Senate committee hears Terilín Sastre Fuentes on plan to modernize ASUME; senators seek staffing, data

Terilín Sastre Fuentes, the governor's appointee to administer the Administración para el Sustento de Menores (ASUME), told a Senate committee on May 6 that she plans to modernize the agency, expand staffing and strengthen enforcement to ensure child- and elder-support payments reach beneficiaries.

Sastre, introduced to the committee as the nominee, said ASUME currently handles "alrededor de ciento noventa y cuatro mil casos activos" and proposed an organizational review, staff training and a secure online case-management system that would allow parties to submit documents and track cases. "La meta a largo plazo sería que la oficina de manejo de casos se convierta en digital o paperless," she said, adding that any changes would comply with applicable laws and regulations.

Why it matters: ASUME is responsible for establishing and enforcing child-support orders and for the Prospera program for people 60 and older. Senators pressed Sastre on whether the agency has the staff and technical capacity to carry out a fast transition to digital services, how it will locate parents who have left Puerto Rico and how ASUME will ensure timely distribution of funds to children and older adults.

Key facts and plans

- Caseload and staffing: Sastre said ASUME has about 194,000 active cases and currently roughly 400–411 employees across 88 local offices and 10 regional offices. She told senators many positions were frozen after retirements or resignations and urged opening plazas to restore institutional capacity.

- Budget snapshot: Sastre reported an operating budget of roughly $26 million, with about $15 million allocated to payroll and approximately $227,000 for professional services contracts.

- Digitalization: Sastre proposed a secure, online case-management system to allow participants to check case status, submit documents and reduce in-person visits. She emphasized creating kiosks in local offices so people without home internet can access services.

- Prospera (older-adult support): Sastre said the program must be better publicized and coordinated with municipal offices; she provided figures for 2020 (71 Prospera cases and 297 listed 'alimentantes' tied to those cases) and proposed outreach campaigns and partnerships with organizations such as AARP.

Senators' questions and follow-ups

Law and guidelines: Multiple senators noted ASUME currently uses child-support guidelines last updated in 2014 and asked why revised tables compiled more recently were not in force. Sastre said the statutory review cycle is every four years and she would investigate why the newer tables were not implemented.

Enforcement and interjurisdictional cases: Senators asked how ASUME locates and enforces obligations for parents living outside Puerto Rico. Sastre described expanding alliances with federal agencies (USPS, IRS, Social Security and the U.S. Attorney's Office) and said the agency is pursuing more aggressive measures to locate and hold debtors accountable.

Employer noncompliance: Sastre reported that sizeable numbers of employers fail to remit withheld support; she said the Secretariat of the Family has run workshops for employers and that fines exist but senators sought data on how often penalties are enforced.

Allegations from prior municipal employment: Senator María de Lourdes Santiago referenced press accounts about harassment-related proceedings in Guaynabo while Sastre worked there. Sastre denied the characterization and told the committee the press reports conflated different matters; she said she was not the person who filed the complaint and that she "no fui hostigada" in the way described in some media accounts.

Committee action and next steps

The Senate committee authorized the nominee and relevant officials to provide outstanding data requested during the hearing (detailed case counts, figures on compliance and arrears, regional staffing numbers and the records that support the budget snapshots) within five business days. The committee closed the session at 12:42 p.m.

What remains unresolved

Senators repeatedly requested precise figures on how many cases are in arrears, how many involve parents who have left the island and the number and effect of arrest orders or judicial enforcement actions. Sastre said some of those data are internal to ASUME but committed to obtaining and delivering the requested records. The committee left no vote recorded on confirmation during the hearing.

Sources and attribution

Direct quotations, counts and program names in this article come from testimony during the May 6, 2021 Senate Committee on Nominations hearing in San Juan where Terilín Sastre Fuentes appeared as the nominee to lead ASUME.