BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1110
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Date of Hearing: April 26, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall Jr., Chair
AB 1110 (Lara) - As Introduced: February 18, 2011
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
SUBJECT : Dependent children of the juvenile court: county
responsibilities: Supplemental Security Income Eligibility
SUMMARY : Requires additional reporting and court oversight to
ensure foster youth are appropriately screened for Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) benefits eligibility after age 16 and
monitoring who will become the representative payee for SSI
eligible foster youth. Specifically, this bill :
1)Adds to the information required in the supplemental report
prepared by the child welfare agency for the status review
after a foster youth turns 16 years and six months to include
information regarding whether the youth has been screened for
federal SSI benefits eligibility, whether an application has
been filed on the youth's behalf, and if so, the status of the
application or appeal.
2)Requires, in the first supplemental report to indicate that an
application for federal SSI benefits has been made on behalf
of a foster youth, the report also includes who has been
identified as the likely representative payee in the event the
SSI benefits are granted.
3)Requires, also as part of the supplemental report, information
regarding whether the county has applied to become the child's
representative payee for SSI benefits and whether the county
or any other individual has been appointed by the federal
Social Security Administration to serve as the representative
payee for a child receiving SSI benefits while in the county's
custody.
4)Requires, at the periodic status review hearing for a child in
dependency, the reviewing body to:
a) Determine whether the youth was screened for SSI
eligibility between the ages of 16 and a half and 17 and a
half;
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b) Determine the efforts of the child welfare agency to
submit an application and pursue federal SSI benefits
eligibility, including information about who has been
designated as the representative payee for the youth in the
event the benefits are approved, and efforts to pursue
reconsideration and appeals when appropriate; and
c) Make appropriate orders to ensure that all youth between
the ages of 16 and six months and 17 years are screened for
SSI, applications are submitted, and when appropriate,
denials of eligibility are appealed.
5)Prohibits the court from terminating jurisdiction over a
nonminor who has reached 18 years of age until the Department
of Social Services (DSS) verifies that it has provided the
youth with the following:
a) Verification that the youth was screened for potential
SSI eligibility;
b) Written information on the status of the SSI
application;
c) Information about who has been designated as the likely
representative payee in the event the SSI application is
approved; and
d) Information regarding any reconsideration or appeal of
the SSI application, when appropriate, made on a youth's
behalf.
6)Requires the county to provide written notice to the child's
attorney of its intent to file to be appointed the child's
representative payee at least 30 days prior to making the
application if, at the time the child is taken into the
county's custody, the child is an SSI beneficiary and the
current representative payee is not the parent or guardian
whose child was removed due to abuse or neglect.
EXISTING LAW
1)Federal law, provides for SSI basic cash assistance to
low-income aged, blind, and disabled individuals and allows
for the appointment of a representative payee for a
beneficiary unable to manage his or her own benefits.
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2)Federal law provides for Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
(OASI) Social Security benefit payments to be made to the
child of an eligible retired, disabled or deceased worker.
3)Requires the county to apply to be the appointed
representative payee on behalf of a foster child Social
Security/SSI beneficiary in its custody when no other
appropriate party is available.
4)Requires the county to assist the youth with finding and
designating an appropriate representative payee for SSI
benefits in the event that a youth is unable to serve as his
or her own payee past age 18.
5)Requires the county, in its capacity as a representative payee
to do all of the following:
a) Establish a no-cost, interest-bearing maintenance
account for each child in the county's custody for whom the
county serves as the representative payee and credit any
interest earned to the account;
b) Keep an itemized current account as required by federal
law, of all income and expense items for each child's
maintenance account;
c) Establish procedures for disbursing money from the
accounts, including the disbursement of the net balance to
the beneficiary upon their release from care;
d) Use the social security and SSI and State Supplement
Payment (SSP) benefits for the use and benefit of the
child, and for the purposes determined by the county to be
in the child's best interests;
e) Establish and maintain a dedicated account in a
financial institution for past-due monthly benefits that
exceed six times the maximum monthly benefit payable in
accordance with federal law, and not use funds from this
dedicated account for basic maintenance costs; and
f) Use funds from the dedicated account for the benefit of
the child, which is limited to costs associated with
medical treatment, education or job skills training,
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personal needs assistance, special equipment, housing
modification, therapy or rehabilitation, and other items or
services deemed appropriate by the Social Security
Administration.
6)Requires six-month reviews of the status of every foster
child, and for the county child welfare department to file a
supplemental report addressing specified topics filed at each
status review.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Background: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are
federal disability benefits available under Title XVI of the
Social Security Act for certain low-income individuals,
including children, with disabilities. In addition to income
and asset limitations, eligibility for children may be
determined on the basis of a severe mental or physical
impairment which impacts a child's functioning and ability to
work; or a child may be presumptively eligible if he or she, is
blind or has mental retardation, for example. SSI provides cash
assistance to help pay for basic needs such as food, clothing
and housing. In California, qualifying for SSI also makes the
beneficiary categorically eligible for Medi-Cal, which includes
access to mental health services. For fiscal year 2008-2009,
the average grant amount for a disabled individual was $635.00.
A 2007 report by the Congressional Research Service, estimated
there were approximately 30,000 children in foster care eligible
for SSI benefits due to disability nationwide. According to the
California Department of Social Services, approximately 15% of
youth who age out of foster care are eligible for SSI.
Federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OSDI)
Social Security benefits may also be paid to a child under Title
II of the Social Security Act on behalf of working parents who
have retired, become disabled, or died.
Pursuant to federal law, when a Social Security and/or SSI
beneficiary is unable to manage his or her own benefits, a
representative payee must be appointed by the Social Security
Administration (SSA). Typically, this person might be a
relative or close acquaintance. California law requires the
county to apply to become the representative payee for a foster
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child in its custody when there is no other appropriate person
available. As the representative payee, the county may use the
child's SSI benefit to offset the cost of the care it provides
to the child in foster care. In fact, in 2003 the Supreme Court
unanimously upheld the right of the states to offset the costs
of foster care with its ruling in Washington State Department of
Social and Health Services v. Guardianship Estate of Danny
Keffeler, 537 U.S. 371. The Court noted in its ruling that
prohibiting a state from doing so could disadvantage children in
foster care because the state would not maintain the child's SSI
eligibility.
The child's benefits must be used, to promote the best interests
of the child which may include using the benefits to pay for
food, clothing, shelter or other items the child needs. If
there are benefits over what is spent each month on the child's
basic needs, then those benefits must be deposited into a
maintenance account for the youth, which can only accumulate up
to the SSI resource limit of $2,000 before it must be spent down
on allowed expenses. A youth may not have more than $2,000 in
resources as it would jeopardize his or her SSI eligibility.
Any funds remaining in the youth's maintenance account when he
or she emancipates, are paid out to the youth.
California led the way for the nation in establishing laws that
work to ensure children are appropriately screened for SSI
eligibility while in care. AB 1633 (Evans) Chapter 641,
Statutes of 2005 established a workgroup whereby counties and
child welfare stakeholders developed best practice guidelines
for establishing and maintaining social security eligibility for
children in foster care. Recommendations issued by the
workgroup were included in a subsequent bill, AB 1331 (Evans)
Chapter 465, Statutes of 2007, which required all counties to
screen foster youth and submit applications on their behalf
between the ages of 16 years and six months and 17 years and six
months as a means of ensuring SSI benefits are in place when the
youth turns 18. Following these efforts, the SSA granted the
state unprecedented approval in 2008 to allow California's
disabled foster youth to apply for SSI/SSP benefits prior to age
18; and in early 2010, the SSA issued a nationwide directive
allowing other states to follow suit.
Need for this bill: According to the author, while California
law currently requires county child welfare workers to screen
youth for SSI eligibility and make an application on behalf of
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likely eligible youth, it does not require any report to be made
to the court to ensure the SSI screening has occurred, or to
track the status of the SSI application. This bill would
provide the youth and the court with information that could be
helpful to transition planning for the youth, according to the
author.
In addition, this bill would require the county to notify the
child's attorney in writing if it intends to become the
representative payee for a child if the child's existing
representative payee is not the parent accused of abusing or
neglecting the child. The author states that the intent of this
notification is to provide the child an opportunity to weigh in
if there is already another person in the child's life better
suited than the county to serve as the child's representative
payee. In cases where the representative payee is already a
parent from whom the child was removed, the county would not
need to provide the notification, as it might delay the
application to change the representative payee.
For youth ages 16 and over, if an application is submitted for
SSI and SSA appoints a representative payee for the youth, this
bill would require the county to include that information in the
supplemental report. This provision is meant to address
circumstances where a youth is approved for SSI benefits while
still in foster care as a means for the court and counsel to
determine whether the appointed payee is, in fact, the most
suitable and appropriate option for that youth.
In support , the co-sponsor of this bill, the Children's Advocacy
Institute writes:
Notwithstanding the requirement in current law that
foster children be screened for their eligibility,
current law does not also require any report be made
to the court in order to ensure that the SSI screening
has in fact occurred or to track the status of the SSI
application. As a result, both the court and the
youth are often unaware of what the status of the
application is, or even whether it has been filed.
The availability of such resources could have a
dramatic influence on decisions regarding transition
planning of the youth.
Moreover, for most child beneficiaries, SSA appoints
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the child's parent or guardian to serve as
representative payee. For foster children, that is
often not possible or appropriate. In such cases, SSA
is required to identify and select the representative
payee who will best serve the child's interests, using
preference lists contained in federal regulations.
Although the lists provide guidelines that are meant
to be flexible, foster care agencies are ranked last
in order of preference.
In most instances in California, the assignment of the
responsible child welfare agency as representative
payee for a foster child is practically automatic --
without counsel for the child ever being notified.
This happens despite the fact that California law
specifies that a county should be the payee only when
no other appropriate party is able to serve as the
youth's representative payee.
Instead, for most foster youth, SSA provides notice
solely to the child's legal guardian or legal
representative - and this is often the same state or
county agency that is applying to be the child's
representative payee in the first place. Current
federal law does not require the foster care agency to
notify the child, the child's attorney or even the
juvenile court (which is ultimately responsible for
the child's well-being) that it has applied to be or
has been appointed as a foster child's representative
payee.
Without notification, the child, the child's attorney,
and the juvenile court have no opportunity to notify
SSA that there might be a parent, relative, family
friend, or other person in the child's life who might
be a more appropriate choice.
The Alliance for Children's Rights, a co-sponsor of this bill
writes in support, that provisions of this bill will serve to
strengthen existing law by requiring social workers to report on
the status of SSI screenings and applications at all dependency
court hearings after the minor turns 16, including the final
termination of jurisdiction hearing, to ensure the transition
plan for the youth includes the requisite benefits screening and
application. In addition, The Alliance for Children's Rights
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points out that the requirement for counties to notify counsel
of their application with the SSA to become a foster youth's
representative payee will provide the youth, judge, and child's
attorney with an opportunity to notify the SSA if there may be
another, more appropriate representative payee available for the
foster youth, such as a relative, parent, family friend, or
other person in the child's life suitable as a representative
payee applicant.
Prior Legislation:
AB 1331 (Evans) Chapter 465, Statutes of 2007 requires
California counties to screen all youth in foster care before
emancipation, between the ages of 16 and a half and 17 and a
half, for SSI and to submit an application on behalf of youth
who are likely eligible for disability benefits.
AB 1633 (Evans), Chapter 641, Statutes of 2005 required, in
part, the DSS to convene a workgroup to develop best practice
guidelines related to screening and applying for SSI and OSDI
benefits on behalf of eligible foster youth. AB 1633 did not
require counties to implement the best practice guidelines.
DOUBLE REFERRAL . This bill has been double-referred. Should
this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the
Assembly Judiciary Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Children's Advocacy Institute
The Alliance for Children's Rights
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089