Policy
OCSE proposes and implements national policy for the child support program. We provide guidance and training to help states and tribes develop and operate their individual programs according to federal laws and regulations.
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Federal Laws & Regulations
The following laws and regulations provide policy and program requirements related to the child support program.
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Policy Guidance Overview
OCSE provides program requirements, program information, policy guidance, and program instructions using several types of documents.
- Action Transmittal (AT) describes actions that programs must take to comply with new and amended federal laws (available from 1975)
- Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) conveys general information on program activities (available from 1989)
- Information Memorandum (IM) provides information on program practices that may be useful for program improvement (available from 1989)
- Policy Interpretation Question (PIQ) responds formally to policy inquiries (available from 1999)
- International Policy transmits guidance on international child support (available from 1993)
- Tribal Policy provides guidance on tribal child support (available from 1995)
2019 Policy Documents
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Update to Revised Part A National Medical Support Notice and Instructions
December 3, 2019Announces the correction to the revised National Medical Support Notice Part A form instructionsSubmittal of the OCSE-75 for FY 2019
November 6, 2019Reminds tribes to submit their Tribal Annual Data Report by Dec. 29, 2019Revised Part A National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) and Instructions
October 30, 2019Announces updated expiration date for federally approved National Medical Support Notice Part AThe SSN on OCSE-Issued Pre-Offset Notice
October 29, 2019Announces the masking of noncustodial parent's social security numbers on pre-offset noticesData Reliability Audit Requirements FY 2019
October 18, 2019Provides data submission requirements for the FY 2019 data reliability auditsFiscal Year 2020 User Fees for FPLS and CSENet
October 4, 2019Provides information on user fees for FPLS and CSENet for FY 2020Open Comment Period – Tribal Direct Funding Request: 45 CFR 309 Plan
September 17, 2019Announces public comment period for the Tribal Direct Funding plan, 45 CFR 309 in the Federal RegisterFY 2020 Federal Offset and Pre-Offset Notice Program Fees
September 13, 2019Provides states with Federal Offset and Pre-Offset Notice program fees for fiscal year 2020Submittal of OCSE-157 for FY 2019
September 12, 2019Reminds states to submit-OCSE-157 for FY 2019 by Oct. 30Federal Collections & Enforcement Annual Certification Letter – 2019
August 22, 2019Provides states with Annual Certification Letter to complete and returnModel Procedures for Domestic Violence Cases
August 21, 2019Provides guidance and model procedures for child support staff when processing cases involving domestic violenceOpen Comment Period – OCSE-75 Tribal Annual Data Report
August 19, 2019Announcement of 60-day open comment period in federal register for OCSE-75Back to TopOpen Comment Period – Hague Convention Case Processing Forms
August 13, 2019Announces open comment period for the PRA burden estimate of the Hague Convention case processing formsMedical Support in Outgoing Cases to Canada
August 7, 2019Guidance on requesting medical support in applications from the U.S. to CanadaSubmittal of SF-424 Mandatory Form for FY 2020
August 6, 2019Reminds states to submit the SF-424 Mandatory Form through OLDC for fiscal year 2020Judicial Bench Cards for UIFSA and Hague Convention Cases
August 2, 2019Notifies states of new bench cards related to UIFSA and Hague Child Support Convention casesHague Convention Forms in Foreign Languages
July 30, 2019Notifies states of translated versions of Hague Convention case processing forms to send child support applications to Convention countriesU.S. Objection to Accession of Kazakhstan to Hague Convention
July 30, 2019Addresses the objection by the United States to the accession of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Hague Child Support ConventionAvailability of Section 1115 Waivers to Fund NCP Work Activities
July 23, 2019Outlines section 1115 demonstration waivers that allow states and tribes to fund employment programs for noncustodial parentsStreamlining Feasibility Studies
July 23, 2019Streamlining requirements for conducting feasibility studies for the modernization of child support enforcement systemsIRS Requirements for Tribes Accessing Federal Tax Information
July 5, 2019Shares IRS requirements regarding tribal IV-D agencies accessing federal tax information through a state IV-D agencyOpen Comment Period - Standard Intergovernmental Forms
June 20, 2019Publishes proposed intergovernmental forms and a summary of proposed changesRevised OCSE-157 Form and Instructions - Effective October 1, 2020
June 19, 2019Revised OCSE-157 form and instructions to clarify or emphasize intended meaning of a definition or instructionFY 2018 Preliminary Data Report
June 13, 2019Announces the release of the FY 2018 Preliminary Data Report and includes Excel data tablesState Medicaid Agency Incentive Payments for Assigned Medical Support Collection
June 11, 2019Provides guidance on state Medicaid agency incentive payments for assigned medical support collectionSecurity and Privacy Program – Security Agreement
June 11, 2019Notifies state child support agencies to sign security and privacy certification statement by July 22, 2019State Self-Assessment Report – Extended until April 30, 2022
May 29, 2019Extends the self-assessment report until April 30, 2022Accessing the U.S. Federal Parent Locator Service
May 24, 2019Provides instructions to Hague Convention Countries and Foreign Reciprocating Countries about accessing the FPLSAllowable Costs for Tribal Child Support Programs
May 13, 2019Provides guidance on allowable activities for tribal child support programsProvide Only U.S. State of Residence for International Locate Requests
April 15, 2019Informs states to provide only the person's U.S. state of residence when responding to a locate-only request from a Convention country or a foreignOutgoing Convention Applications to Portugal for Recognition and Enforcement of a Decision
April 4, 2019Provides additional guidance to states when transmitting a Convention Application for Recognition and Enforcement of a Decision to PortugalSecurity and Privacy Program
March 19, 2019Notifies state child support agencies to sign security and privacy certification statement by April 15, 2019States Harmless from Penalties for Failure to Comply with PIQ-18-02
February 26, 2019Holds states harmless from penalties for failure to comply with questions 2 and 3 of PIQ-18-02- ‹ Previous Year
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Last Reviewed: November 12, 2019