Delegate Malcolm Ruff, D-Baltimore City, told the Senate Finance Committee on April 5 that House Bill 1126 would create a pilot program requiring the Department of Labor to identify people with child support arrears and funnel available state and private job openings to them.

The bill, Ruff said, is intended “to support parents and families in making sure that young children have as many resources as possible by funneling jobs through the Department of Labor to folks that are in arrear just on their child support.” He told the committee the pilot could potentially affect “about 2,500 folks” and that he has support from the Center for Urban Families and other organizations serving families.

Committee members asked how the Department of Labor would obtain and deliver arrears information and job referrals. Senator Mounts asked for a brief explanation of how the bill works; Ruff replied that the Department of Labor would “communicate with the child support office to get the names of people that are have arrearages for child support” and then funnel job opportunities to those individuals. Senator Jackson asked how the Labor Department would get information to the individuals and how the agencies would share data; Ruff said those operational details would be developed as part of the pilot program.

Ruff told the committee he modeled the bill on language from Illinois shared through the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and said the measure represents a “common sense” approach to helping parents catch up on arrears. He asked the committee to report the bill favorably to the Senate floor. The transcript records no formal motion or vote during the April 5 hearing.

The committee exchange made clear that interagency data-sharing and the mechanism for delivering job referrals to individuals are open implementation questions: committee members pressed for details and the sponsor said the pilot would determine the best way to share information and reach eligible parents. The bill’s supporters, Ruff said, include the Center for Urban Families and unnamed other organizations focused on family supports.

No fiscal or funding specifics were discussed in the hearing, and no formal vote or committee action was recorded on April 5. The sponsor said he would return to the floor with the bill for further action.