Issue: Child Support & Foster Care
No parent should lose their children—or go into debt—because of poverty.
Yet in Georgia, many parents whose children enter foster care were billed for the “cost of care.” These bills didn’t reunite families. They kept them apart. Read Annalinda’s story
Child Support & Foster Care
No parent should lose their children—or go into debt—because of poverty.
Yet in Georgia, parents whose children enter foster care can be billed for the “cost of care.” These bills don’t reunite families. They keep them apart.
Annalinda’s Story: One of Our Families
Who:
Annalinda Martinez, a Georgia mother, aged out of foster care herself.
What happened:
In 2018, DFCS removed her six daughters after she became homeless.
She was ordered to pay about $500/month in foster-care child support, despite living in deep poverty.
She now faces thousands in arrears, has had threats of jail, and is selling plasma to keep up with payments while still raising her two youngest children in her care.
Where it stands:
On August 19, 2025, Annalinda filed a federal civil-rights class action lawsuit challenging Georgia’s foster-care billing system.
She is one of our families, and we are standing with her.
Read more:
WABE: https://www.wabe.org/georgia-child-support-debt-foster-care/
Equal Justice Under Law case page: https://equaljusticeunderlaw.org/martinez-v-georgia-division-of-family-and-children-services-et-al
The Policy Problem in Georgia
Until 2024, DFCS referred nearly every foster-care case to Child Support Services for billing.
On August 2, 2024, DFCS issued Manual Transmittal 2024-07 narrowing new referrals when “reduced income prevents or delays reunification.”
DFCS Manual Transmittals: https://pamms.dhs.ga.gov/dfcs/cws/appendix-a/But arrears from past cases are still aggressively collected: garnishments, license suspensions, tax intercepts, contempt, and even jail.
DFCS Policy 9.12: https://pamms.dhs.ga.gov/dfcs/cws/09-12/
Why this is unjust:
Federal guidance warns that billing parents undermines reunification and should only happen “where appropriate.”
CB/OCSS Joint Letter: https://www.acf.gov/css/policy-guidance/childrens-bureau-ocse-joint-letter-updated-child-support-referral-policyGeorgia’s own 2024 policy acknowledges the harm, yet legacy arrears keep families like Annalinda’s trapped in debt.
Other states, like California, have stopped billing entirely and made arrears uncollectable.
California article: https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/california-stops-charging-parents-for-kids-in-foster-care/246421
California DCSS Policy Letter (PDF): https://dcss.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/345/2024/09/FosterCareArrears_09052024.pdf
Immediate Asks
Case-specific:
Pause enforcement in Annalinda’s case: halt garnishments, license holds, tax intercepts, and contempt actions while the lawsuit proceeds.
Confirm non-collection of arrears for children who have aged out or been adopted.
Establish a forgiveness pathway so impoverished parents can have arrears abated.
Why this matters:
Collecting child support from parents already in poverty doesn’t help children — it delays reunification, destabilizes families, and violates federal guidance.
Policy Solutions for Georgia
Administrative (DFCS/DCSS):
Suspend enforcement and classify legacy arrears as uncollectable for families below hardship thresholds (as California did).
Legislative:
Codify the August 2024 DFCS referral limits into statute.
Add explicit arrears-forgiveness authority.
Align with SB 454 (2024) child-support guideline updates, ensuring poverty adjustments apply in foster-care cases.
SB 454 text (PDF): https://gov.georgia.gov/document/2024-signed-legislation/sb-454/download
Georgia Child Support Commission summary: https://csc.georgiacourts.gov/2024-updates-to-the-child-support-guidelines/
Judicial:
Create a simple juvenile-court process to vacate foster-care child-support orders when collections undermine reunification.
Federal Alignment
Children’s Bureau + OCSS: Encourage retroactive relief when states narrow referrals; clarify that incarceration for nonpayment tied to poverty is contrary to federal policy.
CB/OCSS Letter: https://www.acf.gov/css/policy-guidance/childrens-bureau-ocse-joint-letter-updated-child-support-referral-policyGeorgia DFCS/DCSS: Implement retroactive forgiveness for arrears, following the California precedent.
California explainer: https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/california-stops-charging-parents-for-kids-in-foster-care/246421
California DCSS Policy Letter (PDF): https://dcss.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/345/2024/09/FosterCareArrears_09052024.pdf
Why This Matters
Collecting child support from parents in poverty is not cost-effective, not just, and not aligned with reunification goals. Georgia’s own policy shift in 2024 acknowledged the harm. But unless arrears are forgiven, families like Annalinda’s remain trapped.
Children have a right to their families. When money can solve the problem, foster care is not the solution.
Join Us
This isn’t about politics. It’s about kids like Annalinda’s daughters — and kids like Little Susie, who is 8, separated from her three siblings, and moving from home to home because her mom couldn’t find stable housing and was billed for foster care.
That is unjust. To the mother. And most of all, to Susie.
Here’s how you can help:
Georgia lawmakers: Pass arrears-forgiveness authority, codify referral limits.
Federal leaders: Align Title IV-E/IV-D policy with reunification, not collection.
Community members: Share Annalinda’s story, write your legislator, and support our Family Circle Fund so we can cover rent, utilities, childcare, and prevent poverty-driven removals.
Strong families = safe children. Together, we can make sure poverty is never treated like neglect again.