Necessary Program Changes
Necessary Program Changes: Protecting Taxpayers, Parents, and Children.
On a Federal level there are two types of changes that we are requesting be made to the Federal Title IV program. Changes can be administrative, legislative, and in some cases both depending on which part of Title IV we are referring to. Protecting taxpayer and family interests begins with reducing administrative caseloads and improving judicial response for needy families.
Legislatively, there is significant discontinuity between Title IV-A, Title IV-D, and Title IV-E to meet reasonable objectives for the purposes intended in each program part. The purposes of each part of the program are defined collectively in federal code.
A significant and obvious caseload issue exists within Part D (Title IV-D) of the Social Security Act due to over-participation and a complete lack of eligibility requirements with no near-term exit strategy to encourage healthy families or cooperative parenting. The current program benefit structure discourages cooperative parenting in lieu of financial benefit to one-party in adversarial administrative and judicial proceeding unfit for the preservation of parent-child relationships.
Legislatively, the issue of eligibility requirements is simple, by making means testing a requirement for benefits to be received under Part D of the Social Security Act, which would conceivably reduce the caseload by over half. Adding eligibility requirements simply isn’t enough to meet the goals of welfare reform, especially under 42 USC 601(a)(2) and (a)(4). In fact, two of the four goals of Title IV-A are not met with eligibility requirements.
(a)(2) end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;
(a)(4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.
In addition to legislatively adding the eligibility requirements, Part-D of the Social Security Act should be temporary in nature and lead to the preservation of both parent-child relationships where possible, ending the dependence on financial tug-of-wars between parents and the government.
Currently Title IV-D (Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act) has turned the federal program into a revenue generation stream for the states through over-participation rather than a limited and temporary program leading to mutual independence and preservation of parent-child relationships. By implementing the legislative mandates for State Plans to lead toward joint custody determinations and temporary financial relief for single-parent households, the purposes of Title IV-A and Title IV-D are met and children’s needs are better met with actual participation of both parents.
A requirement of states to have a presumption of substantially similar parental rights and access to their children except in cases of Domestic Violence or clear and convincing evidentiary standards of immediate harm to children will lead to more positive measurements and outcomes. The proposed legislative changes would allow the Title IV-D agencies to focus on providing the necessary safety-net for identified needy families and relieving the burden of over participation that has been caused from the rush of States to increase their revenue from the program rather than provide incentives for cooperative parenting. A streamlined agency with focused defined goals would arise from these changes, saving tax-payers billions, strengthening the safety-net for needy families, and better preserving parent-child relationships post-divorce and separation.
Administratively, each state should be denied any additional waivers for pass-thru child-support in addition to their Title IV-A welfare benefits. The Wisconsin demonstration project for passing-thru child support dramatically increases the expense to the federal government and U.S. taxpayers who now would be paying the States for both Title IV-A and Title IV-D without ever seeing any reimbursement. The States say the pass-thru is so successful because it allows the State to not have to pay back any money to the Federal Government, despite Title IV-D’s intention to do exactly that. The purpose and intention of Title IV-D has been to recover expenditures made by State and Federal governments funding of Title IV-A block grants, not as an alternative income source and reward for having a broken home. To allow pass-thru waivers only adds additional incentive to drive up State participation numbers and encourage broken homes, thereby limiting a child’s relationship with one of their parents in order to maintain the current Title IV-D model and despite both parents being fit, willing, and able to raise their children.
Reigning in the Title IV-D program is good for our tax-payers, good for our parents, and most of all… good for our children.
