[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 231 (Monday, December 2, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71605-71606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-30453]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 4191]


Notice of Declaration of Foreign Countries as Reciprocating 
Countries for the Enforcement of Family Support (Maintenance) 
Obligations

    Agency: Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State.
    This notice amends and supplements Department of State public 
notice 3802, 66 FR 58544 (November 21, 2001).
    Section 459A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 659A) authorizes 
the Secretary of State with the concurrence of the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services to declare foreign countries or their political 
subdivisions to be reciprocating countries for the purpose of the 
enforcement of family support obligations if the country has 
established or has undertaken to establish procedures for the 
establishment and enforcement of duties of support for residents of the 
United States. These procedures must be in substantial conformity with 
the standards set forth in the statute. The statutory standards are: 
Establishment of child support orders, including the establishment of 
paternity if necessary to establish the order; enforcement of child 
support orders, including collection and distribution of payments under 
such orders; cost-free services (including administrative and legal 
services, as well as paternity testing; and the designation of an 
agency as Central Authority to facilitate enforcement.
    Once such a declaration is made, support agencies in jurisdictions 
of the United States participating in the program established by title 
IV-D of the Social Security Act (the IV-D program) must provide 
enforcement services under that program to such reciprocating countries 
as if the request for service came from a U.S. state.
    The declaration authorized by the statute may be made ``in the form 
of an international agreement, in connection with an international 
agreement or corresponding foreign declaration, or on a unilateral 
basis.'' The Secretary of State has authorized either the Legal Adviser 
or the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs to make such a 
declaration after consultation with the other.
    As of this date, the following countries (or Canadian provinces) 
have

[[Page 71606]]

been designated foreign reciprocating countries:

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                Country                          Effective date
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Australia.............................  May 21, 2001.
Canadian Provinces:
  Alberta.............................  Sept. 4, 2002.
  British Columbia....................  Dec. 15, 1999.
  Manitoba............................  July 11, 2000.
  Newfoundland/Labrador...............  August 7, 2002.
  Nova Scotia.........................  Dec. 18, 1998.
  Ontario.............................  August 7, 2002.
Czech Republic........................  May 3, 2000.
Ireland...............................  Sept. 10, 1997.
Netherlands...........................  May 1, 2002.
Norway................................  June 10, 2002.
Poland................................  June 14, 1999.
Portugal..............................  Mar. 17, 2001.
Slovak Republic.......................  Feb. 1, 1998.
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Information

    Each of these countries (or Canadian provinces) has designated a 
Central Authority to facilitate enforcement and ensure compliance with 
the standards of the statute. Information relating to the designated 
Central Authorities, and the procedures for processing requests may be 
obtained by contacting the United States Central Authority for 
International Child Support, Department of Health and Human Services, 
Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), 370 L'Enfant Promenade, 
SW., 4-East, Washington, DC 20447; phone 202.401.5566, fax 
202.401.5539, e-mail [email protected].
    Questions regarding this notice, the status of negotiations, 
declarations and agreements may be obtained by contacting Mary Helen 
Carlson at the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private 
International Law, Suite 203 South Building, 2430 E Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20037-2851; phone 202.776.8420, fax 202.776.8482, E-mail 
[email protected].
    The law also permits individual states of the United States to 
establish or continue existing reciprocating arrangements with foreign 
countries when there has been no federal declaration. Many states have 
such arrangements with additional countries not yet the subject of a 
federal declaration. Information as to these arrangements may be 
obtained from the individual state IV-D Agency.

Jeffrey D. Kovar,
Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law, Department of 
State.
[FR Doc. 02-30453 Filed 11-29-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-08-P