When Stephanie and her three children left an abusive home, the Department of Human Services provided childcare so Stephanie could work. Stephanie had just settled into a steady job, making a just over minimum wage, when DHS began garnishing her paycheck, saying her unemployed husband should have been providing childcare. In fact, he was under a “no contact” order and could not have provided childcare during that time. Stephanie could not afford both food and rent with the garnishment, so she began working 12 hour shifts that kept her away from her children. Legal aid attorneys helped Stephanie stop the garnishment. Now Stephanie can maintain the delicate economic balance that keeps her family in a stable and safe home.
