Philadelphia Stops Billing Parents Of Children In Juvenile Justice System

On March 3, 2017, the City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services (Philadelphia DHS) announced that it was ending child support collection for youth in detention and delinquent placements. The new policy went into effect immediately. On March 31, 2017, DHS is ending its contract with an attorney who collected the payments from families, and the city will also move to stop collecting debt from any parents who currently owe money for delinquent placements. DHS will, however, continue to bill parents for the costs of foster care and “dependency” placements. DHS will continue to follow the federal and state laws . . .