Historically, states were required to provide CSE services to members of Indian tribes and tribal organizations who were part of their CSE caseloads. As of April 20, 2016, there were 61 tribal CSE programs. In FY2014, the 57 tribes or tribal organizations with comprehensive CSE programs distributed over $36 million in total child support collections in FY2014 to 50,892 cases in the CSE tribal program. In 2014, about 66% of American Indian and Alaska Native children were born to unmarried women (again, according to race). This report provides a brief legislative history of CSE provisions related to tribes, presents basic information on tribal CSE programs, describes the information that tribal CSE programs must contain in order to be approved for federal funding, displays data on current tribal CSE programs, and discusses issues related to ensuring that Native American children receive the child support to which they are entitled. The report also includes three appendices. Appendix B displays FY2016 information that shows the 57 comprehensive tribal CSE programs. It also names the four start-up tribal CSE programs. The CSE program currently provides seven major services on behalf of children: (1) parent location, (2) paternity establishment, (3) establishment of child support orders, (4) review and modification of child support orders, (5) enforcement/collection of child support payments, (6) distribution of child support payments, and (7) establishment and enforcement of medical support. The CSE program is administered by the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), which is in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Before enactment of the 1996 welfare reform law ( P.L. The 1996 law allowed any state that has Indian country (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151) within its borders to enter into a cooperative agreement with an Indian tribe or tribal organization if the tribe demonstrated that it had an established tribal court system with the authority to establish paternity, and establish, modify, and enforce child support orders. In addition, P.L. 104-193 gave the HHS Secretary the authority to make direct payments to Indian tribes that have approved CSE programs. In contrast to the federal matching rate of 66% for CSE programs run by the states or territories, the CSE program provides direct federal funding equal to 100% of approved and allowable CSE expenditures during the start-up period, provides 90% federal funding for approved CSE programs operated by tribes or tribal organizations during the first three years of full program operation, and provides 80% federal funding thereafter. Indian tribes and tribal organizations that choose to operate a tribal CSE program must run programs that conform to the objectives of the state CSE program and are in compliance with the tribal CSE program regulations. However, federal regulations provide some flexibility that allows tribes and tribal organizations to develop and administer tribal CSE programs that are consistent with the tribe's law and tradition. It also provides statistical information on tribal CSE programs. Data Problems

Although the data are useful in developing an understanding of tribal CSE programs, there are several problems associated with the data. on the effectiveness of tribal CSE programs. Appendix A. Tribal CSE Program Indicators
This appendix includes six tables that arrange each tribe according to its ranking on several CSE program features or indicators. Appendix C. American Indian and Alaska Native Population Figures for Tribes with CSE Programs
 Table C -1 shows four population figures for each of the 61 tribal CSE programs.
The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program was enacted in 1975 as a federal-state program. Its mission is to enhance the well-being of children by helping custodial parents and children obtain financial support from the noncustodial parents. Although states were always required to provide CSE services to members of Indian tribes and tribal organizations who were part of their CSE caseloads, tribes were not specifically included in the CSE statute until the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193). The 1996 law allowed any state that has Indian country within its borders to enter into a cooperative agreement with an Indian tribe if the tribe demonstrated that it had an established tribal court system with the authority to establish paternity, and establish, modify, and enforce child support orders. In addition, P.L. 104-193 gave the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the authority to make direct payments to Indian tribes that have approved CSE programs.
There are currently 61 tribal CSE programs, 57 comprehensive tribal CSE programs and 4 start-up tribal CSE programs (as of April 2016). In contrast to the federal matching rate of 66% for CSE programs run by the states or territories, the tribal CSE program provides direct federal funding equal to 100% of approved and allowable CSE expenditures during the start-up period, provides 90% federal funding for approved CSE programs operated by tribes or tribal organizations during the first three years of full program operation, and provides 80% federal funding thereafter. In FY2014, the 57 tribes or tribal organizations with comprehensive tribal CSE programs had an aggregate of 50,892 cases and collected over $36 million in total child support collections.
Tribal CSE program services include parent location, paternity establishment, establishment of child support orders, review and modification of child support orders, enforcement/collection of child support payments, and distribution of child support. Indian tribes and tribal organizations that choose to operate a tribal CSE program must run programs that conform to the objectives of the state CSE program and that are in compliance with the tribal CSE program regulations. However, federal regulations provide some flexibility that allows tribes and tribal organizations to develop and administer tribal CSE programs that are consistent with the tribe's law and tradition.
In 2010, about 52% of the nearly 1 million American Indian and Alaska Native children were living with only one of their parents. In 2014, about 66% of American Indian and Alaska Native children were born to unmarried women. This report presents some demographic data on the number of Native Americans living in the United States and also provides statistical data on tribal CSE programs. Although the data are useful in developing an understanding of tribal CSE programs, they should not be used to draw conclusions regarding the effectiveness of tribal CSE programs.
This report describes the components of tribal CSE programs and discusses issues related to jurisdictional matters, paternity establishment, child support enforcement methods, nonpayment problems, and consistency of tribal programs with each other and with state CSE programs. The report also includes three appendices. Appendix A includes six tables that arrange each tribe according to its ranking in FY2014 on several CSE program indicators. Appendix B displays FY2016 information that shows the 57 comprehensive tribal CSE programs. It also shows the four start-up tribal CSE programs. Appendix C shows the American Indian and Alaska Native household population for 2005/2010 for tribes with CSE programs.