Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that eliminate non-federal cost sharing requirements for Tribal child support enforcement activities, including the 90/10 and the 80/20 cost sharing requirements.
The Child Support Enforcement Program works to locate noncustodial parents, establish paternity, establish and enforce support orders, collect and distribute child support payments, and refer parents to other services. These programs also help ensure that noncustodial parents provide financial support for their children. Under OCSE, Tribal Nations can apply to administer their own child support enforcement programs and receive federal funding to do so. Prior to this new rule, Tribal Nations received 90% of the funding required to operate a program for the first three years, and 80% of the funding required to operate the program in the fourth year and beyond. Tribal Nations were required to provide the remaining 10-20% of funding in cash or in-kind investments in the program. Under the proposed rule, OCSE will eliminate the Tribal cost share requirement as it limits growth, causes disruptions, and creates instability in the programs. Eliminating these requirements will encourage expansion of services, eliminate funding uncertainty for existing programs, and will remove barriers for Tribal Nations considering taking on the administration of child support enforcement programs.
OCSE will take and consider written comments on this NPRM until June 20, 2023. Instructions for submitting comments through Regulations.gov are included in the NPRM.
For more information, please contact Ashton Martin, USET SPF Health Policy Analyst, at amartin@usetinc.org.
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