Open Comment Period – Hague Convention Case Processing Forms

DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER

DCL-19-09

DATE: August 13, 2019

TO: State IV-D Directors

RE: Open Comment Period — Hague Convention Case Processing Forms

Dear Colleague:

In compliance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and Families is soliciting public comment on the estimated annual burden for state child support agency use of the case processing forms developed for the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (the Convention). As of August 8, 2019, a 60-day notice for public comment has been posted to the Federal Register in volume 84, number 153, page 38991  (PDF). The Hague Convention forms were approved during the Hague Convention negotiations and may only be amended by a Special Commission convened by the Hague Permanent Bureau. (See Article 55.) Therefore, we are only seeking comment on the annual burden estimate for using the forms.

Background: The Hague Child Support Convention went into effect for the United States on January 1, 2017. Under the Hague Convention, U.S. states process cases with other countries that have also ratified the Convention, according to the requirements of the Convention and Article 7 of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) . For more information on the Hague Child Support Convention, UIFSA, and U.S. international child support, see the OCSE international website and AT-14-11, IM-15-01, DCL-16-11, and AT-17-06.

Hague Child Support Convention Forms: The Hague Convention forms are used for case processing between Convention countries.

Following are the OMB-approved Hague Convention forms (with article references to the Convention):

• Mandatory: Transmittal form under Article 12(2)
• Mandatory: Acknowledgment form under Article 12(3)
• 12 Recommended Forms:
  Annex A: Recognition or Recognition and Enforcement
  1. Application for Recognition or Recognition and Enforcement, including Restricted Information on the Applicant
  2. Abstract of a Decision
  3. Statement of Enforceability of a Decision
  4. Statement of Proper Notice
  5. Status of Application Report — Article 12
  Annex B: Enforcement of a Decision Made or Recognized in Requested State
  6. Application for Enforcement of a Decision Made or Recognized in the Requested State, including Restricted Information on the Applicant
  7. Status of Application Report - Article 12
  Annex C: Establishment of a Decision
  8. Application for Establishment of a Decision, including Restricted Information on the Applicant
  9. Status of Application Report - Article 12
  Annex D: Modification of a Decision
  10. Application for Modification of a Decision, including Restricted Information on the Applicant
  11. Status of Application Report - Article 12
  Annex E: Financial Circumstances
  12. Financial Circumstances Form

Convention countries must use the mandatory transmittal form for outgoing cases to Convention countries and the mandatory acknowledgment form for incoming cases from Convention countries. Each Convention country determines its requirements regarding the use of the 12 recommended Hague forms and lists these requirements on its Hague Country Profile. The U.S. has indicated that other countries must use the Hague Convention’s recommended forms when sending cases to the U.S., so all incoming Convention cases to the U.S. should be on the Hague forms. The Country Profiles are country-specific reference documents available on the Hague Conference website, similar to OCSE’s Intergovernmental Reference Guide.

For instructions and more information about the Hague forms, see the Practical Handbook for Caseworkers under the 2007 Child Support Convention  (PDF), especially Chapter 15, “Completing the Forms.” Also, see OCSE’s “International Case Processing Under UIFSA 2008” training materials on the OCSE website.

PRA Annual Burden Estimate: OCSE estimates the national annual burden of using the Hague Convention forms to be approximately 13,001 hours in total per year, as noted in the Federal Register notice. We estimate the international caseload to be around one-quarter to one-half of 1% of the total U.S. caseload. Most of the Hague Convention forms are used only in new Hague cases or in some existing cases where a major action is needed. Also, not all of the cases in the international caseload represent Hague Convention cases. For example, Canada has not yet ratified the Hague Convention, so states do not use the Hague forms in processing cases with Canadian jurisdictions.

Please send any comments on the annual burden estimate for using the Hague forms to OCSE at OCSE.DPT@acf.hhs.gov by the close of the 60-day comment period, or October 7, 2019. Please be sure to reference OMB control number 0970-0488.

Sincerely,

Scott M. Lekan
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement