WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators recognize the importance of parents providing financial support for their children and the need for child support enforcement services; and

WHEREAS, some states have established court-based child support enforcement services that are available to those individuals who do not wish to avail themselves of IV-D child support enforcement services; and 

WHEREAS, court-based child support enforcement programs are public agencies and, when given the responsibility for providing public services, should have the same access to databases and enforcement tools as other public child support enforcement agencies and should be subject to the same restrictions and accountability as these other public agencies; and  

WHEREAS, Congress is considering legislation that would authorize access by courts and other public non IV-D child support enforcement agencies to the IV-D databases for purposes of locating the income and assets of delinquent child support obligors and to certain IV-D enforcement tools; and 

WHEREAS, to effectively implement this legislation, coordination and collaboration will be necessary between the IV-D agencies, the court-based child support enforcement programs, and the other public Non IV-D child support enforcement agencies; 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Conferences urge Congress to give favorable consideration to providing court-based child support enforcement programs with access to the IV-D databases and enforcement tools and to requiring a comprehensive evaluation of the outcomes of such legislation.

            Adopted as proposed by the Courts, Children and Family Committees of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators in Rapid City, South Dakota at the 52^nd Annual Meeting on August 3, 2000.

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