This archive report was first published on 21 July 2019.
Published on July 21, 2019, a school district in eastern Pennsylvania faced intense criticism after sending letters to over three dozen parents warning that if their debt for school meals was not paid, their child could be placed in foster care.
The letters, signed by Joseph Muth, director of federal programs for the Wyoming Valley West School District, stated that parents who failed to provide their children with proper nutrition could be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting their child's right to food, potentially resulting in their child being removed from their home and placed in foster care.
David Usavage, the vice president of the school board, acknowledged that the letter was not approved by anyone and was written by Mr. Muth and the district's lawyer, Charles R. Coslett. Mr. Usavage stated that the district was owed just over $22,000 in breakfast and lunch debt, with 960 students having a debt of five cents up to $9.99, and the parents of the 40 students who owed $10 or more receiving the letter.
Mr. Usavage emphasized that the district would never deny anyone food due to financial constraints and that they would provide free breakfast and lunch to all children in the district starting in August 2019.
C. David Pedri, the county manager, wrote a letter to the district, stating that the foster care system should not be used to 'terrorize' people into paying their lunch debt and that taking a child out of a house is one of the most extreme actions a foster care system can take.
