Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, along with New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, introduced the “Strengthen and Vitalize Enforcement (SAVE) of Child Support Act.”

The act aims to assist stated in collecting child support from parents who do not pay their support orders, even when they move from one state to another, explained Senator Grassley when he spoke with KCII News.

According to a press release from the Senator’s office, the following points are addressed in the SAVE Child Support Act.
– Makes enforcement of child support liens more effective by requiring states to access a centralized database to check for liens placed against real property;
– Facilitates the interception of personal injury insurance claims by requiring all state child support agencies to either join the Child Support Lien Network, a consortium of states and insurance companies that work together to match child support obligors with insurance claims, or join a similar network;
– Clarifies state jurisdictional rules to facilitate the collection of outstanding child support orders, expedites procedures for redirecting child support payments if the child has relocated, and streamlines and improves the ability of the courts to enforce child support orders.
– Increases the efficacy of withholding mechanisms by strengthening existing passport denial procedures and expediting the process by which states can suspend driver and professional licenses for non-payment;
– Encourages increased coordination between child support agencies and corrections facilities to manage child support orders;
– Protects the right of non-custodial parents to visit with their children by requiring states to report on plans to facilitate access to and visitation of children by their parents; and
– Protects vulnerable families from the deceptive and harassing practices of private child support collection agencies by extending federal debt protection laws to cover these companies.
In fiscal year 2011, nearly 11.5 million cases had child support arrears, according to the Health and Human Services Office of Child Support Enforcement fiscal year 2011 Preliminary Report.