Many services at risk after House nixes child support bill

COEUR d’ALENE — More than 400,000 Idaho residents will be affected if Idaho refuses to come into compliance with federal child support laws within 60 days.

The Department of Health and Welfare met with Vicki Turetsky, commissioner for the federal Office of Child Support and Enforcement Monday to discuss what will happen to the Idaho Child Support Program after the Idaho Legislature declined to approve a bill allowing the state to meet minimum federal program requirements.

According to a statement released by the department commissioner, Turetsky will send out a letter by the end of the week giving Idaho 60 days to correct the action and meet federal compliance.

If Idaho does not fix it, the state will receive a second notification letter that all federal child support funding ceases and access to all enforcement tools will be disabled.

This would affect every one of the 155,000 child support cases the Idaho Child Support Program handles, which will affect more than 400,000 Idaho children and parents, the statement said.

On Friday, the House Judiciary and Rules Committee tabled SB 1067, which would have amended Idaho’s child support laws to align with an international treaty that would allow the state to collect child support payments from non-custodial parents who move to other countries.

While the bill passed the Senate unanimously, some members of the House committee were concerned that it could invite foreign laws into the Idaho court system.

That committee voted 9-8 to table the bill just before the legislative session adjourned for the year.

Unless the state comes in line with the federal law, it stands to lose a total of $46 million in federal funding, and access to a host of federal tools that enable the state to collect child support.

“More importantly, the main tools the program uses to enforce child support orders and collect funds for children will be shut off,” the statement said. “We will no longer be able to collect funds through wage withholding, locate parents when they change jobs, or work with other states on child support cases. Turning off the databases and tools would bring Idaho’s child support program to its knees.”

The state doesn’t have an independent way to collect child support. It uses a portal into the federal child support system to enforce the state program.

“Replacing the money will not help. We could be given all the money in the world, but it would not allow us to collect and distribute child support payments if those federal tools are not available,” said Kandee Yearsley, Idaho Child Support Program manager. “Commissioner Turetsky was very helpful and sympathetic to our situation, but the actions the federal government will take are prescribed by law. There is no turning back if Idaho cannot come up with a solution during the next 60 days.”

The only way to do that now is if the governor calls for a special session to re-address SB 1067, and the soonest that could happen is Friday.

“A lot of people are asking about that and suggesting we call one,” said Gov. Butch Otter’s press secretary, Jon Hanian. “But right now it is premature.”

Otter issued a statement on Monday.

“I am concerned that some members of the House Judiciary and Rules Committee put Idaho’s child support system at serious risk by killing Senate Bill 1067 in the waning hours of the 2015 legislative session,” he said. “We are analyzing the impacts of the committee’s actions and what they mean for the 400,000 people who depend on Idaho’s system.”

If Idaho does not have a federal child support program, other ramifications will occur.

According to the Department of Health and Welfare, the Federal Child Support Program is required to participate in other federal programs.

For example, Idaho would lose its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grant, which funds more than $30 million of vital services that include child care for low-income working families, work and training programs, family and community services, children’s mental health, emergency assistance, and the Head Start Program.

“We have to share with others the full impact and the ripple effect losing the Child Support Program will have for our state — it is critical that the severity of the situation be understood,” said Health and Welfare director Richard Armstrong. “We need to quickly resolve this dilemma, especially for our families who rely on child support and other critical services in our state.”