What is Support Pass Through (SPT)?
The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 (Public Law 109-171 §7301) provides states the option to either continue to pay the Federal government share of each support payment before paying SPT or to bypass paying the Federal government share and pay the family first. Pennsylvania chose to pay the family first to promote self-sufficiency. Act 2008-16, enacted May 13, 2008, amended Title 23 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes §4374(c)(1) to include the SPT changes. When a custodial parent’s family is authorized to receive Cash assistance from the State, current support payments are assigned to the Department of Public Welfare (DPW). If current support is paid in a month, DPW will send a SPT payment to the custodial parent. This amount is based on the amount of support paid in prior month and number of children in the family. Effective October 1, 2008, the maximum amount of Support Pass Through disbursement is as follows: Children Maximum SPT 0 $50 1 $100 2+ $200 A family can receive
