The Department of Public Welfare has sent out notices informing parents it will deduct a $25 annual fee from child support payments to custodial parents who receive at least $2,000 a year and who have never received cash assistance welfare benefits.
As small as that may seem, Rep. Kate Harper considers it a big deal for single parents who struggle to feed, clothe and shelter their children—and an outrage for the government to take any money intended to fulfill a child's basic needs.
"These people are taxpayers—this is their own money," said Harper, R-Montgomery. "This is one parent paying to another parent for the benefit of their children."
The fee is collected on a per-case basis, meaning that parents with more than one child-support case in Pennsylvania will pay the fee for each case.
Harper hopes the outcry from affected parents will be loud enough to prompt her colleagues to support legislation she introduced last month to repeal the fee. But persuading Democrats who control the House to revisit the issue in an election-shortened fall session will be a tough sell.
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