{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://davis.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-davis-bacon-and-raskin-join-national-child-advocates-thanking-social", "Reps. Davis, Bacon, and Raskin Join National Child Advocates in Thanking the Social Security Administration and Children\u2019s Bureau for Taking an Important Step to Protecting the Federal Benefits of Foster Youth", "2024-11-01", "2024", "2024-11", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Danny K. Davis", "D000096", "davis.house.gov", "davis", "https://davis.house.gov/media", "scraper", "Washington, DC: November 1, 2024 - Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) welcome the opportunity provided by the joint Request for Information (RFI) on the use and conservation of federal benefits for foster youth, as well as other ways federal agencies may play an appropriate role supporting broader Federal, State, and local efforts to improve the outcomes of foster youth who receive federal benefits, published today by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Children\u2019s Bureau, an office of the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).\n\nIn December 2022, Representatives Davis, Bacon, and Raskin urged the Biden Administration to use its executive branch authority to limit the state practice of using the assets and benefits of foster youth to reimburse state costs of care until more comprehensive legislation is enacted. Although Congress will need to act to permanently stop this practice all together, SSA and HHS have statutory and regulatory authority to stop or at least limit this practice now.\n\nIn August 2023, the Biden Administration encouraged reform efforts and reminded states and tribal child welfare agencies of their responsibility to foster youth when serving as a Social Security Representative Payee for foster youth via a joint letter issued by SSA and ACF. Further, SSA has taken multiple additional steps to educate its staff and child welfare agencies about the responsibilities of an agency Representative Payee, and ACF has hosted webinars focused on state and local efforts to conserve the federal benefits of foster youth.\n\nImportantly, states can stop this practice without any action by the federal government, and many are working to do so. Four states and jurisdictions (Arizona, Oregon, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia) have enacted comprehensive reform, and an additional six states or jurisdictions (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, and New York City) have adopted substantial reforms to protect some of the assets and benefits of orphaned and disabled foster youth. Nine more (Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Washington) have adopted more limited reform ranging from legislation, executive order, resolution, agency policy, state trust, or litigation. Unfortunately, the majority of states still choose to bolster their own financial security rather than help the orphaned and disabled youth, often without the youth, their attorneys, or other caring adults knowing.\n\nToday, SSA and the Children\u2019s Bureau took a critical step to better protect foster youth. The Request for Information from youth, families, and stakeholders on how the use and conservation of federal benefits could improve outcomes for foster youth will serve as the foundation for agency reform - giving the agencies important perspectives on what actions are possible and how to implement those actions to best improve child well-being.\n\n\u201cI thank Social Security Commissioner Martin O\u2019Malley and Administration on Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston for taking the important step of collecting information from youth, families, and stakeholders about how Federal, State, and local governments can use and conserve the federal benefits of foster youth to improve their well-being,\u201d said Rep. Davis. \u201cI proudly lead legislation to protect the benefits and assets of foster youth by stopping states from taking the youths\u2019 funds. This new request for information serves as a foundation for future agency action. I am proud to have partnered with Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) to urge executive branch action to help states stop this practice until more comprehensive legislation is enacted. My home state of Illinois is a national leader in this area, and I greatly appreciate the Biden-Harris Administration\u2019s multiple steps to encourage states to protect foster youth.\u201d\n\n\u201cFoster youth should be able to keep their social security benefits and not be stolen from them by their state,\u201d said Rep. Bacon. \u201cIn 2020, Nebraska received over $2.6 million in social security benefits from youth in care. That is their money and being a foster youth is hard enough without the expectation that they pay for the care they received when they were placed into the care of the state due to no fault of their own. The Executive Branch must take action to address this problem.\u201d\n\n\u201cStates have a duty to care for vulnerable foster children, yet many smash their piggy banks and seize their Social Security benefits to reimburse the costs of their care,\u201d said Rep. Raskin. \u201cI am grateful to Commissioner O\u2019Malley, the Social Security Administration and Children\u2019s Bureau for heeding our calls and taking a closer look to ensure federal benefits are best serving all children and young people in foster care. I have been working to solve this problem since my time in the Maryland State Senate, and today I\u2019m proud to stand with Rep. Danny Davis and Rep. Don Bacon to applaud this further step by the Biden-Harris administration to protect foster kids across America.\u201d\n\n\u201cFoster youth deserve a fair chance to benefit from their benefits. Now that a majority of states have initiated or taken action to protect foster youth assets, this RFI paves the way for meaningful rules that will help beneficiaries in care thrive. We are grateful for the leadership of SSA and Commissioner O\u2019Malley and look forward to collaborating with SSA and ACF on behalf of impacted youth.\u201d Amy C. Harfeld, JD, National Policy Director, Children's Advocacy Institute\n\n\u201cChild welfare agencies have long been taking Social Security benefits from foster children who are disabled or have deceased parents, leaving the children penniless. I applaud the leadership of the Social Security Administration\u2014and the efforts of Representatives Davis, Bacon, and Raskin\u2014in this important step towards better protecting foster youth\u2019s resources for their struggle against the odds as they leave foster care.\u201d Daniel Hatcher, Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore and author of The Poverty Industry\n\n\u201cListen to courageous foster youth like Marissa Pike, Katrina White, Ian Marks, Justin Kasieta, and Anthony Jackson. The Center for the Rights of Abused Children remains focused on stopping states from taking foster youth\u2019s federal benefits and delivering comprehensive reform in a child-centric way. We appreciate federal policymakers engaging on this issue, and we encourage governors and state legislators to take action today.\u201d J. Kendall Seal, Vice President of Policy, Center for the Rights of Abused Children.\n\nA copy of the letter by Reps. Davis, Bacon, and Raskin is available here.\n\nHager, E., & Shapiro, J. (May 17, 2021). Foster Care Agencies Take Thousands of Dollars Owed to Kids. Most Children Have No Idea. Joint investigation The Marshall Project and National Public Radio. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/04/22/foster-care-agencies-take-thousands-of-dollars-owed-to-kids-most-children-have-no-idea\n\nRosinsky, K., Williams, S. C. (January 16, 2024) Special Savings Accounts Can Help Child Welfare Agencies Conserve Social Security Benefits. Blog. Child Trends. https://www.childtrends.org/publications/savings-accounts-child-welfare-agencies-social-security", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:07:06Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://davis.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-davis-bacon-and-raskin-join-national-child-advocates-thanking-social"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8971327915787697, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}