United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-02-15 monographic deposited born digital 52 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-239 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-239 P0b002ee18038dc8f f:d02239 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-239 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-239 GAO-02-239 Child support payments Collection procedures Data collection Federal/state relations Late payments Law enforcement information systems Licenses Social security number State-administered programs Child Support Enforcement Program Other Written Product A02662

Congress established a national child support enforcement (CSE) program in 1965 to ensure that noncustodial parents financially support their children. In fiscal year 2000, the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) estimated that $84 billion in past-due child support was owed, but never collected. The Social Security Act contains provisions to help child support agencies collect support when noncustodial parents or their income and assets are hard to find. The Act mandates that states enact laws requiring social security numbers (SSNs) on applications for a driver's license. State CSE programs rely on SSNs to locate the addresses, income, and assets of noncustodial parents. Motor vehicle agencies can be a valuable source of SSNs that CSE programs have difficulty obtaining elsewhere. The Act also requires that states suspend, withhold, or restrict the driver's licenses of noncustodial parents delinquent in child support payments. Most motor vehicle agencies that GAO surveyed collect SSNs from all applicants for driver's licenses, but OCSE has taken few steps to promote such collection in states not currently doing so. Although state officials and privacy experts expressed few concerns about motor vehicle agencies collecting SSNs for child support enforcement, possible weaknesses in the policies and procedures in use to safeguard SSNs indicate the potential for compromising privacy. Child support enforcement officials in 35 states told GAO that their agencies use driver's license suspension extensively, which has led to the collection of some payments. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-239/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-239.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-239/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-239.pdf GAO-02-239 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-239 Other Written Product GAO-02-239; Child Support Enforcement: Most States Collect Drivers' SSNs and Use Them to Enforce Child Support; Child support payments Collection procedures Data collection Federal/state relations Late payments Law enforcement information systems Licenses Social security number State-administered programs Child Support Enforcement Program Title 442 Section 5Public Title 442 Section 651et seq. 442 U.S.C. 5Public 442 U.S.C. 651et seq.