National Rules Proposed on Child Support

Regulations designed to improve interstate enforcement of child-support orders were proposed Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Otis R. Bowen, who said states must give more attention to the problem.

“In our highly mobile society, enforcement of child-support payments cannot stop at state lines,” Bowen said in a statement. “The problem of interstate child-support collection is a serious one.”

Involves 30% of Cases

Bowen estimated that 30% of all child-support enforcement cases involve attempts by one parent to collect money from a former spouse in another state.

The regulations are intended to “clearly spell out specific state responsibilities in pursuing interstate child-support cases and require them to focus greater attention on these cases,” Bowen said.

The regulations, proposed under the Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984, require states to establish a central office to receive out-of-state child-support cases and monitor efforts to enforce judgments.

The regulations set deadlines for acknowledging receipt of out-of-state cases and require standardized reporting forms. The rules proposed by Bowen also specify how states would share the costs of pursuing absent parents who fail to pay child support.

States Get Aid

Under the 1984 legislation, the federal government distributes money to help states operate child-support enforcement programs. In the 1985 fiscal year, the federal government distributed $571 million to states. The legislation provides that states can lose some of this aid if they fail to comply with federal regulations.