects conducted under this section, the Secretary shall require, if feasible-- (A) that at least 2 provide intensive integrated social services for low-income participants in the child support assurance project, for the purpose of assisting such participants in improving their employment, housing, health, and educational status; and (B) that at least 2 have adopted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. (f) Duration.--(1) During fiscal year 1995, the Secretary shall develop criteria, select the States to participate in the demonstration, and plan for the evaluation required under subsection (h). The demonstration projects conducted under this section shall commence on October 1, 1995, and shall be conducted for not less than 3 and not more than 5 consecutive fiscal years, except that the Secretary may terminate a project before the end of such period if the Secretary determines that the State conducting the project is not in substantial compliance with the terms of the application approved by the Secretary under this section. (g) Cost Savings Recovery.--The Secretary shall develop a methodology to identify any State cost savings realized in connection with the implementation of a child support assurance project conducted under this Act. Any such savings realized as a result of the implementation of a child support assurance project shall be utilized for child support enforcement improvements or expansions and improvements in the Aid to Families With Dependent Children Program conducted under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act within the participating State. (h) Evaluation and Report to Congress.--(1) The Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the demonstration projects funded under this section. The evaluation shall include an assessment of the effect of an assured benefit on-- (A) income from nongovernment sources and the number of hours worked; (B) the use and amount of government supports; (C) the ability to accumulate resources; (D) the well-being of the children, including educational attainment and school behavior; and (E) the State's rates of establishing paternity and support orders and of collecting support. (2) Three and 5 years after commencement of the demonstration projects, the Secretary shall submit an interim and final report based on the evaluation to the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate, and the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives concerning the effectiveness of the child support assurance projects funded under this section. (i) State Reports.--The Secretary shall require each State that conducts a demonstration project under this section to annually report such information on the project's operation as the Secretary may require, except that all such information shall be reported according to a uniform format prescribed by the Secretary. (j) Restrictions on Matching and Use of Funds.--(1) A State conducting a demonstration project under this section shall be required-- (A) except as provided in paragraph (2), to provide not less than 20 percent of the total amounts expended in each calendar year of the project to pay the costs associated with the project funded under this section; (B) to maintain its level of expenditures for child support collection, enforcement, and payment at the same level, or at a higher level, than such expenditures were prior to such State's participation in a demonstration project provided by this section; and (C) to maintain the Aid to Families With Dependent Children benefits provided under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act at the same level, or at a higher level, as the level of such benefits on the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) A State participating in a demonstration project under this section may provide no less than 10 percent 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)(B). (k) Coordination With Certain Means-Tested Programs.--For purposes of-- (1) the United States Housing Act of 1937; (2) title V of the Housing Act of 1949; (3) section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965; (4) sections 221(d)(3), 235, and 236 of the National Housing Act; (5) the Food Stamp Act of 1977; (6) title XIX of the Social Security Act; and (7) child care assistance provided through part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, or title XX of the Social Security Act, any payment made to an individual within the demonstration project area for child support up to the amount which an assured child support benefit would provide shall not be treated as income and shall not be taken into account in determining resources for the month of its receipt and the following month. (l) Treatment of Child Support Benefit.--Any assured child support benefit received by an individual under this Act shall be considered child support for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (m) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary in each of the fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 to carry out the purposes of this Act.
summary: Child Support Assurance Act of 1994 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to up to six States for demonstration programs to establish or improve a system of assured minimum child support payments. Requires the custodial parent to have, or be in the process of obtaining, a child support award, or the child to have good cause for the absence of such an award, to qualify for the program. Authorizes appropriations.