42 U.S.C. § 667 — State guidelines for child support awards

Page 2350 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 667 shall become effective on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1986]. ‘‘(2) In the case of a State with respect to which the Secretary of Health and Human Services has deter- mined that State legislation is required in order to con- form the State plan approved under part D of title IV of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.] to the requirements imposed by the amendment made by sub- section (a) [amending this section], the State plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the require- ments of such part solely by reason of its failure to meet the requirements imposed by such amendment prior to the beginning of the fourth month beginning after the end of the first session of the State legislature which ends on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1986]. For purposes of the preceding sen- tence, the term ‘session’ means a regular, special, budg- et, or other session of a State legislature.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1985, except that subsec. (e) effective with respect to support owed for any month beginning after Aug. 16, 1984, see section 3(g) of Pub. L. 98–378, set out as an Effective Date of 1984 Amendment note under section 654 of this title. STUDY ON MAKING IMMEDIATE INCOME WITHHOLDING MANDATORY IN ALL CASES Pub. L. 100–485, title I, § 101(c), Oct. 13, 1988, 102 Stat. 2345, directed Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study of administrative feasibility, cost implications, and other effects of requiring immediate income withholding with respect to all child support awards in a State and report on results of such study not later than 3 years after Oct. 13, 1988. STUDY OF IMPACT OF EXTENDING PERIODIC REVIEW REQUIREMENTS TO ALL OTHER CASES Pub. L. 100–485, title I, § 103(d), Oct. 13, 1988, 102 Stat. 2347, directed Secretary of Health and Human Re- sources, within 2 years after Oct. 13, 1988, to conduct and complete a study to determine impact on child sup- port awards and the courts of requiring each State to periodically review all child support orders in effect in the State. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FOR EVALUATING MODEL PROCEDURES FOR REVIEWING CHILD SUPPORT AWARDS Pub. L. 100–485, title I, § 103(e), Oct. 13, 1988, 102 Stat. 2347, authorized an agreement between Secretary of Health and Human Services and each State submitting an application for purpose of conducting a demonstra- tion project to test and evaluate model procedures for reviewing child support award amounts, directed that such projects be commenced not later than Sept. 30, 1989, and be conducted for a 2-year period, and directed Secretary to report results of such projects to Congress not later than 6 months after all projects are com- pleted. COMMISSION ON INTERSTATE CHILD SUPPORT Pub. L. 100–485, title I, § 126, Oct. 13, 1988, 102 Stat. 2354, as amended by Pub. L. 101–508, title V, § 5012(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–221; Pub. L. 102–318, title V, § 534(a), July 3, 1992, 106 Stat. 317, established Commis- sion on Interstate Child Support to hold national con- ferences on interstate child support reform and prepare report to Congress containing recommendations for im- proving interstate establishment and enforcement of child support awards and for revising Uniform Recip- rocal Enforcement of Support Act and provided for powers of the Commission, appropriations, and termi- nation of the Commission on Sept. 30, 1992. § 667. State guidelines for child support awards (a) Establishment of guidelines; method Each State, as a condition for having its State plan approved under this part, must establish guidelines for child support award amounts within the State. The guidelines may be estab- lished by law or by judicial or administrative action, and shall be reviewed at least once every 4 years to ensure that their application results in the determination of appropriate child sup- port award amounts. (b) Availability of guidelines; rebuttable pre- sumption (1) The guidelines established pursuant to sub- section (a) shall be made available to all judges and other officials who have the power to deter- mine child support awards within such State. (2) There shall be a rebuttable presumption, in any judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child support, that the amount of the award which would result from the applica- tion of such guidelines is the correct amount of child support to be awarded. A written finding or specific finding on the record that the appli- cation of the guidelines would be unjust or inap- propriate in a particular case, as determined under criteria established by the State, shall be sufficient to rebut the presumption in that case. (c) Technical assistance to States; State to fur- nish Secretary with copies The Secretary shall furnish technical assist- ance to the States for establishing the guide- lines, and each State shall furnish the Secretary with copies of its guidelines. (Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 467, as added Pub. L. 98–378, § 18(a), Aug. 16, 1984, 98 Stat. 1321; amended Pub. L. 100–485, title I, § 103(a), (b), Oct. 13, 1988, 102 Stat. 2346.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–485, § 103(b), inserted ‘‘, and shall be reviewed at least once every 4 years to ensure that their application results in the determina- tion of appropriate child support award amounts’’ be- fore period at end. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–485, § 103(a), designated exist- ing provisions as par. (1), struck out ‘‘, but need not be binding upon such judges or other officials’’ after ‘‘within such State’’, and added par. (2). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 100–485 effective one year after Oct. 13, 1988, see section 103(f) of Pub. L. 100–485, set out as a note under section 666 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 98–378, § 18(b), Aug. 16, 1984, 98 Stat. 1322, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendment made by subsection (a) [enacting this section] shall become effective on Octo- ber 1, 1987.’’ STUDY OF CHILD-REARING COSTS Pub. L. 100–485, title I, § 128, Oct. 13, 1988, 102 Stat. 2356, directed Secretary of Health and Human Services, by grant or contract, to conduct a study of patterns of expenditures on children in 2-parent families, in single- parent families following divorce or separation, and in single-parent families in which parents were never married, giving particular attention to the relative standards of living in households in which both parents and all of the children do not live together, and submit to Congress no later than 2 years after Oct. 13, 1988, a Page 2351 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 669a full and complete report of results of such study, in- cluding recommendations for legislative, administra- tive, and other actions. § 668. Encouragement of States to adopt civil pro- cedure for establishing paternity in con- tested cases In the administration of the child support en- forcement program under this part, each State is encouraged to establish and implement a civil procedure for establishing paternity in con- tested cases. (Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 468, as added Pub. L. 100–485, title I, § 111(d), Oct. 13, 1988, 102 Stat. 2350; amended Pub. L. 104–193, title III, § 331(c), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2230.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1996—Pub. L. 104–193 struck out ‘‘a simple civil proc- ess for voluntarily acknowledging paternity and’’ after ‘‘implement’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 104–193, see section 395(a)–(c) of Pub. L. 104–193, set out as a note under section 654 of this title. § 669. Collection and reporting of child support enforcement data (a) In general With respect to each type of service described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall collect and maintain up-to-date statistics, by State, and on a fiscal year basis, on— (1) the number of cases in the caseload of the State agency administering the plan approved under this part in which the service is needed; and (2) the number of such cases in which the service has actually been provided. (b) Types of services The statistics required by subsection (a) shall be separately stated with respect to paternity establishment services and child support obliga- tion establishment services. (c) Types of service recipients The statistics required by subsection (a) shall be separately stated with respect to— (1) recipients of assistance under a State program funded under part A or of payments or services under a State plan approved under part E; and (2) individuals who are not such recipients. (d) Rule of interpretation For purposes of subsection (a)(2), a service has actually been provided when the task described by the service has been accomplished. (Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 469, as added Pub. L. 100–485, title I, § 129, Oct. 13, 1988, 102 Stat. 2356; amended Pub. L. 100–647, title VIII, § 8105(6), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3797; Pub. L. 104–193, title I, § 108(c)(16), title III, § 395(d)(2)(E), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2166, 2260; Pub. L. 105–200, title IV, § 407(a), July 16, 1998, 112 Stat. 672.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1998—Pub. L. 105–200 reenacted section catchline without change, added subsecs. (a) to (c), redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d) and inserted heading, and struck out former subsec. (a) relating to statistics on need for and actual provision of services and subsec. (b) relating to types of services. 1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–193, § 108(c)(16), sub- stituted ‘‘assistance under State programs funded under part A of this subchapter and for families not re- ceiving such assistance)’’ for ‘‘aid under plans approved under part A of this subchapter and for families not re- ceiving such aid)’’. Subsec. (b)(2), (4). Pub. L. 104–193, § 395(d)(2)(E), sub- stituted ‘‘a noncustodial parent’’ for ‘‘an absent par- ent’’. 1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–647 made technical amendment to references to part A of this subchapter and to this part involving underlying provisions of original act and requiring no change in text. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1998 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 105–200 applicable to informa- tion maintained with respect to fiscal year 1995 or any succeeding fiscal year, see section 407(c) of Pub. L. 105–200, set out as a note under section 652 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 108(c)(16) of Pub. L. 104–193 ef- fective July 1, 1997, with transition rules relating to State options to accelerate such date, rules relating to claims, actions, and proceedings commenced before such date, rules relating to closing out of accounts for terminated or substantially modified programs and continuance in office of Assistant Secretary for Family Support, and provisions relating to termination of enti- tlement under AFDC program, see section 116 of Pub. L. 104–193, as amended, set out as an Effective Date note under section 601 of this title. For effective date of amendment by section 395(d)(2)(E) of Pub. L. 104–193, see section 395(a)–(c) of Pub. L. 104–193, set out as a note under section 654 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 100–647, title VIII, § 8105, Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3797, provided that the amendment made by that section is effective on date of enactment of Family Support Act of 1988, Pub. L. 100–485, which was ap- proved Oct. 13, 1988. § 669a. Nonliability for financial institutions pro- viding financial records to State child sup- port enforcement agencies in child support cases (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of Fed- eral or State law, a financial institution shall not be liable under any Federal or State law to any person for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforce- ment agency attempting to establish, modify, or enforce a child support obligation of such indi- vidual, or for disclosing any such record to the Federal Parent Locator Service pursuant to sec- tion 666(a)(17)(A) of this title. (b) Prohibition of disclosure of financial record obtained by State child support enforcement agency A State child support enforcement agency which obtains a financial record of an individual