Child Support Improvement Amendment Act of 2026

COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004

January 29, 2026

Nyasha Howard, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Secretary Howard,

Today, we, along with Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George, Zachary Parker, Brianne Nadeau, Charles
Allen, Christina Henderson, and Wendell Felder, and in partnership with Attorney General Brian Schwalb,
are introducing the “Child Support Improvement Amendment Act of 2026” to modernize the District’s
child support system and ensure that the entirety of child support payments are directed to the children and
families for whom they are intended.

Under current law, the District’s child support system prioritizes government cost recovery for families
who currently receive or previously received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). As a result,
a portion of child support payments collected on behalf of low-income families is retained by the District
and the federal government rather than being passed directly to children and custodial parents.1 According
to federal law, the District can choose to “pass-through” all of the child support it collects to these families.
While the District has taken incremental steps to allow limited pass -through of these payments, many
families continue to receive only a portion of the child support collected on their behalf.

Research consistently shows that when child support payments go directly to families, children benefit from
increased household income, greater parental involvement, and improved child development outcome 2
Directing child support to families also improves payment compliance by non -custodial parents and
strengthens trust in the child support system overall. Amidst recent changes to public benefits that weaken
the District’s social safety net, it is critical that the Council make common sense, fiscally responsible policy
changes that will have a significant impact on the District’s most vulnerable residents.

The Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety , Committee on Human Services, and the Office of the
Attorney General are committed to improving the District’s child support system to ensure that families in
need receive the support to which they are entitled. This bill does so by making targeted reforms to ensure
that more child support collections reach families while maintaining a fair, predictable, and administrable
system. The bill focuses on two core reforms.

1. Full Pass -Through of Child Support Collections to Families Receiving or Who Have
Previously Received TANF

1 A “custodial parent” lives with the child most of the time and typically has primary responsibility for daily care. A
“noncustodial parent” lives apart from the child and is responsible for paying child support to the custodial parent to
help pay for the cost of raising the child.
2 Elaine Sorensen, “The Child Support Program is a Good Investment,” OCSS, 2016,
https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ocse/sbtn_csp_is_a_good_investment.pdf.

First, the bill establishes a full pass -through of child support collections to families who currently receive
or previously received TANF. Under this approach, the District would pass through the full amount of
current child support payments collected on behalf of families receiving TANF, rather than retaining all but
a capped portion. The bill also ensures that when non-custodial parents pay off unpaid child support debts,
those state-assigned arrears are passed directly to families receiving child support.

2. Change the Period of Enforceability and Statute of Limitations for Collections of Child
Support Payments.

Second, the bill modernizes the period of enforceability and statute of limitations for child support
collections. Current law allows individual unpaid child support payments to remain enforceable for
extended and rolling periods that can continue long after a child has reached adulthood. The bill establishes
a clear and uniform enforceability period tied to the emancipation of the youngest child on the child support
order, plus a defined post -emancipation period. This change ensures custodial parents have a reasonable
opportunity to collect support when it is most needed, while providing clarity and finality for non-custodial
parents.

Together, these reforms modernize the District’s child support system, align local practice with available
federal options, and prioritize the economic stability and well -being of children and families.
Councilmember Frumin and I look forward to working wi th our colleagues, the Office of the Attorney
General, and District residents to advance these reforms and strengthen outcomes for families across the
District. Should you have any questions about this legislation, please contact Ella Hanson at
ehanson@dccouncil.gov and Ella Roth at eroth@dccouncil.gov.

Sincerely,

Councilmember Brooke Pinto, Ward 2
Chair, Committee on the Judiciary and Public
Safety

Councilmember Matthew Frumin, Ward 3
Chair, Committee on Human Services

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______________________________ ________________________________ 1
Councilmember Matthew Frumin Councilmember Brooke Pinto 2
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Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Councilmember Zachary Parker 6
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Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau Councilmember Charles Allen 10
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Councilmember Christina Henderson Councilmember Wendell Felder 14
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A BILL 20
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 24
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To amend the District of Columbia Public Assistance Act of 1982 to eliminate the exemption of 29
child support payments families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 30
(“TANF”) from the assignment of such payments to the District; to amend the Child 31
Support Enforcement Amendment Act of 1985 to require the District to pay families 32
receiving TANF an amount equal to the first $200 of monthly current child support 33
payments made to the District under an assignment made pursuant to section 519(b) of 34
the District of Columbia Public Assistance Act of 1982, to require the District to pay 35
families receiving TANF an amount equal to the first $200 of any child support payment 36
of current support or arrears made to the District under an assignment made pursuant to 37
section 519(b) of the District of Columbia Public Assistance Act of 1982, and to require 38
the District to pay to families currently or formerly receiving TANF an amount equal to 39
all current child support and arrears payments made to the District under an assignment 40
made pursuant to section 519b of the District of Columbia Public Assistance Act of 1982; 41
and to amend section 15-101 of the District of Columbia Official Code to set a statute of 42
limitations on child support enforcement actions of 5 years after the date of the 43
emancipation of the youngest child subject to the support order for support orders entered 44
in cases filed after 120 days after the effective date of the Child Support Improvement 45
Amendment Act of 2026. 46

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 48
act may be cited as the “Child Support Improvement Amendment Act of 2026”. 49
Sec. 2. Section 519(c)(5) of the District of Columbia Public Assistance Act of 1982, 50
effective April 6, 1982 (D.C. Law 4-101; D.C. Official Code § 4-205.19(c)(5)), is repealed. 51
Sec. 3. The District of Columbia Child Support Enforcement Amendment Act of 1985, 52
effective February 24, 1987 (D.C. Law 6-166; D.C. Official Code § 46-201 et seq.), is amended 53
by adding a new section 4a to read as follows: 54
“Sec. 4a. Pass-through of current support and arrears. 55
“(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the District shall pay to a family receiving TANF an 56
amount equal to the first $200 of a current monthly child support payment made to the District 57
for a family receiving TANF under an assignment of child support made pursuant to section 58
519(b) of the District of Columbia Public Assistance Act of 1982, effective April 6, 1982 (D.C. 59
Law 4-101; D.C. Official Code § 4-205.19(b)). 60
“(b) Subject to appropriations and notwithstanding any other law, the District shall pay 61
to a family receiving TANF an amount equal to the first $200 of a child support that satisfies a 62
current monthly child support obligation or accrued child support arrears made to the District 63
under an assignment of child support made pursuant to section 519(b) of the District of 64
Columbia Public Assistance Act of 1982, effective April 6, 1982 (D.C. Law 4-101; D.C. Official 65
Code § 4-205.19(b)). 66
“(c) Subject to appropriations and notwithstanding any other law, the District shall pay 67
to a family that is currently receiving or formerly received TANF an amount equal to all child 68
support payments, including current support and arrears payments, made to the District under an 69
assignment of child support made pursuant to section 519(b) of the District of Columbia Public 70

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Assistance Act of 1982, effective April 6, 1982 (D.C. Law 4-101; D.C Official Code § 4-71
205.19(b)).”. 72
Sec. 4. Section 15-101 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended as follows: 73
(a) Subsection (a) is amended as follows: 74
(1) Strike the phrase “subsection (b) of this section” and insert the phrase 75
“subsections (a-1) and (b) of this section” in its place. 76
(2) Strike the phrase “twelve years” and insert the phrase “12 years” in its place. 77
(b) A new subsection (a-1) is added to read as follows: 78
“(a-1) For support orders entered in cases filed 120 days after the effective date of the 79
Child Support Improvement Amendment Act of 2026, the 12-year period of limitation on the 80
enforceability of a final judgment or final decree for the payment of money provided by 81
subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to judgments or decrees for past-due child support. 82
Child support judgments entered pursuant to these support orders shall be enforceable for a 83
period of 5 years after the date of the emancipation of the youngest child subject to the support 84
order. The time during which the judgment creditor is stayed from enforcing the judgment as 85
provided in subsection (a) of this section shall not be computed as a part of the period within 86
which the judgment is enforceable by execution.”. 87
(c) Subsection (b) is amended by striking the phrase “the twelve-year period provided by 88
subsection (a)” and inserting the phrase “the periods provided by subsections (a) and (a-1)” in its 89
place. 90
Sec. 5. Applicability. 91
(a)(1) Amended section 4a(b) within section 3 shall apply 240 days after the date of 92
inclusion of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. 93

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(2) Amended section 4a(c) within section 3 shall apply upon the date of inclusion 94
of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. 95
(b) The Chief Financial Officer shall certify the date of inclusion of the fiscal effect in an 96
approved budget and financial plan and provide notice to the Budget Director of the Council of 97
the certifications. 98
(c)(1) The Budget Director shall cause the notices of the certification to be published in 99
the District of Columbia Register. 100
(2) The dates of publication of the notices of certification shall not affect the 101
applicability of the provisions identified in subsection (a) of this section. 102
Sec. 6. Fiscal impact statement. 103
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 104
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 105
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 106
Sec. 7. Effective date. 107
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of a veto by 108
the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional 109
review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved 110
December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)). 111