Elements of a Good Bill
Screen and Apply for Benefits
Within 60 days of entry, and annually thereafter, a child welfare agency must screen all children in care for eligibility for benefits. If deemed eligible, the agency must promptly apply for benefits on the child's behalf, including appeals if necessary. Whenever the child is or may be eligible for SSI, the department shall, if necessary for benefits eligibility, forego claiming that child for purposes of any federal IV-E maintenance payments under Section 475(4) of the Social Security Act. Agencies should apply for IV-E administrative dollars to help pay for administrative costs of such.
Provide Notice and Due Process
The agency shall immediately notify the child, the child's attorney and/or GAL, the child's caseworker, the child’s parents if parental rights have not been terminated and/or the child's legal guardian or guardians, and the attorney for the parents or legal guardian, of:
- Any screening/assessment made by the agency on the child’s behalf;
- Any efforts to seek and identify preferred representative payee on the child's behalf, and if none are available, any application by the agency to become a representative payee for benefits on the child’s behalf;
- Any decisions or communications from the Social Security Administration regarding an application or appeal for benefits;
- Any actions regarding a savings or special account established on behalf of the child
Use and/or Conserve Benefits Only for Child's Unmet Current and Future Needs and Provide Annual Accountings of the Child’s Benefits
The agency must be prohibited from using the child’s benefits to offset their cost of foster care, and must ensure that the child’s benefits are used only for the child’s current unmet needs or conserved for their foreseeable future needs. The agency must conserve the child’s benefits in appropriate financial vehicles that do not subject the child to loss of future benefits. The agency must be required to provide annual accountings on the use/conservation of funds to the child, the child's attorney and/or GAL, the child's caseworker, the child’s parents if parental rights have not been terminated and/or the child's legal guardian or guardians, and the attorney for the parents or legal guardian. The agency must be required to engage the youth in planning for the use of current and/or conserved funds.
Provide Financial Literacy for Children, Rep Payees, and Agency
Provide financial counseling or training to youth (e.g., starting at age 14), and provide appropriate training to agency personnel regarding fiduciary obligations when the agency serves as representative payee, as well as to new representative payees. Counseling or training must address how to establish, monitor, and use proper financial vehicles (i.e. ABLE, Special Needs Trusts, etc.) to preserve benefit eligibility; the use of funds only for unmet current needs; planning and budgeting for foreseeable future needs in the transition plan; and the requirement to provide annual accountings to SSA as well as to the child, the child's attorney and/or GAL, the child's caseworker, the child’s parents if parental rights have not been terminated and/or the child's legal guardian or guardians, and the attorney for the parents or legal guardian.
Refund Youth Their Benefits Improperly Seized, with Interest
The child welfare agency must award refunds to previously impacted youth (with proportion and lookback period to be determined by the state).
State Reform Implementation Resources
In June 2024, the Arizona Department of Child Safety issued a Service Guide, detailing the Preserving Children’s Benefits Program, which details program requirements relating to the implementation of HB 2559. In September 2024, the Arizona Department of Child Safety issued DCS 03-20, a comprehensive policy on the Preserving Children’s Benefits Program.
In March 2025, the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) issued Social Security Income Benefit Conservation Annual Status Report 2024. In June 2024, CFSA issued its Social Security Income Benefit Conservation Annual Report for 2023. These reports are issued pursuant to the 2022 POKETT Act, which requires the Mayor to submit an annual status report on CFSA’s efforts to conserve the Social Security benefits of children under its care.
On January 15, 2025, the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families issued a report entitled Income and Resources for Children in Foster Care, as requested by the Minnesota Legislature during the 2023 legislative session. In October 2024, the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families issued Bulletin # 24-68-16, New requirements for agencies Receiving federal cash benefits for children in foster care, to implement Laws of Minnesota 2024, Chapter 115, article 12, sections 2-3 and 11.
In January 2024, the Oregon Department of Human Services issued Policy Transmittal CW-PT-24-002 to implement SB 556.