Atlanta, Georgia.After their children are placed in foster care, low-income parents in Georgia are suing state agencies, claiming they shouldn’t be required to pay child support.
Annalinda Martinez filed the case last week, alleging that the state wrongfully charged her and other low-income families even though it knew they were below the poverty level.
Families Charged Despite Poverty
According to court documents, Georgia took children away from 700 families due to substandard housing between 2018 and 2022.Advocates contend that rather than abuse or neglect, financial difficulty was the cause of many of these cases.
Phil Telfeyan, executive director of Equal Justice Under Law, the group that is defending Martinez, said, “This is one of the most burdensome and punitive systems we’ve seen.”
Martinez’s tale serves as an example of the hardship: her children were placed in foster care after her family lost their home. Despite living below the federal poverty level, she was forced to pay $472 in child support each month.
National Pushback on the Practice
In 2022, the federal government recommended that states lessen the number of child support collections associated with foster care cases. States like California and Michigan discontinued the practice, and Georgia followed suit in 2024 with new regulations, but they are not effective immediately.
Additionally, Georgia is accused of violating state law by continuing to collect fees after children are adopted or age out of foster care, according to the lawsuit.
The case brings to light a larger discussion concerning state approaches to poverty and child welfare. Critics contend that rather than assisting struggling parents in stabilizing their households, the system penalizes them.
Telfeyan described the practice as perverse, claiming that it deepens trauma for both parents and children and postpones family reconciliation.
The case is pending litigation, according to Georgia’s Department of Human Services, which has not commented on it.
After children are placed in foster care, do you think parents should still receive child support bills? Tell us what you think atSaludaStandard-Sentinel.com.
