Child Support Enforcement Program; State Plan Requirements, Standards for Program Operations, and Federal Financial Participation

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 ``[email protected].'', 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