WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate passed bill aimed at improving child support enforcement for Native American tribes by allowing the 60 tribes that currently operate their own child support agencies to access the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program to help overdue To collect child support from parents who do not have custody.

“I am grateful that the Senate unanimously passed my bill to improve child support enforcement for Indian tribes,” said US Senator John Thune (RS.D.), senior member of the Tax and IRS Oversight Subcommittee Senate, which passed the bill on Jan. 8, 2020. “Tribes in South Dakota that operate their own childcare facilities should have access to the same programs and resources as state childcare agencies. Our legislation would help families in the Indian country to collect overdue child support payments and help ensure that tribal and state child support programs are on an equal footing. “

With the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program, if a non-custodial parent is about to receive a tax refund and owes overdue child support, the US Treasury Department can withhold the refund and transfer it to the state child benefit paid out to the family. Extending this program to Indian tribes who operate their own childcare facilities would create parity between tribes and states by allowing Indigenous childcare agencies to obtain other identifiable information from non-custodial parents that can be used to enforce child benefits.

“It only makes sense that tribes in Oregon and across the country should have the same tools as government childcare facilities, and they have come an important step closer with the passage of our Tribal Child Support Enforcement Act,” said Senator Ron Wyden (D -Ore), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who reintroduced the bill on March 2, 2021. “Once this bill is passed by the House of Representatives and goes into effect, tribal children’s charities everywhere can ensure children get the support they deserve.”