Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998
Public Law 105-200 · H.R. 3130 · 105th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Jul 16, 1998 · Families
Sponsor: Rep. Clay Shaw (R-FL-22)
Cosponsors (1): Rep. Sander Levin
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Title I: Child Support Data Processing Requirements
Title II: Child Support Incentive System
Title III: Adoption Provisions
Title : Miscellaneous
Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 - Title I: Child Support Data Processing Requirements - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to prescribe alternative penalty reductions in its Federal payments for a State that would otherwise have its child support data processing system plan disapproved for noncompliance, if it has an approved corrective compliance plan and makes a good faith effort to comply with the requirements for such a system. Instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to waive the noncompliance penalty during FY 1998 for any State which meets certain criteria.
(Sec. 102) Requires the Secretary to waive the single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system requirement if a State demonstrates that it has or can develop an alternative system or systems that meet specified requirements.
Title II: Child Support Incentive System - Directs the Secretary to make incentive payments to States, according to specified formulae, with respect to their performance in paternity establishment and child support order enforcement, including cost-effectiveness.
(Sec. 201) Instructs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the implementation of such incentive payment system (especially on variations in State performance attributable to demographic or economic variables); and (2) the development of a performance measure based on State effectiveness in establishing and enforcing child medical support obligations (including recommendations for incorporating such measure into the incentive payment system in a revenue neutral manner).
Repeals the predecessor incentive payment system.
Title III: Adoption Provisions - Amends SSA title IV, part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance), to require a State plan for foster care and adoption assistance to provide that the State shall not: (1) deny or delay the placement of a child for adoption when an approved family is available outside of the jurisdiction with responsibility for handling the case of the child; or (2) fail to grant an opportunity for a fair hearing to an individual whose allegation of such a denial or delay is denied by the State or not acted upon by the State with reasonable promptness.
Title IV: Miscellaneous - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor to jointly: (1) establish a Medical Support Working Group to identify and report upon impediments to effective enforcement of medical support by State agencies and recommend appropriate measures to address such impediments; (2) report to the Congress regarding such recommendations; and (3) develop and promulgate by regulation a National Medical Support Notice to be issued by the States to aid enforcement of a child support order for health care coverage.
Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which all child support orders include child health care coverage that is enforced through use of the Notice. Prescribes enforcement guidelines for enrollment of the child in the health care coverage of the noncustodial parent's employer. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to declare such Notice a qualified medical child support order with which a plan administrator must comply.
Mandates that each State or local government group health plan and each church group health plan provide benefits in accordance with such Notice. Directs the two Secretaries to jointly recommend legislation to certain congressional committees to improve the effectiveness and enforcement of qualified medical child support orders under ERISA.
(Sec. 402) Requires the Secretary to impose an administrative penalty (up to and including dismissal from employment) and a $1,000 fine for each act by a Federal employee of knowing and willful unauthorized access to, disclosure of, or use of, information in the national Directory of New Hires. Sets forth time limitations on: (1) data retention in such Directory; and (2) access to wage and unemployment compensation information.
(Sec.403) Amends Part A (TANF) of Title IV, SSA, to cite restrictions on State use of certain grants to match funds made available under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to report to certain congressional committees on the use of funds under such Act.
(Sec.405) Sets a deadline for the Comptroller General to report to certain congressional committees on: (1) the cost and feasibility of creating and maintaining a nationwide instant child support order check system to enable an employer to determine whether a newly hired employee is required to provide support under a child support order; and (2) implementation of the Federal Parent Locator Service (including the Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and the National Directory of New Hires), and the State Directory of New Hires.
(Sec. 406) Amends Title IV, Part D (Child Support and Paternity), SSA, to require each State to have statutorily prescribed procedures in the case of financial institutions doing business in two or more States, for a State agency to enter into agreements to develop and operate a data match system in coordination with the Federal Parent Locator Service.
Authorizes the Secretary, through the Federal Parent Locator Service, to facilitate agreements concerning data match exchanges between State child support enforcement agencies and financial institutions doing business in two or more States. Shields a financial institution from liability for disclosing individual financial records to the Federal Parent Locator Service.
(Sec. 407) Revamps prescriptions governing collection and reporting of child support enforcement data.
(Sec. 409) Instructs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a feasibility study in consultation with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) on specified legislative proposals governing the status of aliens in violation of a judicial order to pay child support; and (2) report to the Congress on INS implementation of such proposals.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Ways and Means Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Work and Welfare Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 33 actions.
- Jul 16, 1998Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 105-200.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jul 8, 1998PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Jun 26, 1998Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House amendments to the Senate amendments by Unanimous Consent.
- Jun 25, 1998Resolving differencesResolving differences · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · On motion that the House agree with amendments to the Senate amendments Agreed to without objection.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Mr. Shaw asked unanimous consent that the House agree with amendments to the Senate amendments.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · On motion to discharge the managers on the part of the House from further consideration of the bill H.R. 3130. Agreed to without objection.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Mr. Shaw asked unanimous consent that the House discharge the managers on the part of the House from further consideration of the bill H.R. 3130.
- May 20, 1998Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate appointed conferees. Jeffords; Coats; Kennedy From the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate insists on its amendments agrees to request for a conference, appoints conferees Roth; Chafee; Grassley; Moynihan; Baucus.
- Apr 24, 1998FloorFloor · Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House requests a conference.
- Apr 23, 1998Resolving differencesResolving differences · The Speaker appointed additional conferees - from the Committee on Education and the Workforce for consideration of sec. 401 of the Senate amendment and modifications committed to conference: Goodling, Fawell, and Payne.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · The Speaker appointed conferees - from the Committee on Ways and Means for consideration of the House bill and the Senate amendments, and modifications committed to conference: Archer, Shaw, Camp, Rangel, and Levin.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · On motion that the House disagree to the Senate amendments, and request a conference Agreed to without objection.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Mr. Shaw asked unanimous consent that the House disagree to the Senate amendments, and request a conference.
- Apr 3, 1998CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Senate Finance Committee
- Apr 2, 1998FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · Amendment SP 2286 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- Mar 5, 1998FloorFloor · The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed by recorded vote: 414 - 1 (Roll no. 39).House roll call 39
- FloorFloor · The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.
- FloorFloor · Rule H. Res. 378 passed House.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Finance Committee
- Feb 27, 1998CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Ways and Means Committee
- Feb 25, 1998CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Ways and Means Committee
- Feb 3, 1998CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Work and Welfare Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Work and Welfare Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.