Policy Spotlight: Where Do Our Foster Kids' Benefits Really Go?
- Johner Allison
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
I listened to a really interesting podcast yesterday (https://imprintnews.org/podcast) highlighting a big problem in the child welfare system.
Across the country, thousands of foster children are entitled to federal benefits (like Social Security survivor and disability payments). These funds are set aside as a means of support. To help them build a future. To provide some stability in a system that often leaves them with none.
But here’s the truth: many state child welfare agencies are quietly collecting those checks and using them to pay for foster care itself—without ever telling the youth or their guardians. This (hopefully) isn't due to any malicious motive but rather as a means to pad the department's budget or simply because "this is how it's always been."
But that means a child whose parent has died might be receiving survivor benefits... but never see a single cent of it. That means a disabled child might have money earmarked to support their unique needs... and instead it goes straight to the state.
This isn't just a technicality. It's a deep injustice. These are some of the most vulnerable kids in our society—many with no permanent family, no safety net, and few trusted adults in their corner. And yet, the very funds meant to support them are being intercepted, repurposed, and spent without transparency or consent.
Thankfully, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is calling for reform. They’ve proposed a model executive order that every state governor could sign today to fix this.
Here’s what it would do: 1) Prohibit state agencies from using foster kids’ federal benefits to reimburse foster care costs 2) Require that those funds be saved or used only for the youth’s direct benefit—like college, housing, mental health care, or support after aging out and 3) Mandate screening for all foster youth to identify eligibility and manage the benefits with transparency and integrity
This is not about politics. This is about basic fairness. If we truly care about the well-being of foster youth, we can’t allow the system to take what little they have left.
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