[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 140 (Thursday, October 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10818-S10819]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CHILD SUPPORT INCENTIVE BILL

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I am extremely pleased to join my 
colleague, Senator Rockefeller, in introducing the Child Support 
Performance Improvement Act of 1997. This bill establishes a new 
formula for State child support incentive payments, in order to reward 
those States which truly excel at collecting child support. Over the 
years, Senator Rockefeller has shown an extraordinary commitment to 
children and families across America, and his leadership on this bill 
represents more of the same.
  Mr. President, States need to crack down on deadbeat parents who 
renege on their financial responsibilities to their children. While 
noncustodial parents owed $47 billion in child support in 1995, States 
collected only $14 billion. Collections increased to approximately $16 
billion in 1996, and are likely to further increase as the result of 
tough new child support reforms which I authored and which were 
contained in the Welfare Reform Act.
  States performance in collecting child support varies tremendously. 
For example, Maine has worked very hard to successfully improve its 
child support collections. While Maine has collected over $580 million 
since 1975, half of that amount--$286 million--was collected within the 
past 5 years. Last year alone, Maine collected almost $72 million, 
representing a 10-percent increase over the previous year. This 
considerable improvement is due to comprehensive State reforms 
pioneered under Governor John McKernan in 1993, and Federal child 
support reforms contained in the Welfare Act. But not all States share 
this heightened commitment to collecting support. That is why my child 
support provisions in the Welfare Reform Act required the Secretary of 
HHS, in consultation with the States, to develop a new formula for 
State incentive payments that is based on performance, in order to 
further improve State collections, and to report back to Congress on 
the subject. The bill that Senator Rockefeller and I introduce today is 
based on that report.
  Under current law, the Federal Government provides States with an 
extra incentive payment in order to increase child support collections. 
The current formula for incentive payments is based on the cost-
effectiveness of a State's child support collection program--the 
collection-to-cost ratio--meaning that States are rewarded for bringing 
in more dollars for each dollar they invest in the program. Incentive 
payments start at 6 percent of collections, and rise as high as 10 
percent for the most cost-effective States. In fiscal year 1995, 
Federal incentive payments to States were $400 million, nearly 33 
percent of the gross Federal share of child support collections.
  Mr. President, the current system does not make sense in that every 
State, no matter how dismal its record in collecting child support, 
receives a minimum incentive payment. This perpetuates mediocrity and 
does not serve children. Instead, States should be rewarded on the 
basis of performance outcomes that will help children, such as 
establishing paternity and support orders quickly, obtaining medical 
support, and collecting support on a regular basis so families can rely 
on it.
  The Child Support Performance Improvement Act establishes a formula 
which takes into account performance-based measures and standards in 
five areas: establishing of paternity; establishing child support 
orders; collecting currently-owed support; cost-effectiveness; and 
collection of past-due support. The first three measures receive the 
most weight in the formula because they translate most directly into 
support that helps keep families financially self-sufficient. Giving 
them more weight will help concentrate State efforts where they matter 
most.
  Under our bill, States would only qualify for incentive payments if 
they meet threshold performance requirements in these five areas. 
States that perform below the threshold level can qualify for minimum 
incentive payments only if they significantly improve their performance 
compared to performance in a prior year. The bill also requires the 
Secretary of HHS to establish standards for collecting medical support 
to be implemented later, to ensure that children of divorced parents 
have health insurance. Finally, the bill requires States, for the first 
time, to reinvest their incentive payments back into the child support 
system, so they can further improve collections and better serve 
children.

[[Page S10819]]

  Mr. President, this bill will significantly help families to obtain 
the child support owed to them so they can remain financially self-
sufficient. I urge my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.

                          ____________________