APA is working with the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) and state child support enforcement agencies to resolve outstanding issues associated with withholding child support from lump-sum payments. The Employer Lump-Sum Collaborative Workgroup “will develop recommendations to improve the lump-sum reporting and withholding process” through consensus among participants. APA would like to see streamlined processes and procedures among the states.
Although 22 states have child support statutes with some reference to lump-sum payments, many statutes include a definition of the types of payments subject to withholding, but lack procedures for actually implementing withholding. Sixteen states require employers to report lump-sum payments.
The workgroup is exploring communication requirements to assess reasonable reporting and response times. States and employers need a place to communicate to simplify the process. One possible approach is to expand OCSE’s Child Support Portal to allow employers to report lump-sum payments and states to view this information and respond.
For the full article, including more on the workgroup activities and next steps, see August 2018 Inside Washington.
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