Working Off Welfare Act of 1994

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Welfare Reform

Subtitle A: Aid To Families With Dependent Children

Subtitle B: Earned Income Tax Credit

Subtitle C: Microenterprise and Small Business

Development

Subtitle D: Effective Date

Title II: Federal Job Training Program Reforms

Subtitle A: Studies and Reports

Subtitle B: Economic Self-Sufficiency Standards for

Federal Job Training Programs

Subtitle C: Effective Date

Title III: Child Support Enforcement

Working Off Welfare Act of 1994 - Title I: Welfare Reform - Subtitle A: Aid to Families with Dependent Children - Amends parts A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) and F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make various specified changes with regard to, among other things, income disregards, support services and case management, school attendance and child care, and job training and education in order to enable families on welfare to become self-sufficient.

Subtitle B: Earned Income Tax Credit - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to submit to the Congress recommendations for procedures under which the Federal Government may make quarterly advance payments of earned income credit.

Subtitle C: Microenterprise and Small Business Development - Amends SSA title IV part A to give States the option of disregarding certain income and resources related to microenterprise initiatives or designated for education, training, or employability through the use of a qualified asset account.

(Sec. 141) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) study and report to the Congress on the use of such accounts; and (2) report to the Congress on the AFDC asset limit on automobiles.

Provides for the inclusion of microenterprise training and activities in the JOBS program.

Subtitle D: Effective Date - Sets forth effective dates for this title.

Title II: Federal Job Training Program Reforms - Subtitle A: Studies and Reports - Requires the Secretaries of Education, of HHS, and of Labor (Secretaries) each to study the effectiveness of the job training programs under their respective jurisdictions for a report to the Congress.

(Sec. 202) Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the effectiveness of such programs, including the extent to which they are successful at placing participants into certain unsubsidized employment.

Subtitle B: Economic Self-Sufficiency Standards for Federal Job Training Programs - Requires the Secretaries jointly to develop and publish in the Federal Register proposed standards for measuring the minimum amount of wages and employment benefits that a participant should receive after termination from such program in order to ensure his or her long-term economic self-sufficiency.

Subtitle C: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date for this title.

Title III: Child Support Enforcement - Directs the Secretary to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a national registry (NR) of all child support orders, maintaining an abstract of each order containing certain specified information.

(Sec. 301) Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to require certain State procedures, including procedures for ensuring that: (1) a copy of each child support order issued, modified, or being enforced in the State is transmitted to the NR; and (2) a notice of court or administrative review and, under certain conditions, a statement of arrears owed are included with each order transmitted.

Requires NR, upon the receipt from an employer of a W-4 form completed by an employee, to report to the employer information on: (1) whether the employee is subject to a child support order for wage withholding; and (2) the aggregate amount of support involved.

(Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary to establish a system for enabling such information, as well as information identifying the person to whom any child support is owed, to be obtained at the workplace via W-4 form reporting by employees.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require employers to deduct and withhold child support obligations from employee wages, pay withholdings to the Secretary, forward individual W-4 forms to NR, and include withheld obligations on the employee's W-2 form; (2) require individuals with monthly shortfalls in child support payments because of inadequate wage withholding to make payments directly to the Secretary, with the full amount due by the end of the applicable tax year subject to the same collection process and penalties applicable to back taxes; and (3) provide for a tax credit for withholdings and payments in excess of applicable obligations.

(Sec. 304) Directs the Secretary to pay to the appropriate payee on a monthly basis a portion of the amount of child support received on account of an obligation payable to such payee, with interest payable on late payments.

(Sec. 305) Amends SSA title IV part D to require: (1) certain individuals applying for child support collection or paternity determination services to use a new Federal application form in applying for such services; (2) State part D plans to provide for ongoing outreach programs to persons eligible for plan services; and (3) the separate organizational unit under the direction of the Secretary of HHS' designee to issue regulations for ensuring State plans for serving underserved populations and accommodations for assisting non-English speaking persons and the hearing impaired.

(Sec. 306) Establishes the Commission on Child Support Guidelines to recommend to the Congress national child support guidelines to be followed by State courts and administrative bodies in setting child support award amounts.

(Sec. 307) Directs the Secretary of HHS to: (1) establish by a certain deadline the staffing requirements already required for State child support programs; (2) streamline the child support audit process; and (3) jointly issue with the Secretary regulations governing coordination of State child support collection activities with those of the IRS.

Provides for: (1) an increase in the Federal matching rate as an incentive for States increasing paternity establishment and meeting staffing requirements for child support programs; and (2) inclusion in consumer credit reports of information on individual consumers' overdue support obligations.

Adds: (1) maintenance of effort requirements for State child support and AFDC programs; and (2) additional specified requirements with respect to procedures for paternity establishment and acknowledgment affidavits.