Washington State Ends Child Support Collection For Children In Foster Care

On September 1, 2022, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) ended its practice of referring parents to child support collection after a child is placed into foster care. Washington State one of the first states in the country to put an end to child support collections of this type. DCYF believes that the practice keeps children in foster care longer because it causes financial hardship for parents. Earlier this year, Washington State ended a similar juvenile justice practice of charging families for their child’s incarceration, known as parent pay.

Previously, when a child was placed . . .