[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 187-193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-088]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
45 CFR Parts 302, 303, and 304
RIN 0970-AB69
Child Support Enforcement Program; State Plan Requirements,
Standards for Program Operations, and Federal Financial Participation
AGENCY: Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), HHS.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking
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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would implement part of the paternity
establishment provisions contained in section 331 of the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity
[[Page 188]]
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) and amended by section 5539 of Pub.
L. 105-33, which impose new statutory requirements for a State's
voluntary paternity acknowledgement process and require the Secretary
to promulgate regulations governing voluntary paternity establishment
services and identifying the types of entities other than hospitals and
birth record agencies that may be allowed to offer voluntary paternity
establishment services. States will be required to adopt laws and
procedures that are in accordance with the statutory and regulatory
provisions. These proposed regulations will address these procedures
and related provisions.
DATES: Consideration will be given to written comments received by
March 6, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted in writing to the Office of
Child Support Enforcement, Administration for Children and Families,
370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20447,
Attention: Director of Policy and Planning Division, Mail Stop: OCSE/
DPP. Comments may also be submitted by sending electronic mail (e-mail)
to jrothstein@acf.dhhs.gov.'', or by telefaxing to 202-401-3444. This
is not a toll-free number. Comments sent electronically must be in
ASCII format. Comments will be available for public inspection Monday
through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the 4th floor of the
Department's offices at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jan Rothstein, OCSE Division of Policy
and Planning, (202) 401-5073. Hearing impaired individuals may call the
Federal Dual Party Relay Service at 800-877-8339 between 8:00 a.m. and
7:00 p.m. Eastern time.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Paperwork Reduction Act
Section 466(a)(5)(C) of the Social Security Act (the Act) as added
by section 331 of Pub. L. 104-193 and amended by section 5539 of Pub.
L. 105-33 contains a requirement that information be disclosed to a
third party. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3507(d)), the Administration for Children and Families has
submitted a copy of this section to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for its review.
Section 466(a)(5)(C) of the Act as added by section 331 of Pub. L.
104-193 and amended by section 5539 of Pub. L. 105-33 requires States
to pass laws ensuring a simple civil process for voluntarily
acknowledging paternity under which the State must provide that, before
a mother and putative father can sign a voluntary acknowledgement of
paternity, the mother and putative father must be given notice, orally
or through the use of video or audio equipment and in writing of the
alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights (including
any rights, if a parent is a minor, due to minority status) and
responsibilities of acknowledging paternity. To comply with this
requirement States must disclose information about these rights in
written and oral formats or through the use of video or audio equipment
to mothers and putative fathers. We estimate the time needed to
disclose the information to mothers and putative fathers to be
approximately 10 minutes. In order to ensure effective disclosure of
this information, States will need to provide training to other State
employees and the employees of local governments, non-profits and for
profit businesses. We estimate this training will take an additional
1,600 hours yearly for all entities. We have added these hours to the
time estimated to be necessary for the third party disclosure in order
to establish the total estimated burden hours for this requirement.
Likely respondents to the third party disclosure include hospitals,
TANF agencies, Food Stamp agencies, WIC centers, Maternal and Child
Health centers, doctors, lawyers, and secondary schools. While the
total number of potential respondents is approximately 2,000,000, we
expect the actual number of respondents will be closer to 100,000. We
estimate that 448,600 paternities will be voluntarily established in
1998 and of that number half will be established in hospitals. The
total burden hours estimated for the third party disclosure are 76,059.
To ensure that public comments have maximum effect in developing
the final regulations, ACF urges that persons wishing to comment
clearly identify the specific section or sections of the regulations
that the comment addresses and that comments be in the same order as
the regulations.
ACF will consider comments by the public on these proposed
collections of information in:
Evaluating whether the proposed collections are necessary
for the proper performance of the functions of ACF, including whether
the information will have practical utility;
Evaluating the accuracy of ACF's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collections of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
Enhancing the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Minimizing the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of
information contained in this proposed regulation between 30 and 60
days after publication of this document in the Federal Register.
Therefore, a comment is best assured of having its full effect if OMB
receives it within 30 days of publication. This does not affect the
deadline for the public to comment to the Department on the proposed
regulations. Written comments to OMB for the proposed information
collection should be sent directly to the following: Office of
Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project, 725 17th Street,
NW., Washington DC 20503, Attn: Ms. Wendy Taylor.
Statutory Authority
These proposed regulations are published under the authority of
section 466(a)(5)(C) of the Act, as amended by section 331 of Pub.L.
104-193. Section 466(a)(5)(C)(iii) of the Act requires the Secretary to
promulgate regulations governing voluntary paternity establishment
services and identifying the types of entities other than hospitals and
birth record agencies that may be allowed to offer voluntary paternity
establishment services. States will be required to adopt laws and
procedures that are in accordance with the statutory and regulatory
provisions.
Background
Paternity establishment is a necessary first step for obtaining
child support in cases where a child is born out-of-wedlock. In
addition to child support, there are other potential financial benefits
to establishing paternity, including establishing a child's rights to
the father's Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, pension
benefits, and other rights of inheritance. Paternity establishment
could also be the first step in developing a psychological and social
bond between the father and child, in giving the child social and
psychological advantages and a sense of family heritage, and in
providing access to important medical history information.
Congress and the Federal government have long recognized the
importance of paternity establishment. In 1975, Title IV-D of the
Social Security Act was
[[Page 189]]
enacted to require States to establish public child support agencies.
These IV-D agencies provide child support enforcement services,
including paternity establishment services. The Child Support
Enforcement Amendments of 1984 required States to permit paternity to
be established until a child's 18th birthday.
The Family Support Act of 1988 contained several provisions
designed to improve paternity establishment, including performance
standards, timeframes for case processing, enhanced funding (90%
Federal financial participation) for genetic testing, a requirement
that States compel all parties in a contested paternity case to submit
to genetic testing upon the request of a party, a requirement that
States compel each parent to provide his or her social security number
as part of the birth certificate issuance process, and a clarification
of the earlier expansion of the requirement permitting paternity
establishment to 18 years of age.
The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA '93) further reformed
the child support enforcement program to increase the performance
standards for both the number of paternities established for children
born out-of-wedlock and the timeliness with which paternity
establishment is accomplished. One major provision of OBRA '93 was the
requirement that States have laws providing for voluntary paternity
establishment services at birthing hospitals statewide.
Partly as a result of these Federal and State statutory provisions
and their implementation, the number of paternities established each
year by the IV-D Child Support Enforcement program has increased
substantially from about 270,000 in fiscal year (FY) 1987 to over
553,000 in FY 1993, an increase of over 100 percent in just six years.
Nearly a million paternities were established in FY 1996, an increase
of over 80 percent in the three years since enactment of OBRA '93.
Finally, in section 101 of PRWORA, Congress cited a number of
social and statistical findings relating to the need for paternity
establishment. In 1992, only 54 percent of single-parent families with
children had a child support order established and, of that number,
only about one-half received the full amount due. Of the cases enforced
through the public child support enforcement system, only 18 percent of
the caseload has a collection. The number of individuals receiving IV-D
services more than tripled since 1965, and more than two-thirds of
these recipients are children, with eighty-nine percent of children
receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits living in
homes in which no father is present. The increase in the number of
children receiving public assistance is closely related to the increase
in births to unmarried women. Congress further cited that between 1970
and 1991, the percentage of live births to unmarried women increased
nearly threefold, from 10.7 percent to 29.5 percent, and if the current
trend continues, 50 percent of all births by the year 2015 will be out-
of-wedlock. The estimated rate of nonmarital teen pregnancy rose 23
percent from 54 pregnancies per 1,000 unmarried teenagers in 1976 to
66.7 pregnancies in 1991, while the overall rate of nonmarital
pregnancy rose 14 percent from 90.8 pregnancies per 1,000 unmarried
women in 1980 to 103 in both 1991 and 1992.
Description of Statutory Provisions
Section 466(a)(5)(C)(iii)(II)(aa) of the Act as amended by Pub. L.
104-193 requires that ``(T)he Secretary shall prescribe regulations
governing voluntary paternity establishment services offered by
hospitals and birth record agencies.'' Section
466(a)(5)(C)(iii)(II)(bb) of the Act as amended by Pub. L. 104-193
requires that ``(T)he Secretary shall prescribe regulations specifying
the types of other entities that may offer voluntary paternity
establishment services, and governing the provision of such services,
which shall include a requirement that such an entity must use the same
notice provisions used by, use the same materials used by, provide the
personnel providing such services with the same training provided by,
and evaluate the provision of such services in the same manner as the
provision of such services is evaluated by, voluntary paternity
establishment programs of hospitals and birth record agencies.''
The statute also requires that States develop procedures for a
simple civil process for voluntarily acknowledging paternity. This
process must ensure that a mother and a putative father do not sign an
acknowledgement of paternity before they are both given notice orally
or through the use of video or audio equipment and in writing of the
alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights (including
those rights due to minority status) and responsibilities of
acknowledging paternity. In addition, section 466(a)(5)(M) of the Act
requires that States develop procedures under which voluntary
acknowledgements and adjudications of paternity by judicial or
administrative processes are filed with the State registry of birth
records for comparison with information in the State case registry.
These changes required by PRWORA are largely expansions on requirements
previously established under OBRA '93. However, as noted above, the Act
now requires the Secretary to prescribe by regulations the types of
other entities that may offer voluntary paternity establishment
services and to write regulations governing the voluntary paternity
establishment services offered by hospitals, birth record agencies, and
other entities participating in the State's voluntary paternity
establishment program.
We propose to implement the requirements of amended section
466(a)(5)(C) by amending Sec. 302.70, addressing State laws,
Sec. 303.5, addressing establishment of paternity and Sec. 304.20,
addressing availability and rate of Federal financial participation.
Regulatory Philosophy
Historically in the child support enforcement program, the Federal
government had specified in detailed regulations how things must be
done by States. The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE)
has entered an era which necessitates a new philosophy with respect to
Federal mandates through regulation. Because the President is committed
to reducing the burden on States and streamlining regulations, OCSE's
new watchwords are partnership, results, flexibility, and
accountability.
Since OCSE's partnership with States is built on shared trust and
the primary Federal concern is results, we believe our partners in
State and local government should have a significantly greater degree
of flexibility, within the constraints of the Federal statute, than
previously permitted. Striking the appropriate balance between
flexibility and standardization will be a continuing challenge as OCSE
strives for an environment that encourages and rewards rather than
stifles creativity throughout the child support community.
These proposed regulations reflect OCSE's consultation with our
partners and stakeholders on how detailed the required procedures
should be and what other sources of voluntary paternity establishment
services should be included in the list of entities. OCSE took into
careful consideration the fact that so many of the Federal requirements
in the new law will necessitate State legislation. In the past, there
occasionally have been concerns when State legislatures enacted
legislation in response to Federal
[[Page 190]]
statutory and regulatory requirements, but had to return in a later
session to enact State laws in response to new or additional Federal
regulations. We were concerned to avoid that situation here, if at all
possible.
Because the Federal statute and regulations are fairly explicit
with respect to State requirements governing paternity establishments,
we believe it prudent to merely extend existing regulatory requirements
which govern voluntary paternity acknowledgement in hospitals to govern
birth record agencies and other entities participating in the State's
voluntary paternity establishment program as well.
Other paternity establishment provisions contained in section 331
of Pub. L. 104-193, as well as other portions of Pub. L. 104-193 that
address paternity issues, are not addressed in this proposed
rulemaking. Necessary changes to existing regulations which are
inconsistent with new Federal mandates will be addressed in a separate
omnibus rule-making. While we do not intend at this time to restate
Federal statutory requirements in regulations, should the need arise
based on unforeseen circumstances, we will work with our partners and
stakeholders to determine if further regulation and guidance is needed
to ensure consistent and effective compliance with Federal statutory
requirements and expectations.
In considering how best to implement the statutory requirement that
the Secretary promulgate regulations for expanding voluntary paternity
establishment services to include not only birthing hospitals, but also
birth record agencies and other entities, OCSE has looked for guidance
from the President's National Performance Review guidelines for
reinventing regulations. The guiding principles are to: cut obsolete
regulations; reward results, not red tape; get out of Washington to
create grass roots partnerships; and negotiate, not dictate.
Consultation Process
With these guidelines and OCSE's watchwords of partnership,
results, flexibility, and accountability, we elicited input from our
partners, including State and local IV-D administrators, State and
Federal birth record agencies, and others with empirical and applied
knowledge of voluntary paternity establishment services. OCSE has
consulted with the National Governors' Association, the American Public
Welfare Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the
National Association of Counties, the AFL-CIO, the Center for Law and
Social Policy, the Children's Defense Fund, the Center for Budget and
Policy Priorities, the United States Conference of Mayors, the National
League of Cities, Child Trends, the Manpower Development Research
Corporation, the Urban Institute, the Coalition on Human Needs, the
National Association of Social Workers, the National Organization for
Women's Legal Defense Fund, the American Association of University
Women, and others. Some of our partners have long-term experience in
the in-hospital program for voluntary paternity establishment services,
others have a wider breadth of experience from a vital records
perspective, and still others have come from a child support
enforcement background with varied experience in working with and
through their partners, and in achieving legislative enactments and
implementation successes. With their help, we developed the list of
entities where States may make voluntary paternity establishment
services available.
Description of Regulatory Provisions--Section 302.70(a)(5)(iii)
Current Regulations
Current Sec. 302.70(a)(5)(iii) requires States to have in effect
laws requiring the use of procedures for a simple civil process for
voluntarily acknowledging paternity under which the State must provide
that the rights and responsibilities of acknowledging paternity are
explained, and ensure that due process safeguards are afforded. Such
procedures must include a hospital-based program for the voluntary
acknowledgement of paternity in the period immediately before or after
the birth of a child to an unmarried woman, and a requirement that all
public and private birthing hospitals participate in the program. Such
procedures must also include a process for voluntarily acknowledging
paternity outside of hospitals.
Proposed Regulations
We propose that section 302.70(a)(5)(iii) be revised to require a
State to have in effect laws requiring procedures for a simple civil
process for voluntarily acknowledging paternity. Under these
procedures, before a mother and putative father can sign a voluntary
acknowledgement of paternity, the mother and the putative father must
be given notice, orally or through the use of video or audio equipment
and in writing, of the alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and
the rights (including any rights, if a parent is a minor, due to
minority status) and responsibilities of acknowledging paternity, and
ensure that due process safeguards are afforded. This section would be
further revised to specify that both parents are to sign the voluntary
acknowledgement.
We propose to revise paragraph (a)(5)(iii)(B) to require that State
procedures must include a program for voluntary acknowledgement of
paternity in birth record agencies and in other entities participating
in the State's voluntary paternity establishment program. We propose to
add a new paragraph (a)(5)(iii)(C) to require that State procedures
governing hospital-based programs and birth record agencies must also
apply to other entities participating in the State's voluntary
paternity establishment program, including the use of the same notice
provisions, the same materials, the same evaluation methods, and the
same training for the personnel of these other entities providing
voluntary paternity establishment services.
Description of Regulatory Provisions--Section 303.5(g)
Current Regulations
Current Sec. 303.5(g) requires States to establish, in cooperation
with hospitals, a hospital-based program in every public and private
birthing hospital, by January 1, 1995, for voluntary paternity
acknowledgement during the period immediately before or after the birth
of a child to an unmarried woman.
The hospital-based program:
(1) Must provide to both the mother and alleged father, if he is
present in the hospital, written materials about paternity
establishment, the forms necessary to voluntarily acknowledge
paternity, a written description of the rights and responsibilities of
acknowledging paternity, and the opportunity to speak with staff,
either by telephone or in person, who are trained to clarify
information and answer questions about paternity establishment;
(2) Must also provide the mother and alleged father, if he is
present, the opportunity to voluntarily acknowledge paternity in the
hospital, afford due process safeguards, and forward the completed
acknowledgments or copies to the entity designated by the State; and
(3) Need not provide the voluntary paternity acknowledgement
services in cases where the mother or alleged father is a minor or a
legal action is already pending, if the provision of such services is
precluded by State law.
The State must:
[[Page 191]]
(1) Require that a voluntary acknowledgment obtained through a
hospital-based program be signed by both parents, and that the parents'
signatures be authenticated by a notary or witness(es);
(2) Provide to all public and private birthing hospitals in the
State written materials about paternity establishment, forms necessary
to voluntarily acknowledge paternity, and copies of a written
description of the rights and responsibilities of acknowledging
paternity;
(3) Provide training, guidance, and written instructions regarding
voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, as necessary to operate the
hospital-based program;
(4) Assess each birthing hospital's program on at least an annual
basis; and
(5) Designate an entity to which hospital-based programs must
forward completed voluntary acknowledgments or copies. Under the State
procedures, this entity must be responsible for promptly recording
identifying information about the acknowledgments with a statewide
database, and the IV-D agency must have timely access to whatever
identifying information and documentation it needs to determine if an
acknowledgment has been recorded and to seek a support order on the
basis of a recorded acknowledgment.
Proposed Regulations
We propose to revise 45 CFR 303.5(g)(1) to require that the State
voluntary paternity establishment program also be available at the
State birth record agency, local birth record agencies designated by
the State and at other entities designated by the State. The
designation of the particular entities that may offer voluntary
paternity establishment services would be the responsibility of the
State.
These entities to be identified by the State could include the
following and similar entities: public health clinics (including
Supplementary Feeding Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
and Maternal and Child Health (MCH) clinics); private health care
providers (including obstetricians, gynecologists, pediatricians, and
midwives); agencies providing assistance or services under title IV-A
of the Act; agencies providing food stamp eligibility services;
agencies providing child support enforcement (IV-D) services; Head
Start and child care agencies (including child care information and
referral providers); individual child care providers; Community Action
Agencies and Community Action Programs; secondary education schools
(particularly those that have parenthood education curricula); Legal
Aid agencies; and private attorneys; and any similar public or private
health, welfare, or social services organization.
Although the Secretary is required to prescribe in regulations the
``types of entities'' which States may designate to provide voluntary
paternity services, we wish to allow States the broadest possible
discretion to determine which entities within their jurisdiction should
be designated, trained and empowered to provided this important
service.
We also propose to revise Sec. 303.5(g), to replace the reference
to the requirement that the State designate an entity to which the
voluntary acknowledgement program must forward completed voluntary
acknowledgement forms or copies with a requirement that the State
designate the State registry of birth records as the entity to which
the voluntary acknowledgement program must forward completed voluntary
acknowledgment forms or copies. We also propose to replace references
to the hospital-based voluntary paternity establishment program with
references to hospitals, birth record agencies, and other entities
participating in the State's voluntary paternity establishment program.
By making these changes, we propose to expand the applicability of
all existing provisions in Sec. 303.5(g)(2)-(8) to birth record
agencies and other entities participating in the State's voluntary
paternity establishment program. This is consistent with the statutory
requirement that the Secretary prescribe regulations governing the
provision of services by the other entities. The statute specifies that
the other entities participating in the State's voluntary paternity
establishment program must use the same materials and be trained and
evaluated in the same manner as the voluntary paternity establishment
programs of hospitals and birth record agencies. We believe this
consistency will greatly facilitate the establishment of paternities by
entities other than hospitals and birth record agencies.
Additionally, to reflect other new statutory requirements, we
propose to revise Sec. 303.5(g)(2)(i)(C) and Sec. 303.5(g)(5)(iii), to
require that hospitals, birth record agencies, and other entities
participating in the voluntary paternity establishment program provide
to the mother, and the father if present, an oral as well as written
description of the consequences of voluntarily acknowledging paternity.
The information about consequences may also be provided through the use
of video or audio equipment.
The description must address not only the rights and
responsibilities of acknowledging paternity, but also the alternatives
to, and the legal consequences of, acknowledging paternity. In
addition, the description must ensure that due process safeguards are
afforded and that any rights due to minority status be described to the
parents if a parent is a minor.
Description of Regulatory Provisions--Section 304.20(b)(2)
Current Regulations
Under current Sec. 304.20(b)(2)(vi), Federal financial
participation is available for State administrative costs for paternity
establishment services, including payments up to $20 to birthing
hospitals and other entities that provide prenatal or birthing services
for each voluntary acknowledgment obtained pursuant to an agreement
with the IV-D agency. Under current Sec. 304.20(b)(2)(vii), Federal
financial participation is available for developing and providing to
birthing hospitals and other entities that provide prenatal or birthing
services written and audiovisual materials about paternity
establishment and forms necessary to voluntarily acknowledge paternity.
Under current Sec. 304.20(b)(2)(viii), Federal financial participation
is available for reasonable and essential short-term training regarding
voluntary acknowledgment of paternity associated with a State's
hospital-based program.
Proposed Regulations
We propose to revise these paragraphs to allow Federal financial
participation in these allowable costs with respect to birth record
agencies and other entities participating in the voluntary paternity
establishment program. This is consistent with our proposal to expand
the applicability of all existing provisions in Sec. 303.5(g) (2)-(8)
to birth record agencies and other entities participating in the
State's voluntary paternity establishment program.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The primary impact of these regulations is on State governments and
individuals, which are not considered small entities under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. Most of the requirements being imposed on
entities are required by statute. The regulations require hospitals,
birth record agencies and the other entities participating in the
State's voluntary paternity establishment program to be subject only to
certain minimal requirements.
[[Page 192]]
These requirements include: undergoing training, being evaluated
annually, providing oral and written information to mothers and
putative fathers, and transmitting the acknowledgements to the State
registry of birth records. The information about consequences may also
be provided through the use of video or audio equipment. The Federal
regulations do not specify the nature or extent of the training,
evaluation or materials to be provided. The States will furnish the
training, conduct the evaluation, and provide the materials and forms
to be used. The requirements imposed by the regulations do not result
in a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Therefore, the Secretary certifies, under 5 U.S.C. 605(b), as enacted
by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354), that these proposed
regulations will not result in a significant impact on a substantial
number of small entities.
Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 requires that regulations be reviewed to
ensure that they are consistent with the priorities and principles set
forth in the Executive Order. The Department has determined that this
rule is consistent with these priorities and principles. The proposed
regulations are required by PRWORA and represent expansion of the
existing regulations to cover birth record agencies and other entities.
Unfunded Mandates Act
The Department has determined that this proposed rule is not a
significant regulatory action within the meaning of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
List of Subjects in 45 CFR Parts 302, 303, and 304
Accounting, Child support, Grant programs--social programs, and
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.563, Child
Support Enforcement Program)
Dated: July 30, 1997.
Olivia A. Golden,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.
Approved: September 25, 1997.
Donna E. Shalala,
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, we propose to amend title
45 CFR chapter III of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 302--STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS
1. The authority citation for Part 302 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 651 through 658, 664, 666, 667, 1302,
1396a(a)(25), 1396b(d)(2), 1396b(o), 1396b(p) and 1396(k).
2. Section 302.70 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(5)(iii)
introductory by revising paragraph (a)(5)(iii)(B), and by adding
paragraph (a)(5)(iii)(C) to read as follows:
Sec. 302.70 Required State laws.
(a) * * *
(5) * * *
(iii) Procedures for a simple civil process for voluntarily
acknowledging paternity under which the State must provide that, before
a mother and putative father can sign a voluntary acknowledgement of
paternity, the mother and the putative father must be given notice,
orally or through video or audio equipment, and in writing, of the
alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights (including
any rights, if a parent is a minor, due to minority status) and
responsibilities of acknowledging paternity, and ensure that due
process safeguards are afforded. Such procedures must include:
(A) * * *
(B) A process for voluntary acknowledgement of paternity in birth
record agencies, and in other entities participating in the State's
voluntary paternity establishment program; and
(C) A requirement that the procedures governing hospital-based
programs and birth record agencies must also apply to other entities
participating in the State's voluntary paternity establishment program,
including the use of the same notice provisions, the same materials,
the same evaluation methods, and the same training for the personnel of
these other entities providing voluntary paternity establishment
services.
* * * * *
PART 303--STANDARDS FOR PROGRAM OPERATIONS
3. The authority citation for Part 303 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 651 through 658, 660, 663, 664, 666, 667,
1302, 1396a(a)(25), 1396b(d)(2), 1396b(o), 1396b(p) and 1396(k).
4. Section 303.5 is amended by revising paragraph (g) to read as
follows:
Sec. 303.5 Establishment of paternity.
* * * * *
(g) Voluntary paternity establishment programs. (1) The State must
establish, in cooperation with every hospital and birth record agency
and with all other entities participating in the State's voluntary
paternity establishment program, a program for voluntary paternity
establishment services.
(i) The hospital-based portion of the voluntary paternity
establishment services program must be operational in private and
public birthing hospitals statewide and must provide voluntary
paternity establishment services focusing on the period immediately
before and after the birth of a child born out-of-wedlock.
(ii) The voluntary paternity establishment services program must
also be available at the State birth record agency, every local birth
record agency within the State, and at all other entities participating
in the State's voluntary paternity establishment program. These
entities may include the following types of entities:
(A) Public health clinics (including Supplementary Feeding Program
for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Maternal and Child Health
(MCH) clinics), and private health care providers (including
obstetricians, gynecologists, pediatricians, and midwives);
(B) Agencies providing assistance or services under title IV-A of
the Act, agencies providing food stamp eligibility service, and
agencies providing child support enforcement (IV-D) services;
(C) Head Start and child care agencies (including child care
information and referral providers), and individual child care
providers;
(D) Community Action Agencies and Community Action Programs;
(E) Secondary education schools (particularly those that have
parenthood education curricula);
(F) Legal Aid agencies, and private attorneys; and
(G) Any similar public or private health, welfare or social
services organization.
(2) The hospitals, birth record agencies, and other entities
participating in the State's voluntary paternity establishment program
must, at a minimum:
(i) Provide to both the mother and alleged father, if he is
present:
(A) Written materials about paternity establishment,
(B) The forms necessary to voluntarily acknowledge paternity,
(C) A written and oral or through the use of video or audio
equipment description of the alternatives to, the legal consequences
of, and the rights (including any rights, if a parent is a minor, due
to minority status) and responsibilities of acknowledging paternity,
and
[[Page 193]]
(D) The opportunity to speak with staff, either by telephone or in
person, who are trained to clarify information and answer questions
about paternity establishment;
(ii) Provide the mother and alleged father, if he is present, the
opportunity to voluntarily acknowledge paternity;
(iii) Afford due process safeguards; and
(iv) Forward completed acknowledgements or copies to the State
registry of birth records.
(3) The hospitals, birth record agencies, and other entities
participating in the State's voluntary paternity establishment program
need not provide services specified in paragraph (g)(2) of this section
in cases where the mother or alleged father is a minor or a legal
action is already pending, if the provision of such services is
precluded by State law.
(4) The State must require that a voluntary acknowledgement be
signed by both parents, and that the parents' signatures be
authenticated by a notary or witness(es).
(5) The State must provide to all hospitals, birth record agencies,
and other entities participating in the State's voluntary paternity
establishment program:
(i) Written materials about paternity establishment, ii) forms
necessary to voluntarily acknowledge paternity, and
(ii) Form necessary to voluntarily acknowledge paternity, and
(iii) Copies of a written description of the alternatives to, the
legal consequences of, and the rights (including any rights, if a
parent is a minor, due to minority status) and responsibilities of
acknowledging paternity.
(6) The State must provide training, guidance, and written
instructions regarding voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, as
necessary to operate the voluntary paternity establishment services in
the hospitals, birth record agencies, and other entities participating
in the State's voluntary paternity establishment program.
(7) The State must assess each hospital, birth record agency, and
other entity participating in the State's voluntary paternity
establishment program that are providing voluntary paternity
establishment services on at least an annual basis.
(8) The State must designate the State registry of birth records as
the entity to which hospitals, birth record agencies, and other
entities that are participating in the State's voluntary paternity
establishment program must forward completed voluntary acknowledgements
or copies in accordance with Sec. 303.5(g)(2)(iv). Under State
procedures, the State registry of birth records must be responsible for
promptly recording identifying information about the acknowledgements
with a statewide database, and the IV-D agency must have timely access
to whatever identifying information and documentation it needs to
determine in accordance with Sec. 303.5(h) if an acknowledgement has
been recorded and to seek a support order on the basis of a recorded
acknowledgement in accordance with Sec. 303.4(f).
* * * * *
PART 304--FEDERAL FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION
5. The authority citation for Part 304 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 651 through 655, 657, 1302, 1396a(a)(25),
1396b(d)(2), 1396b(o), 1396b(p) and 1396(k).
6. Section 304.20 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(2)(vi)
through paragraph (6)(2)(viii) to read as follows:
Sec. 304.20 Availability and rate of Federal financial participation.
(b) * * *
(2) * * *
(vi) Payments up to $20 to hospitals, birth record agencies, and
other entities participating in the State's voluntary paternity
establishment program, under Sec. 303.5(g) of this chapter, for each
voluntary acknowledgement obtained pursuant to an agreement with the
IV-D agency;
(vii) Developing and providing to hospitals, birth record agencies,
and other entities participating in the State's voluntary paternity
establishment program, under Sec. 303.5(g) of this chapter, written and
audiovisual materials about paternity establishment and forms necessary
to voluntarily acknowledge paternity; and
(viii) Reasonable and essential short-term training associated with
the State's program of voluntary paternity establishment services under
Sec. 303.5(g).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-088 Filed 1-2-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
