2023-20607: Parentage Establishment in the Child Support Services Program

Summary

Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) proposes to replace the gender-specific term "paternity" with the gender-neutral term "parentage" throughout the Child Support Services Program to be inclusive of all family structures served by the child support services program. While title IV-D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) requires States and Tribes to have laws permitting the establishment of paternity and requiring genetic testing in contested paternity cases, OCSS also recognizes that title IV-D does not preclude States and Tribes from having parentage establishment laws and procedures for all families. The proposed changes to chapter III of the child support regulations recognize developments in State laws regarding parentage establishment and provide States and Tribes optional flexibility to establish parentage for all children in accordance with their laws, regardless of the gender of their parents or family structure.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 9 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 45 CFR 301 State Plan Approval and Grant Procedures
• 45 CFR 302 State Plan Requirements
• 45 CFR 303 Standards for Program Operations
• 45 CFR 304 Federal Financial Participation
• 45 CFR 305 Program Performance Measures, Standards, Financial Incentives, and Penalties
• 45 CFR 307 Computerized Support Enforcement Systems
• 45 CFR 308 Annual State Self-Assessment Review and Report
• 45 CFR 309 Tribal Child Support Enforcement (IV-D) Program
• 45 CFR 310 Computerized Tribal IV-D Systems and Office Automation