Employment and Training Services for Noncustodial Parents in the Child Support Program; Rescission
Key claim: HHS/ACF proposes to rescind the 2024 final rule that allowed child support agencies to use federal funds under title IV-D to provide optional employment and training services to noncustodial parents.
Abstract
(Proposed Rule · Health and Human Services Department, Children and Families Administration) The Office of Child Support Enforcement proposes to rescind the Employment and Training Services for Noncustodial Parents in the Child Support Program final rule, published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2024. The final rule allowed child support agencies to utilize Federal Financial Participation under title IV-D of the Social Security Act for providing specific, optional, and non-duplicative employment and training services to eligible noncustodial parents.
Why this matters
For workers, rescinding the 2024 rule would remove a federal funding pathway that helped unemployed or underemployed noncustodial parents access job training tied to their child support case, potentially narrowing reentry and workforce supports for a population that overlaps with returning citizens and low-wage workers. For state child support agencies and employers partnering with them, the change would eliminate Title IV-D federal match for these optional services, shifting cost and program-design decisions back to states. The action is a regulatory reversal, not a change in underlying statute, so services could continue if states fund them independently.