President of the United States of America Signs Implementing Legislation for the 2007 Child Support Convention

President Barack Obama of the United States of America signed implementing legislation for the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (the "2007 Child Support Convention") on 29 September 2014. A statement from Secretary of State John Kerry regarding the importance of the implementing legislation can be found here. The President signed the legislation subsequent to approval by Congress of the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (HR 4980), a bipartisan bill passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on July 23 and September 18, respectively. It is expected that this new federal legislation will allow the United States of America to complete the ratification process of the 2007 Child Support Convention within several years. In order to ensure the implementation of the 2007 Child Support Convention, the Act requires all states that have not already done so to pass the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) 2008 Amendments in 2015, or risk losing federal funds. The United States of America was the first State to sign the 2007 Child Support Convention on the day of adoption of the Convention text on 23 November 2007. The 2007 Child Support Convention currently binds 31 States worldwide, and provides a comprehensive system whereby child support decisions can be established, modified, recognised and enforced across international boundaries.

For additional information, please see the website of the Office Child Support Enforcement (OCSE).