A lot of discussion has focused on the federal money the state might lose if the child support issue is not fixed during the next two months. It is serious money, but the real impact to children and families would come from the loss of federal tools the Idaho Child Support Program relies on. Here are some of the tools Idaho would no longer be able to access and a description of what they are used for:

Wage Withholding: The most important tool the state uses to collect child support payments from non-custodial parents who don’t voluntarily make their payments is wage withholding. The increase in collections by wage withholding is due, in part, to improved accuracy, ease of paternity testing, and the new-hire reporting system. In FFY 2014, $105.8 million was collected using this tool, accounting for 61 percent of all the state’s child support collections, as shown in the chart below.

Continue reading “Loss of federal tools would severely hamper state’s ability to collect child support payments” →

A number of people are wondering which states have enacted the child support legislation that the Idaho House Judiciary, Rules and Administration committee tabled on Friday afternoon. Here is a map posted by the Uniform Law Commission. If you visit their website, you will find a complete list of states.

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” →

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” →