Parentage Establishment in the Child Support Services Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Issuing agencies
Abstract
Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) proposes to replace the gender-specific term "paternity" with the gender-neutral term "parentage" throughout the Child Support Services Program to be inclusive of all family structures served by the child support services program. While title IV-D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) requires States and Tribes to have laws permitting the establishment of paternity and requiring genetic testing in contested paternity cases, OCSS also recognizes that title IV-D does not preclude States and Tribes from having parentage establishment laws and procedures for all families. The proposed changes to chapter III of the child support regulations recognize developments in State laws regarding parentage establishment and provide States and Tribes optional flexibility to establish parentage for all children in accordance with their laws, regardless of the gender of their parents or family structure.
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