US Social Security alarm: Trump administration may force 39 states for repayment to foster kids — Check reasons
In letters sent on Thursday, the ACF flagged concerns alleging that state child welfare agencies are collecting Social Security survivor and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits owed to foster children and using the funds to offset foster care costs, rather than preserving them for the children. “Every earned benefit dollar belongs to these foster youth, not government agencies or bureaucrats,” ACF Assistant Secretary Alex J.
Adams said, stressing that protecting children must remain central to child welfare policy, as reported by Economic Times quoting Daily Express US.Idaho has discontinued the practice under Adams’ leadership, joining ten other states that have enacted policies protecting foster children’s benefits.
The federal authorities are now working on ways to reform practices in the states where benefit collection continues.According to a Social Security Advisory Report, published in September, cited by Daily Express US, around 27,000 foster children, i.e.
more than 5 per cent of the total foster care population receive Social Security or SSI benefits.
Several states routinely divert these funds, saving millions in foster care expenditure, according to the Associated Press.
Social Security survivor benefits are based on lifetime contributions made by deceased parents and are considered a critical financial resource for affected children.
The agency is now seeking to ensure that benefits are preserved for foster children, particularly as they transition out of state care. The issue has drawn political attention in recent years.
In March 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren raised the matter during a Senate hearing, calling for a ban on states collecting foster children’s survivor benefits.
She claimed states had taken at least $179 million from foster children in 2018 alone to fund unrelated state expenses. Warren alleged that some states screen children in foster care for Social Security eligibility—sometimes using data-mining firms—and divert the proceeds into state budgets.
“Those benefits are being used for everything from office supplies to prisons,” she said.
