ARTICLE TAG

Social Security benefits

1/29/2026

More States Aim to Provide SSI Benefits Directly to Foster Youth, Weeks After Federal Official Weighed In

A growing number of states have tightened rules that let child welfare agencies seize foster youth's Social Security and survivor benefits.

New York Legislation Aims to Ensure Adoption Subsidies Follow the Child

9/3/2025

Idaho Foster Youth Didn’t Receive Social Security Money They’re Entitled To. That Will Soon Change.

Between July 2021 and May 2025, Idaho collected more than $2 million in Social Security and disability benefits intended for foster youth to offset the cost of their care.

Minnesota Child Welfare Officials Advise State to Protect Foster Youths’ SSI Benefits

2/11/2025

Minnesota Child Welfare Officials Advise State to Protect Foster Youths’ SSI Benefits

In Minnesota, youth advocates want to end the practice of child welfare agencies using foster youths' federal benefits to pay for their care.

3/19/2023

A Growing Number of States Vow to Stop Seizing Benefits Owed to Foster Youth 

Child welfare agencies often intercept Social Security and other benefits owed to foster youth. In some states, that's starting to change.

New York Legislation Aims to Ensure Adoption Subsidies Follow the Child

12/23/2022

Top Stories of 2022: Charging Families for Foster Care

Illustration by Christine Ongjoco
For decades, states have been drawing on parents’ child support payments and children’s and Social Security benefits to help offset the costs of foster care. Media investigations and public pressure from advocates has prompted several child welfare systems to reconsider these actions, which can jeopardize the ability of a parent to reunify with their children or leave kids penniless as they exit foster care. 

7/26/2022

California Counties Siphon Social Security Benefits from Some Foster Kids

When California counties take Social Security benefits from foster youth, advocates say it amounts to children paying for their own care.