Education

Eugene

(61,928 posts) Sat Jul 20, 2019, 10:29 PM Jul 2019

Parents are warned their children could be put in foster care over lunch debt

Source: NBC News

Parents are warned their children could be put in foster care over lunch debt

"This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition and you can be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child's right to food," the Pennsylvania district wrote.

July 19, 2019, 10:49 AM EDT / Updated July 19, 2019, 11:36 AM EDT
By Minyvonne Burke

An eastern Pennsylvania school district is coming under fire for sending letters to parents demanding they pay their school lunch debt or risk having their children placed in foster care.

In one letter shared on social media and obtained by NBC affiliate WBRE, the parents are informed that their child has a balance of $75.25 and if they do not pay it, the parents could be reported to Luzerne County dependency court.

"Your child has been sent to school every day without money and without breakfast and/or lunch. This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition and you can be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child's right to food," the July 9 letter reads.

If the parent is taken to court, they risk their child being removed "and placed in foster care," according to the letter.

-snip-

A letter from the Luzerne County school district demanded parents pay delinquent lunch bills for their children or face the risk of having their children placed in foster care. (WBRE)

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From the New York Times:

David Usavage, the vice president of the school board, said on Saturday that when he first read the letter, he had thought it was a “joke.”

“It was not approved by anyone,” Mr. Usavage said of the letter. “We have a policy that says everything should go through the superintendent.”

He said the letter was written by Mr. Muth and the district’s lawyer, Charles R. Coslett. Mr. Usavage said Mr. Muth has apologized. Attempts to reach Mr. Muth and Mr. Coslett on Saturday were unsuccessful.

-snip-

8 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Parents are warned their children could be put in foster care over lunch debt (Original Post) Eugene Jul 2019 OP

This appears to be punishing the kids for the "sins" of their parents. shraby Jul 2019 #1

Happens all the time. Igel Jul 2019 #8

What happened to ''It takes a Village'' to raise our children? YOHABLO Jul 2019 #2

Why in the world are public school lunches not funded by our taxes? forgotmylogin Jul 2019 #3

School lunches are *subsidized* by the USDA. Eugene Jul 2019 #7

I believe that whoever sent out this letter Sherman A1 Jul 2019 #4

His name is Joe (can't read surname). 3Hotdogs Jul 2019 #6

The lunch room GESTAPO is here to serve your every need. magicarpet Jul 2019 #5

shraby

(21,946 posts)

1. This appears to be punishing the kids for the "sins" of their parents.

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Sat Jul 20, 2019, 10:39 PM

Jul 2019

Isn't that a no-no?

Igel

(35,332 posts)

8. Happens all the time.

Reply to shraby (Reply #1)

Sun Jul 21, 2019, 09:43 AM

Jul 2019

Dad beats up mom, who turns to drugs. One becomes an addict, the other's in prison.

What happens to the kids?

Oh, they get "punished" by being put in foster homes or group homes. For, of course, the "sins" of their parents.

I guess the appropriate response is to stop punishing the kids. Disband group homes and get rid of the entire foster home system. But that seems a bit extreme--the system is sometimes abusive, but only sometimes.

The problem with the letters are many, but one is the "could" part. No case worker's going to send the kid off to a foster home because of a $76 debt. However, it might be an indication of something more important. It's not like the case workers know of every troubled family. If they did, there'd be no need for people like teachers being declared mandatory reporters.

YOHABLO

(7,358 posts)

2. What happened to ''It takes a Village'' to raise our children?

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Sat Jul 20, 2019, 10:41 PM

Jul 2019

forgotmylogin

(7,530 posts)

3. Why in the world are public school lunches not funded by our taxes?

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Sun Jul 21, 2019, 03:34 AM

Jul 2019

When I worked in the cafeteria in Jr. High, they always threw away extra food at the end of the day, so I have a hard time believing it's a shortage issue.

I'm not saying special items should be free if the school sells them, but a basic lunch tray of food from the cafeteria line should be provided if the student wants it.

Eugene

(61,928 posts)

7. School lunches are *subsidized* by the USDA.

Reply to forgotmylogin (Reply #3)

Sun Jul 21, 2019, 08:21 AM

Jul 2019

Extreme examples of how schools districts collect the difference range from Dickensian to Orwellian. If we can believe the administrators, the district's paid shark went rogue.