History
of Alabama’s Child Support Program and
Congress created the Child Support Program in 1975 after having concluded that its earlier child support efforts did not go far enough in reducing welfare caseloads and associated costs. That year Congress added Part D to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act thereby creating the Child Support Enforcement Program. The IV-D program, as it is commonly referred to, requires States to administer programs for providing child support establishment and enforcement services in conformance with Federal law. The passage of this landmark legislation (P.L. 93-647) significantly increases Federal intervention in State child support activities. Alabama’s Child Support Program began in 1975 as part of the Public Assistance Program.
The Alabama Child Support Association (ACSA) grew out of a recognized need for more support and training for Department of Human resources (DHR) staff and attorneys handling the child support program in Alabama. In 1980, The Alabama District Attorneys Association proposed creating an organization to address those needs. Conferences were begun to inform and train Association members in the challenges facing the child support program. The child support program grew and so did the Association. With continues support from both District Attorneys and DHR, the Association became incorporated in 1991.
The By-Laws of the ACSA state, “The primary purpose of this corporation
is to facilitate the improvement in and delivery of child support services in
the State of Alabama, which includes, but is not limited to the following:
1.) To establish good relationships among the various offices involved in child support.
2.) To encourage a high order of business and professional attainment.
3.) To further knowledge of the civil and criminal law in Alabama as it relates to child support.
4.) To maintain high standards of ethics among its membership.
5.) To
educate the public regarding the child support program in Alabama.”
The Association membership is limited to those involved with the child support program in Alabama. Leadership of the Association rotates on a yearly basis between DHR and the district attorney members. Over the past 20 years, DHR staff, district attorneys and staff, and private attorneys have worked collaboratively to further these goals.
In 1989, the House Ways and Mean Committee annual Child Support Enforcement Report Card ranked Alabama as the best in the nation. At our conference in 1991, members proudly sported T-shirts with the slogan “Alabama’s CS program is #1 in the Nation.” As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Alabama’s Child Support Program, let’s commit today to make Alabama’s program number one again.