[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 129 (Thursday, September 23, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            INTRODUCING THE FOSTER CHILDREN SELF SUPPORT ACT

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                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 2010

  Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Foster 
Children Self Support Act.'' This bill will correct a long-standing 
injustice that has deprived thousands of foster youth of Social 
Security benefits and will provide some of our most vulnerable children 
with a chance to succeed. I am proud to introduce this bill in 
partnership with Congressman Langevin, who is a tireless advocate for 
children and individuals with disabilities.
  In nearly every state in the country, foster children eligible for 
Social Security benefits because of a disability or the loss of a 
parent are having those benefits taken by the very state agencies 
charged with their care. The ``Foster Children Self Support Act'' would 
end that practice. Instead, it would require states to use a child's 
Social Security benefits to meet the immediate needs of that child or 
set aside those benefits to assist the child with transitioning to 
adulthood when that child emancipates from care.
  The Congressional Research Service (CRS) estimates that approximately 
30,000 foster children (out of 500,000 nationwide) receive either 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or OASDI (Old Age, Survivors, and 
Disability Insurance) benefits each month. Unfortunately, hardly any of 
these children will benefit from these funds. Nor will the children 
have the option to conserve the funds to use when they leave care. This 
is because state child welfare agencies routinely make themselves the 
representative payee so that they have control over the child's 
benefits. Often, neither the child nor the child's advocate knows that 
Social Security benefits are being sent to the agency. Once the welfare 
agency controls the benefits there are few limits on what they can do 
with the funds.
  State welfare agencies take an estimated $156 million per year from 
foster children, according to a CRS analysis. The practice has 
devastating consequences for youth who age out of the system without 
supports. Former foster children face tremendous challenges. Foster 
children often enter care having suffered from serious emotional, 
mental, and/or physical abuse. For example, they suffer from Post 
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at a rate twice as high as Iraq War 
veterans. When youth emancipate from care, 37 percent experience at 
least one episode of homelessness and 16 percent of men are 
incarcerated by the age of 24. Only 48 percent of former foster youth 
are employed at age 24 and only 6 percent had a college degree. The 
``Foster Children Self Support Act'' is especially important since it 
is safe to assume that those foster youth who have lost their parents 
or are eligible for SSI due to severe mental or physical disabilities 
are among the most vulnerable.
  The ``Foster Children Self Support Act'' provides a way to help these 
young people. It does so by mandating that states develop a plan for 
foster children who receive Social Security benefits. The plan would 
describe how to use a child's Social Security benefits as a resource to 
best meet the current and future needs of that child. The plan must be 
specific to each child receiving Social Security benefits and made in 
partnership with the child and the child's advocate. If this bill were 
law, states would no longer be allowed to simply use children's Social 
Security money as they see fit. Instead, this money would have to be 
used as any parent would use it: to provide for the child's particular 
needs and help plan for the child's future.
  The bill will:
  Require that states screen all foster children for Social Security 
eligibility and assist them in application;
  Require states to identify other appropriate representative payees 
for eligible children, such as family members, before becoming the 
payee themselves;
  Require states to develop a plan, with a child and that child's 
advocate(s), on how to best use the Social Security benefits to provide 
for the current and future needs of the child;
  Provide for the conservation of Social Security funds in dedicated 
accounts that a child can access when they leave care to pay for things 
like housing, education, transportation, and other life expenses;
  Exclude the conserved funds from the $2,000 SSI resource limit to 
ensure that youth can accumulate a substantial amount of assets without 
losing their eligibility for future benefits;
  Ensure that youth are provided assistance to maintain eligibility for 
benefits after they transition out of care;
  Require the GAO to report back to Congress on states' progress in 
screening all foster children for Social Security eligibility.
  As Members of Congress, we are the grandparents and guardians of all 
foster youth. We have a moral obligation to provide foster children 
with the resources they need to become independent adults, just as we 
would our own children. The ``Foster Children Self Support Act'' is a 
small part of fulfilling this obligation and a large step toward 
helping one of the most vulnerable groups of foster children.
  I urge my colleagues to join Congressman Langevin and me in support 
of this important legislation.

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