Tag: child support

Fed says DHW Child Support Program has 60 days to come into compliance

On By idhwmediaIn Uncategorized2 Comments

The Department of Health and Welfare’s executive leadership team conferenced first thing this morning with Vicki Turetsky, commissioner for the federal Office of Child Support and Enforcement (OCSE). The topic— what will happen to the Idaho Child Support program after the Idaho Legislature’s failure to approve a bill allowing the state to meet minimum federal program requirements.

Commissioner Turetsky was very clear in her response—she will send out a letter by the end of the week giving Idaho 60 days to correct the action and meet federal compliance. If Idaho does not fix it, the state will receive a second notification letter that all federal child support funding ceases and access to all enforcement tools will be turned off. This would affect every one of the 155,000 child support cases the Idaho Child Support Program handles, which will impact more than 400,000 Idaho children and parents.  Continue reading “Fed says DHW Child Support Program has 60 days to come into compliance” →

Idaho’s Child Support Services: An FAQ

On By idhwmediaIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Question: What’s going on with the Child Support services I receive?

Answer: Friday afternoon, the House Judiciary, Rules, and Administration Committee tabled key Child Support Legislation (known as UIFSA) that governs how Idaho works with other other states in the U.S. and foreign countries to collect and distribute Child Support Payments. This means that the legislation did not pass, and as a result, Idaho’s Child Support Program no longer meets federal requirements.Idaho expects the federal government to take steps to impose financial sanctions against Idaho’s Child Support Program. Department of Health & Welfare leadership is meeting with top officials from the Federal Child Support Program this week to determine what will happen next and when actions will be taken.  Continue reading “Idaho’s Child Support Services: An FAQ” →

Idaho’s ability to collect child support payments in question after committee votes to table bill

On By idhwmediaIn Uncategorized1 Comment

The future of Idaho’s Child Support program is uncertain after members of the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration committee voted Friday afternoon to table Senate Bill 1067. The bill would have allowed the state to meet minimum federal requirements for working on child support cases with foreign countries.

“This is new territory for us,” said Richard Armstrong, director of the Department of Health and Welfare, which manages the state’s child support program. “We’ll work with our federal partners to determine the total impact, but this vote will make it nearly impossible for us to enforce child support like we should, so Idaho’s children are taken care of. The bottom line is that Idaho families may not receive their support money because we will not have the tools we need to make sure those payments are made.” Continue reading “Idaho’s ability to collect child support payments in question after committee votes to table bill” →