DCL-98128 Family Violence Indicator Guide (Draft)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children & Families
Office of Child Support Enforcement

DCL-98-128

TO ALL IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Family Violence Indicator Guide (Draft)

Dear Colleague:

Section 454(26) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. §654(26)] requires States, in their State child support plans, to include certain provisions for the safeguarding of information handled by the State IV-D agency. Subsections (B) - (E) specifically relate to instances in which family violence is a potential issue. When States are aware of such concerns, they are to notify the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This notice is to be transmitted by the States to the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the form of a family violence (FV) indicator -- a data element in each State’s State Case Registry. [45 C.F.R. 307.11(f)(1)(x)]. The indicator is then placed on the person’s record in the Federal Case Registry (FCR).

Beginning this past summer, OCSE conducted informal conference calls with each State regarding its development and implementation of the FV indicator requirements. These calls have yielded important information that OCSE will use to determine State training, technical assistance, and program development needs in this area.

Enclosed please find a draft of The Family Violence Indicator: A Guide to State Practices. It is a draft of some of the initial practices that States have shared regarding the ways that they will set and use the FV indicator data element. We hope that this document will assist you as your State progresses with its efforts to develop and implement your own FV indicator.

Although this is a draft document, we thought that it was critical to distribute this information as quickly as possible to assist States with their work. The State contacts listed here have reviewed the material for their States on a preliminary basis. However, additional comments are welcome as we seek to finalize this document. Please forward comments by January 15, 1999 to June M. Mickens at (301) 847-9495 or jlmmckns@aol.com. To order additional copies, please call the FPLS Information Line at (202) 401-9267.

As always, thank you for all of your help to keep "Children First!"

Sincerely,

David Gray Ross
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

cc: Family Violence Contacts
Regional Program Managers
FCR Contacts
SPLS Contact