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 designed to help noncustodial parents who are behind on child support or who are 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 alternatives to, or supplements for, existing child support enforcement and collection remedies.
The bill directs the Department to set participation criteria, which may include employment requirements and income thresholds, and allows the Department to limit the pilot to certain courts and jurisdictions. It also requires annual reporting to the Governor and General Assembly on participation, changes in enforcement activity, and the amount of child support paid on time by participants. The pilot would sunset on July 1, 2031, and the Department must convene a stakeholder work group, including representatives from 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.
The bill would add a new article to Title 63.2 of the Code of Virginia governing a temporary child support/employment pilot administered by the Department of Social Services. It would not broadly rewrite child support law, but it would authorize a new service-based intervention for certain noncustodial parents and potentially affect how child support enforcement is used in selected jurisdictions. The reporting and sunset provisions would create a limited-term policy experiment with legislative oversight and data collection.
The available history suggests the bill was treated cautiously and did not advance to final enactment in the current session, as it was continued to the next session in the Courts of Justice Committee by voice vote. The inclusion of a stakeholder work group and the pilot structure indicate an effort to build consensus around a targeted, rehabilitative approach to child support compliance. Overall, the bill appears to have had at least some support for exploring alternatives to strict enforcement, but not enough immediate agreement for passage.
The main points of contention likely center on whether child support enforcement should be paired with employment and social-service interventions, and how much discretion the Department should have in setting eligibility criteria and limiting the pilot to certain courts or jurisdictions. Supporters, including poverty and family-law stakeholders named in the bill, may view the program as a way to improve payment compliance by addressing unemployment and barriers to work. Opponents or skeptics may be concerned about weakening enforcement tools, administrative complexity, or uneven access if the pilot is restricted to selected areas.