What is the Child Support Assistance Act of 2015?
The Child Support Assistance Act of 2015, introduced in the United States House of Representatives as bill H.R. 2091 on April 29, 2015, is an effort to help state and local child support enforcement agencies (Agencies) aid families in collecting child support payments. Equifax has strongly supported this Act by working directly with the U.S. Congress to propose solutions to the problems faced by Agencies, employers, and families; while remaining compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Current state and intended purpose
In order to locate a delinquent parent and enforce a child support award, Agencies can send a request for verification of employment (VOE) and verification of income (VOI) to a consumer reporting agency, such as Equifax, in order to obtain a consumer report on the delinquent parent. As the FCRA is currently written, it requires Agencies to provide the delinquent parent with at least 10 days’ prior notice when submitting the VOE or VOI request. This delay can allow time for the delinquent parent to evade child support obligations, by manipulating his or her financial situation, resulting in delayed payments and increased costs to states. Because of this, Agencies frequently resort to sending paper requests directly to employers. However, this is inefficient for all involved, particularly in situations where the Agency is not certain where the delinquent parent is employed, or where the delinquent parent’s employment changes frequently.
If passed into law, the Child Support Assistance Act will fix these issues by amending the FCRA to remove the 10-day notice requirement. Additionally, the bill will provide much needed clarity and consistency in how Agencies request consumer reports to set, modify and enforce child support awards.
Value of timely verification of employment and income
As a consumer reporting agency and trusted steward of employment and income data, Equifax strives to leverage the power of data and technology to the benefit of consumers. By working directly with Equifax for VOE and VOI requests, versus paper requests to employers today, agencies will be able to make more timely decisions regarding child support payments. Removing the employer from the verification process eliminates additional work for the employer and ultimately allows for a more timely receipt of payments owed to families in need, with an increased level of confidentiality and efficiency.
For additional information, please review:
Press Release: “Poliquin, Ellison Introduce the Child Support Assistance Act Backed by Equifax”
Register for our webinar to learn about other ways automated verifications through The Work Number can bring value to employers and employees/consumers: Webinar: “Employment Verifications, Form I-9 Compliance, and Gordmans”
The post Child Support Assistance Act 2015: ‘Bill H.R. 2091’ Introduced appeared first on Insights.