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 2008-01-23 monographic deposited born digital 40 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-100 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-100 P0b002ee1803812a4 f:d08100 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-100 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-100 GAO-08-100 Bankruptcy Child support payments Cost analysis Data collection Data integrity Databases Federal/state relations Law enforcement Noncompliance Policy evaluation Program evaluation Social security number Strategic planning Data coordination Data sharing Program goals or objectives DOJ U.S. Trustee Program HHS Child Support Enforcement Program Other Written Product A80049

Recognizing the importance of child support, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 requires that if a parent with child support obligations files for bankruptcy, a bankruptcy trustee must notify the relevant custodial parent and state child support enforcement agency so that they may participate in the case. The act also required GAO to study the feasibility of matching bankruptcy records with child support records to assure that filers with child support obligations are identified. GAO therefore (1) identified the percent of bankruptcy filers with obligations nationwide, (2) examined the potential for routine data matching to facilitate the identification of filers with child support obligations, and (3) studied the feasibility and cost of doing so. GAO interviewed child support enforcement and bankruptcy officials at the federal level and in six states. GAO also conducted a nationwide test data match and reviewed national bankruptcy filings for people with support obligations in Texas for an indication of whether filers are failing to provide this information. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-100/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-100.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-100/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-100.pdf GAO-08-100 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-100 Other Written Product GAO-08-100; Bankruptcy and Child Support Enforcement: Improved Information Sharing Possible without Routine Data Matching; Bankruptcy Child support payments Cost analysis Data collection Data integrity Databases Federal/state relations Law enforcement Noncompliance Policy evaluation Program evaluation Social security number Strategic planning Data coordination Data sharing Program goals or objectives DOJ U.S. Trustee Program HHS Child Support Enforcement Program Title 5 Section 552a 5 U.S.C. 552a Volume 100 Page 3088 100 Stat. 3088 Volume 119 Page 23 119 Stat. 23 Public Law 99-554 Public Law 109-8