Requires commissioners of local social services districts to screen, apply for, and use and conserve federal benefits on behalf of children placed in foster…

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Jabari Brisport says this is needed

For decades, LSSDs across the nation screened children who entered foster care for eligibility for Social Security and other federal bene- fits, applied for those benefits on behalf of children in foster care, and retained the money. This egregious practice turned children, often poor children of color, into sources of revenue for the state. This was first brought to light through reporting by NPR and the Marshall Project, who elevated the stories of children and young people who lived through this practice and had tens of thousands of dollars secretly taken from them. Jurisdictions across the country have begun shifting their practices to ensure that children's federal benefits are not taken by the state simply because they are placed in foster care. New York State has long engaged in this practice of taking children's benefits and now has the opportunity to lead the nation in addressing the systematic economic disenfranchisement of these vulnerable children in foster care. In New York State, children who do not receive federal benefits are not required to pay for their foster care placement, no matter their finan- cial circumstances. Although LSSDs have a legal obligation to provide foster care for free to all children, for years they have made disabled children and those who have lost one or both parents pay for the foster care system itself, using vulnerable children as a revenue stream. Children pulled into the foster care system in New York State are disproportionately children of color and are often from the poorest, most vulnerable families. Children who age out of foster care currently face myriad difficulties, at significantly increased rates from their peers. Children leaving the system typically have much higher rates of homelessness, shelter stays, unemployment, arrest and incarceration, and face challenges paying for education, childcare, transportation, and basic needs. Having access to their own benefits can serve as a lifeline for children transitioning out of the foster care system, and economic stability can reduce future involvement in the foster care system, as well as the juvenile and criminal justice systems, Federal benefits conserved on behalf of a former foster youth could pay for housing, education, and transportation, as well as costs related to their disabilities. Protecting benefits on behalf of children would allow them to: *Purchase necessary items not covered by foster care maintenance payments, such as specialized medical equipment, technology(including laptops, iPads, and tablets for academic work, and entertainment), and equipment for participating in extracurricular activities; *Establish savings for post-high school education opportunities; *Pay for medical services (including mental health care) not covered by Medicaid, or from a private provider to avoid lengthy waitlists for services; *Practice financial literacy while still in supportive care; and *Transition to economic independence after discharge from care, includ- ing being able to afford a stable apartment. This bill would reduce economic hardships and the collateral conse- quences that children who go through the foster care system suffer by ensuring they are not economically disadvantaged simply because of their placement in foster care and instead that their benefits are used to their advantage.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.