AB 2445, as introduced, Dababneh. Foster youth: social security insurance.
Existing law provides for the out-of-home placement, including foster care placement, of children who are unable to remain in the custody and care of their parents. Existing law, the federal Social Security Act, provides for benefits for eligible beneficiaries, including survivorship and disability benefits and supplemental security income (SSI) benefits for, among others, blind and disabled children. Existing law also provides for state supplemental payments (SSP) to supplement SSI benefits. Existing law requires the county to provide specified information relating to SSI payments to a foster youth receiving those benefits when he or she is approaching his or her 18th birthday.
This bill would instead require the county to provide that information to the youth when he or she is approaching his or her 17th birthday. By increasing duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 13753 of the Welfare and Institutions
2Code is amended to read:
When a foster youth who is receiving SSI payments is
4approaching his or herbegin delete 18thend deletebegin insert 17thend insert birthday, the county shall do all
5of the following:
6(a) Provide information to the youth regarding the federal
7requirement that the youth establish continuing disability as an
8adult, if necessary, in order for SSI benefits to continue beyond
9his or her 18th birthday.
10(b) Provide information to the youth regarding the process for
11becoming his or her own payee, or designating an appropriate
12representative payee if benefits continue beyond his or her 18th
13birthday, and regarding any SSI benefits that have accumulated
14on his or her behalf.
15(c) Assist the youth, as appropriate, in fulfilling the requirements
16of subdivisions (a) and
(b).
To the extent that this act has an overall effect of
18increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs
19or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation
20within the meaning of Section 36 of Article XIII of the California
21Constitution, it shall apply to local agencies only to the extent that
22the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Any new
23program or higher level of service provided by a local agency
24pursuant to this act above the level for which funding has been
25provided shall not require a subvention of funds by the state nor
26otherwise be subject to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
27Constitution.
O
99