BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Leland Y. Yee, Chair
BILL NO: SB 522
S
AUTHOR: Hueso
B
VERSION: April 8, 2013
HEARING DATE: April 23, 2013
5
FISCAL: Yes
2
2
CONSULTANT: Sara Rogers
SUBJECT
Dependent Children: supplemental reports: Supplemental
Security Income Benefits
SUMMARY
This bill requires a foster youth's periodic review to
include a supplemental report with information regarding
whether a county has applied to be a representative payee
for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for a
foster child and whether the county or any individual from
the county has been appointed to receive the SSI benefits.
ABSTRACT
Existing Federal Law:
1.Provides for the payment of (SSI), under Title XVI of the
Social Security Act for certain disabled children from
families with low incomes and minimal assets.
2.Provides for the payment of Social Security benefits,
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 522 (Hueso)
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under Title II of the Social Security Act to the children
of workers who have retired, become disabled, or died.
3.Permits, upon a determination by the Commissioner of
Social Security, payments to be made to another
individual, or an organization. (42 U.S.C. 1383
(2)(A)(ii)(I))
4.Requires that in most cases the Social Security
Administration (SSA) select and assign a representative
payee, such as an individual, organization, or a
government entity, to manage SSI and Social Security
payments for children, including those in foster care.
(42 U.S.C. 1007)
5.Establishes a representative payee preference list for
SSI benefits. For beneficiaries under age 18, the
preference order is a custodial natural or adoptive
parent, a noncustodial natural or adoptive parent, a
custodial relative or stepparent, a noncustodial relative
or stepparent, a noncustodial relative or close friend,
and then an authorized social agency or custodial
institution. (20 CFR 416.621)
6.Requires SSA to provide written notice to the aided
individual when the initial determination to make a
benefit payment to a representative payee is made, unless
the individual is under the age of 15, is an
unemancipated minor under the age of 18, or is legally
incompetent, in which case notice is provided to the
legal representative of the aided individual. (42 U.S.C.
1383)
Existing State Law:
1.Requires a county, when determining eligibility for
AFDC-FC payments, to determine whether the child is
currently in receipt of benefits pursuant to Title II or
Title XVI of the Social Security Act. If so, requires the
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 522 (Hueso)
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county to apply to become the child's representative
payee, as appropriate, during the time the child is
placed in foster care. (WIC 11401.6)
2.Requires a county, when a foster youth in receipt of SSI
payments is approaching his or her 18th birthday, to
provide information to the youth regarding the
continuation of his or her disability status in order to
retain SSI eligibility, and regarding the process for
becoming his or her own payee, or designating an
appropriate representative payee, as specified. (WIC
13753)
3.Permits a nonminor dependent who receives SSI to serve as
their own payee, if permitted by SSA, even when they
remain in the state's care as a nonminor dependent. (WIC
13754)
4.Requires that every youth between the ages of 16 and 17
be screened by the county for potential SSI
eligibility, and if possible to be timed to allow for a
determination of eligibility to occur prior to the
youth's emancipation from care. (WIC 13757)
This bill:
1.Requires that a county's supplemental report to the court
include a factual discussion regarding whether the county
has applied to become the child's representative payee
for SSI benefits and whether the county, or any other
individual known to the county, has been appointed to
serve as the representative payee for a child in foster
care.
FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
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According to the author, SB 522 will ensure that counties
inform foster youth and their legal counsel when a county
applies to appoint itself as a representative payee for
federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The
author states that this policy change will ensure that the
child and his or her lawyer are able to engage in a
discussion about the proper use of SSI payments on behalf
of the child.
The author notes that, in administering SSI benefits for
children, including children in foster care, the Social
Security Administration (SSA) is required to appoint a
representative payee that will serve the child's best
needs. In the case of foster youth, SSA often appoints the
county welfare agency to be the representative payee, and
the county may use the SSI payments to cover specified
costs associated with the care of the child.
In this instance, the author states that the county is
serving as both the representative payee as well as the
legal representative for the youth, thus exclusively
receiving notification regarding its own assignment as the
representative payee child - the child, the child's
attorney or the dependency court are not notified and may
be unaware that the child is receiving benefits. The author
states that the lack of notification may result in youth
exiting the foster system without knowledge of the
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) they might have
otherwise been eligible to receive.
The sponsor states that outcomes for foster youth are poor,
and that many youth exit care with no financial resources
and low educational attainment. The sponsor writes that,
parents of children provide a median of $50,000, as well as
other forms of support, to each of their own children after
age 18 to support the child's self-sufficiency.
Social Security and SSI Benefits for Children in Foster
Care
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The federal Social Security Act provides for the
availability of two types of monetary benefits for eligible
children. Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance
benefits, established under Title II of the Social Security
act provide for Social Security payments to children whose
participating parents have retired, become disabled, or
died. Such benefits are only available to children until
age 18, or until marriage, whichever occurs first, unless
the child is determined to have a specified disability that
prevents the child from working.
Supplemental Security Insurance benefits, established under
Title XVI of the Social Security Act are available for
certain children with disabilities if the children have low
incomes and few assets. California, like most states,
supplements SSI with a State Supplementary Payment (SSP).
In recent state budgets, SSI/SSP payments have been reduced
to the federal minimum ($830 per month). In order to be
eligible, youth may not have more than $2,000 worth of
assets and may not participate in gainful activities worth
more than $1,000 per month. Assets and income of foster
parents are not counted against them in determining
eligibility and IV-E foster care payments are not
considered earned income for the purposes of eligibility,
but they are considered "income based on need" and reduce a
child's SSI/SSP payment dollar for dollar.
A child is unable to receive a Social Security or SSI/SSP
payment directly, and SSA is required to establish a
representative payee according to a list of preferred
relationships to the child. Natural or adopted custodial
parents are the first priority and are most common,
followed in order by a noncustodial natural or adoptive
parent, a custodial relative or stepparent, a noncustodial
relative or stepparent, a noncustodial relative or close
friend, and then finally an authorized social agency or
custodial institution.
Though SSA has advised that the social service agency
should not be routinely appointed as representative payee,
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state law and a U.S. Supreme Court decision<1> confirm the
right of a county to apply to become the representative
payee for an aided foster youth and to use those payments
to reimburse itself for the cost of caring for the foster
youth. Because the county serves as the legal guardian of
the child, it is upon the counties recommendation that SSA
generally makes the determination of the most appropriate
representative payee, often the county itself.
Such payments must be used in the best interest of the
child for the medical care, education and training needs,
personal needs assistance, special equipment and housing
modifications or therapy for the child, and may not be used
for daily expenses such as food, clothing, or shelter. This
bill is attempting to address a concern that, given the
special needs of aided disabled foster youth, input from
the child, his or her attorney and the court, regarding the
most appropriate representative payee as well as the best
use of this money, is a critical protection for the youth's
best interests.
California Foster Youth Receiving SSI/SSP
In 2006 and 2007, AB 1633 (Evans) and AB 1331 (Evans)
established new laws pertaining to foster youth and
SSI/SSP. AB 1331 required counties to screen all youth
between the ages of 16 and 17 for SSI eligibility. In
2008, DSS estimated that between 15-20% of foster youth are
eligible for SSI benefits when they age out of care.
Once a youth turns 18, a youth's eligibility must be
redetermined to remain eligible. AB 1633 required counties
that serve as representative payees for foster youth to
assist youth approaching age 18 in continuing their SSI/SSP
eligibility as an adult and in becoming their own payee as
a nonminor dependent in foster care, unless it is contrary
to the youth's best interests.
-------------------------
<1> Washington State DSHS v. Guardianship Estate of
Keffeler, 537 U.S. 371 (2003)
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AB 1633 further required counties to set up a no-cost,
interest-bearing account for each child for whom the
department serves as the representative payee and to keep
an itemized account for all income and expenses. The bill
also required DSS to establish a workgroup to develop best
practices in this regard and to examine the feasibility and
cost-effectiveness of reserving an amount, below the asset
limit of $2,000, for the youth as he or she transitions out
of foster care.
DSS receives monthly reports from counties regarding the
number of youth who apply for SSI/SSP and whether the
applications are approved or denied. This year, the
department reports the submission of an average of 1150
applications monthly and, of those, an average of 700
denials. Some counties report that they contract out with
specialty organizations that conduct the SSI assessments on
behalf of the county, file for initial SSI claims, and
assist the counties during any appeals process.
DSS instructions to the county convey the importance for
children and youth to be informed if an application is
being filed on their behalf. In addition, DSS instructions
state that it is the county's responsibility to provide
emancipating youth potentially eligible for SSI with
information about his or her potential SSI eligibility.
Prior/Related Legislation:
AB 1110 (Lara) of 2011, would have required social workers
to include in their supplemental reports to the court,
specified information about a foster youth's SSI benefits.
Additionally, would have required a county to provide
written notice to the child's counsel 30 days in advance of
the county filing to be appointed as the representative
payee of a foster child. Would have authorized a child's
counsel to request an accounting of how a foster child's
SSI benefits are being expended if the county is the
child's representative payee. Would have required a child's
status review to make certain determinations regarding a
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child welfare agencies actions pertaining to a child's SSI
benefits. Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 1331 (Evans) Chapter 465, Statutes of 2007, required
counties to screen all youth between the ages of 16 and
17 for SSI eligibility.
AB 1633 (Evans) Chapter 641, Statutes of 2006, required DSS
to convene a workgroup to develop best-practice guidelines
for county welfare departments pertaining to the SSI
benefits of foster youth. Required counties to assist in
the application process for an eligible child, to apply to
become the representative payee, if no other appropriate
party is available to serve, and required a county to
establish a maintenance account for each child to contain
SSI payments.
POSITIONS
Support: Children's Advocacy Institute (Sponsor)
National Center for Youth Law
Oppose: None received
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