Parents No Longer Required to Pay Child Support While Child is in Foster Care

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will no longer be requiring parents to pay child support after their child is placed into foster care.

After Sep. 1, Washington State will be one of the first states to end this practice.

DCYF wrote that this is geared towards racial equity and reducing the number of children in foster care.

A study showed that enforcing this payment program may increase a child’s time in foster care.

They also found that this change could bring long-term savings after finding that Washington only collected $0.39 out of every dollar.

DCYF partnered with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to halt these payments.