A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 19 of Title 63.2 an article numbered 4.1, consisting of sections numbered 63.2-1922.1, 63.2-1922.2, and 63.2-1922.3, relating to Noncustodial Parent Employment and Child Support Pilot Program established; report; work group; sunset.
HB1346 creates a new pilot program within the Virginia Department of Social Services called the Noncustodial Parent Employment and Child Support Pilot Program. The program is intended to help noncustodial parents who are behind on child support, unemployed, or underemployed by connecting them to employment referrals, job skills training, education classes, parenting classes, and other case management services. The bill frames these services as an alternative to, or supplement for, existing child support enforcement and collection tools.
The Department would be required to set participation criteria, which may include employment requirements and income thresholds, and it could limit the pilot to selected courts or jurisdictions. The bill also requires the Department to report annually to the Governor and General Assembly on participation, enforcement activity, and child support payment outcomes. The pilot would sunset on July 1, 2031, and the Department must convene a stakeholder work group, including the Attorney General’s Office, the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Executive Secretary, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, and the Virginia Family Law Coalition, to help design the program and its eligibility rules.
The bill would add a new article to Title 63.2 of the Code of Virginia governing a child support employment pilot program and would direct the Department of Social Services to administer it. It does not change the underlying child support obligation, but it could affect how the state pursues enforcement by offering a structured service-based alternative or complement to traditional collection remedies for certain noncustodial parents. The bill also creates reporting obligations and a temporary sunset, making the program a time-limited policy experiment rather than a permanent statutory change.
The available context suggests the bill was treated as a civil-family-law policy proposal rather than a partisan or highly controversial measure. Its referral to the Courts of Justice Committee and continuation to the next session indicate it advanced procedurally but was not resolved in the current session. The bill’s design, which emphasizes employment support and case management for parents in arrears, suggests a rehabilitative approach that may appeal to advocates focused on poverty reduction and family stability.
The main points of potential contention are likely to be whether child support enforcement should be paired with employment and social services, how much discretion the Department should have in setting eligibility criteria, and whether the pilot should be limited to certain jurisdictions. Stakeholders representing enforcement and court administration may focus on preserving collection effectiveness, while legal aid and family-law advocates may support the program as a way to reduce arrears and improve compliance. The inclusion of a work group with both enforcement and advocacy organizations suggests the bill anticipates differing views on program design and implementation.