International child support cases are those where the parents and/or child live in different countries, a support order was issued internationally, or assets are sought in countries other than the country enforcing the support order, among other scenarios. Because laws and procedures vary widely among international jurisdictions, international cases can be complex and difficult to process, resulting in less child support reaching the families who need it. In the U.S., we estimate that about half of one percent of the total child support caseload has an international component.
On January 1, 2017, the multilateral 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (the Hague Child Support Convention) came into force for the U.S. The U.S. now has reciprocal relationships with 41 foreign countries under the Hague Convention, and that number is growing. Countries that are party to the Hague Child Support Convention use 16 standardized Convention case processing forms, which were designed to greatly reduce the complexity of case processing in the international context. The forms were developed by a special working group, in which the U.S. played a leadership role.
Section 311(b) of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) 2008, which has been enacted by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, requires states to use forms mandated by federal law. (UIFSA enactment was required by Public Law (P.L.) 113-183.) Regulations under 45 CFR 303.7 also require child support programs to use federally approved forms in intergovernmental IV-D cases unless a country has provided alternative forms as a part of its chapter in a Caseworker's Guide to Processing Cases with Foreign Reciprocating Countries.
PL:
Pub.L. 113 - 183 301
Name of Law: Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
The estimate of annual burden hours has declined from 11,978 hours in the last approval to 10,882 hours in this request. Changes in burden are due to the decline in the overall child support caseload over the last several years. States use these forms to process cases between countries; these international cases are a percentage of each stateâs overall caseload. Therefore, as the total number of cases declines, so does the number of international cases.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Annex F: Request for Specific Measures – Response - Article 7(1)