April 2024 CSQ

to protect and enhance Tribal lands, resources, and self-government. This
includes economic and social programs like child support that serve to
raise the standard of living and social well-being of Native people. As
explained by ACF Administration for Native Americans Commissioner and
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Affairs Patrice H. Kunesh,
“I'm proud of our Tribal partnerships and how this rule works to improve
equity and reduce systemic barriers to services. The Administration for
Children and Families will continue to support social and economic
development in a manner that provides Tribal Nations with the greatest
possible self-determination.”
New Rule Gives Relief to Title IV-D Programs In Times of Emergency
Under Title IV-D, state child support programs must achieve specific
performance levels in paternity establishment, support order establishment,
and current support collections. The threshold performance levels that
programs must meet are:
• Paternity establishment percentage (PEP) of 90% under 45 C.F.R. §
305.40(a)(1);
• Support order establishment of 40% under 45 C.F.R. §305.40(a)(3);
and
• Current collections performance of 35% under 45 C.F.R.
§305.40(a)(3).
If a child support program fails to achieve these performance levels with
complete and reliable performance measure data, the program may be
assessed penalties against its TANF grant.
When state child support programs are
serving families under normal
circumstances, it is reasonable to require
programs to meet those performance
levels. The COVID-19 pandemic, however,
illustrated how severely child support
program operations can be impacted by
court and office shutdowns. States
experienced significant workload burdens
and service backlogs that were not