Pending Effective Date of the Hague Child Support Convention and Resources

DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER

DCL-16-12

DATE: September 1, 2016

TO: ALL STATE AND TRIBAL IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Pending Effective Date of the Hague Child Support Convention and Resources

Dear Colleague:

On August 30, the President signed the Instrument of Ratification for the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (Hague Child Support Convention). (See DCL-16-11.)

The Convention will go into effect for the United States on the first day of the fourth month after the instrument of ratification is deposited at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. We expect the U.S. to make the deposit in the next several weeks. The date of deposit will then fix the U.S. effective date for the Convention.

Once the Convention becomes effective, U.S. states will begin to process cases with Convention countries under the requirements of the Convention and article 7 of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) . Article 7 of UIFSA becomes effective concurrently with the Convention.

OCSE is currently developing an implementation plan, including training and other resources, to assist states in preparing for working cases under the Convention. In the meantime, below are useful resources and information about the Hague Child Support Convention provided on the Hague Conference on Private International Law website :

• The Hague Conference on Private International Law - Child Support Page
• Full text of Hague Convention
• List of countries that have joined the Convention
• Practical Handbook for Caseworkers under the 2007 Child Support Convention  (PDF)
• Country Profiles (detailed information about the processes in each Convention country)
• Explanatory Report on the Convention  (PDF)
• Required and recommended forms
  1. Annex 1: Transmittal Form
  2. Annex 2: Acknowledgment Form
  3. Recommended Forms  (PDF)

We will share information about the effective date of the Hague Child Support Convention and implementation resources as soon as possible. If you have questions or suggestions for resources and training, please contact us at ocse.dpt@acf.hhs.gov.

Sincerely,

Vicki Turetsky
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

cc: ACF OCSE Regional Program Managers,
Tribal IV-D Directors