A new civil rights lawsuit aims to end child support fees for low-income parents after their kids are placed into foster care in Georgia.

The lawsuit, filed last week, argues that state agencies knew that hundreds of families were impoverished and couldn’t afford to pay the foster care fees but charged them anyway.

What they're saying:

Between fiscal years 2018 and 2022, Georgia removed children from 700 families because of "inadequate housing" — likely meaning they were either homeless or didn’t have stable housing much of the time — the class action lawsuit argues.

"Georgia’s system is one of the most onerous and punitive that we’ve seen," said Phil Telfeyan, executive director of Equal Justice Under Law, which is representing the mother, Annalinda Martinez, who lives north of Atlant

See Full Page