How a loophole deprives foster children of benefits
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- Опубліковано 6 кві 2024
- In many states, young people in foster care who are entitled to survivor and disability benefits are having those benefits taken by state agencies that apply for the benefits themselves without giving notice to the child or his or her relatives. More than 25,000 children nationwide are affected by this practice. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty talks with young people who were denied tens of thousands of dollars; and with experts and officials trying to correct a situation which, though not illegal, is depriving those in foster care of their rightful benefits.
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Put that darn money in an account for the foster child to be able to receive it once they turn 18 and or age out of the system. What an F’d up system!
Exactly my thoughts!
Smh 🤦🏽♂️ damn shame greedy folks
A government that robs from Peter to pay Paul, it's being ran by Paul.
Our whole foster care system is broken.
Our entire system is broken. Most people can’t afford to buy a home even though they’ve been working since the 1900s. If you break a leg you’ll have to pay 2 years wages to pay off the debt. Our prison busses/school busses and school lunches/prison lunches are the exact same. We have taxes taken out of our paychecks but still have to pay more taxes when we use our paychecks to buy items from the store. Even as a child I can see this is some bull. Hopefully, we get these old folks out of office so we can enjoy the lifestyle of the Danes and Norwegians
It's not broken, it's by design. They pretend that this was a mistake, but it is quite clear from how ppl within the system talk that this is how they designed it to work.
The fact that many of these young people wind up living on the streets while the state takes their money is just plain evil!
💯
There's a lot of bull$hit loopholes that allows officials, politicians, and the elites criminal actions, without any consequences Massive kleptocracy.
So many foster parents use the checks for themselves so survivor benefits should go in a trust until age 18 when kids are kicked out of foster care.
Exactly
Foster parents do not get this money. The state does. The state pays the foster parents and, I don't know about your state, but the money is ridiculously low here in WI.
My foster mom in CT received 800 a month for caring for me. She didn't neglect me but when I wanted certain things, she was always broke because she mismanaged her money. I had to use my work money to get some basics. I know it goes towards food and shelter. There were times she bought cat food instead of our food (for her cats to be clear). So I would have to buy some groceries. She had a job, was receiving her husband's social security benefits and had my money from the state. That shouldn't have been the case. When I complained to my case worker, she said she can do with the money as she sees fit.
They are not required to give receipts or prove the money is being spent on your care. Mine is not the worst situation, I get that, however the way foster care is handled on behalf of the child is not ok. I had to fight for a lot of what I got. I am not spoiled nor am I entitled. No child should have to fight for basics.
Foster parents are paid to shelter, feed and clothe their foster children. They are not getting the kid's money.
@@justmejenny7986 that is not correct. As someone who has both been a foster kid and worked as a social worker, they are not paid to care for the kids. They are SUPPOSED to use the funds towards those things. That is not a payment. That is a stipend. They are different. Most foster parents are not spending that money towards what they should be spending it which is why a decent amount of foster kids feel neglected.
This is call stealing and is a crime. All involved need to be held accountable. This is a form of child abuse. This needs to change for the future of all foster children.
I have been talking about this for years. I was in the foster care system in 1974 after my mother died....I saw NO social security, do not know if she had a life insurance policy or anything else. The social security and military benefits theft from minors orphaned and sent into foster care is just the beginning of what needs to be investigated and every single child that has been stolen from should receive payment in full with interest no matter how long ago it was!
These officials should be held accountable, jailed and fined to pay back all they took!
😮😮 It ain't no loophole its corruption...the children should sue....
I'm so glad that this is making national news. Can we also talk about how Medicaid takes money from disabled adults that received benefits as children when they turn 18? If you qualified for Medicaid as a child, the chance that you have tons of money as an adult is pretty impractical.
What a shame! when I think I can’t be surprised at what this government does I learn this.
States do it, not the Federal Government. Our Supreme Court would uphold stealing from these children?
States do this.
@@CharlotteFairchild the federal government can’t pass a bill to stop them from doing it which is bs.
Foster care system is so broken, unfair and provide so many challenges to foster care children.
This is child abuse and wrong on every level. This breaks my heart. I am so proud of these beautiful souls. Shame on our system for allowing them to suffer even more than they had already.
Bless are those that stand up, and protect our future.
😔✌️
I had a girl in one of my core classes as a junior that aged out & had to drop out. I think about her so often because it could have been me. Absolutely sick how they take their benefits to do what!? Those funds could be provide housing , tuition , etc.
Horrendous injustice to all people who this happens to.
Great report! This information needs to be repeated over & over again until change comes about.
Give.. that..money..back ..all of it..every State give that money back...everything.. every frickin cent!
I am going to take in two older children later this year. God help me with the issue.
You mean you want their parents’ money for yourself? Foster Care does not pay much and never has. My grandmother took care of foster babies as a nurse. She had a degree in the 1920”s on nursing, neo-natal, and obstetric nursing.
In, and she worked for 40 years keeping babies until they were healthier.
If it's an issue, don't do it. If its a privilege to provide love and care to kids who need it, treat it as such and do right by them.
All to give rich ppl tax cuts.
lining their own pockets again...sickening.
In Nevada when a family member takes a child they don't receive foster care reimbursement unless they are licensed foster parents. The relative tries to keep the child in the family but receives no support.
Perhaps becoming a "licensed foster parent" should be the directive. Of course jumping through hoops to keep families together is an added headache but if more pros than cons it is worth the work.
New York does pay family members.
@@justmejenny7986 That's great, hopefully Nevada will one day as well.
Not to undermine Sunday Morning's influence, but maybe CBS has to air this report on 60 Minutes to get some justice to these children - the same way they influenced a change with the Social Security overpayements matter.
Maybe everyone who see’s this video should write CBS and ask them to cover it.
An overpayment versus underpayment?? No change is going to happen
Agreed! This needs to go viral
It's bad enough generations of kids are growing up lost! Depriving benefits from foster children doesn't help!
Ex foster kids have entered the chat:
This exact thing happen to me. My father got killed i went to foster care..they proceeded to steal over 80k over the course of 10 years or so. When i "aged out" at 17 because i had a kid and graduated hs early..my balance of Ssi around 4k. That, my friends was 30 years ago. I see thievery never changes within our govt.🤡🙄good grief.
😔
Bless this young woman who persevered.
They are supposed to provide a home and pay for college and they advertise it on their websites. All lies..
Just disgusting. Simply disgusting. This country is a double edged greedy sword.
Wow for years taking money from the kids. What kind of system are we in again 🤔?
None of the 50 states really "care" for these children. In fact, they barely "care" for them at all.
Then they say you can't abort, but once they're born they don't care.
My boyfriends daughter was in state custody for a few months. They have the foster parent clothing vouchers, the foster mother bought her own daughter new clothes and gave my boyfriends daughter hand me down dresses in November…. And the state said they couldn’t do anything about it. Was despicable.
Thank you for shedding light on this 🙏🏻
As you treat the least amount you is as you treat me. No one is less than a orphan.
Thank you for bringing attention to this shameful practice. Stealing from orphans is one of the most vile crimes.
SICK 🤯🤯🤯 unbelievable!!!! I worked in foster care & didn’t even know this SMH
They will let ANYBODY be a foster parent and get a check SMH especially in Mississippi
Absolutely not. I had an extensive background check,fingerprints, physical, references, lengthy application, house inspection, classes, meetings, and proof of everything from dmv records, insurances, vet records. Had to have certain things in place such as lock box for any medication, fire alarm in each room, fire extinguisher in the kitchen. And once you went through all that you had to continue with classes, meetings with case manager and social worker. In home visits monthly and update your information yearly.
This is beyond cruel!
Thank you for covering this.
Pro life people pro life people HERE'S WHOLE FORMED HUMANS that need your help!!
Yall do all this protesting and legislation but completely ignore true people who need help
You couldn’t be more wrong.
In my church, alone, we have 36 foster children that are loved and supported.
We host holiday events for our county’s foster children providing gifts for each individual child.
Our pastor of counseling just adopted two siblings after fighting for five grueling years of bureaucracy.
@@gailcarey3597so .. what was done with the kids money?
@@jbaugh2851 There will always be people who find a way to profit off of the vulnerability of others.
That fault lies with Social Services and state agencies in not vetting or investigating these people properly not the people who align with Pro Life or Pro Choice.
Just a question.
Why are Pro Choice proponents not vilified for their lack of commitment?
FYI - The NPR/Marshall Project investigation found that in at least 49 states and the District of Columbia, when young people go into foster care child, welfare agencies routinely look for which ones come with Social Security checks. Or, if the children are eligible, agencies sign them up for benefits. Then state agencies cash those checks - usually without telling the child or their family, the investigation found.
@jbaugh2851 Probably used to feed, clothe and provide a roof over their head! Good people step forward to raise children who need a safe, loving family. Raising a child involves having adequate resources to do so effectively. Don't expect them to do it for free. Many of these kids are also traumatized and need additional parenting time and attention for medical, academic and mental health needs. Often precludes having another full-time income.
@@ddigiorgio8438 I'm sorry...so don't Foster a child when you can't afford to take in a child with your own income; don't spend the money that was given to them.. invest it for the future..life insurance..savings bonds..buy tuition or books..open them a Savings account.. I understand the cost but my kids came into this world without having money and relied on my money.
I'm highly sympathetic to the needs of foster children, especially those aging out of the system. I've worked in the FC system and taught child welfare policy. I've adopted from FC.
This isn't so much an issue of who gets or how the child's VA survivor benefits are used. It's more an issue of what are we doing to support ANY young person aging out of FC.
If the child was being raised by a surviving parent or relative, that adult would be the child's rep payee and expected to use the VA funds for child's needs while growing up. The child doesn't get the funds directly. Any policy shift would also have to be applied fairly to a veteran's surviving children raised by surviving parent, sibling or relative. It would be unfair to surviving parent, sibling or relative to expect them to set aside those funds until child is of age, while expecting the adult to bear full cost of raising them
And other kids in FC don't don't "get it for free". Their parents are expected to pay child support in accordance with their income and assetts. Many simply don't have any income/assetts. If a non veteran's child gets a life insurance benefit, that money would be expected to be used for benefit of the child, no matter who is raising child, whether family or FC.
Foster kids have special status when it comes to college financial aid. They are considered a family of "one". Any assetts, i.e. VA funds set aside for them, would actually count against their overall financial aid package.
So, assiging VA survivor benefits to the child for later use might actually be counterproductive in the long run.
The REAL issue is that we aren't adequately helping many of the young people aging out of foster care. And perhaps aren't properly advising relatives of what's available to them if they were to step up to raise the child.
While well intended, this news story doesn't give the whole picture.
That’s a heart wrenching story. I work in this same exact agency in my state. We are very very conscience of our youths and the money they receive. All money’s they receive go into a trust for them to have with their care ends. The dividends they receive from go into trust and if they have native corporate benefits they also get those. We make sure our youths have the money and also Independent Living services through the age of 21. Meaning they’ll pay for them to get a license and help to find housing etc. I wish other states did the same. That’s so sad.
Indidently your map of states with laws excluded my state. I’m so glad.
That is a shame that the kids didn’t know this ahead of time. The state took their money and children aged out the system became homeless.
They do the same thing with child support! If you apply for ANY assistance like foodstamps, daycare assistance, or even medical coverage for your kids - you are FORCED to file a child support enforcement claim. If you ever receive the payments from the other parent, the state takes a massive percentage of that money. They will take it before it will be deposited to your account. I never got a single penny of child support, considering it was based on the minimum wages being $5.15, for two children, the monthly payment was only around $240 per month. For the 15 years he was in prison, the back-pay racked up to over $40,000. Had he started to make payments for the back pay, I would not have seen it - the state would have taken it. He died last summer before I could get any case together.
I keep telling y’all politicians are evil
This is so disgusting!
They do the same with seniors. They took the house and savings when placed in a nursing home.
They do this with tanf/fitap benifits too, except they'll take any kid and/or siblings child support if you ever receive it, to pay them back...
There's similarities to these loopholes...
My fear is that we’ve allowed the oligarchs and plutocrats get out of control in this country .. Trump is just one of them .. But what’s prevented an oligarch from buying the government .. Nothing that I’ve seen so far indicates we have done something to keep these in check at all .. this is why I love the way other countries treat their people .. sure they don’t have some of the stuff we have but they sure as heck don’t allow their oligarchs to rule over everyone and unconscionable damage .. Other countries know best in how to deal with them than we do .. but I think our people are waking up to the issue at hand
DEMOCRATS control foster care, Einstein.
This upset me so much!
Absolutely unacceptable! They should be entitled to the arrears that they are owed. Treat it like child support or spousal support. That money is rightfully theirs!
In most all government benefits programs you have to apply for benefits "you maybe entitled to." It is to help offset the cost of paid by the state for there care.
Our country is going backwards.. I'm actually kinda scared of what the future holds. I'm normally a go with the flow take it as it comes kinda person. Now i feel more paranoid and unsure of my future.
This system is really messed up.
As a foster kid i wasn't allowed to learn to drive because they couldn't insured me because legal guardianship issues
That $ should automatically be put in a trust for the child for them to use when they are 18. Imagine having to be able to have their post high school education paid for? Or the ability to put a down payment on a home?
Absolutely shocking 😢
That is criminal!!!!
It"s more than 25k children...
This is just disgusting. They didn’t even pretend to put the money back into the system. That money could have saved lives!
Just criminal stealing from children
I left foster care w no ability to swim work or know how to drive. Then was kicked out at 18 w no skills or high school diploma. My foster parents took over 1000 dollars a month and I didn't even have tampons ..
This money should have been given to them definitely when they aged out. Also, they should automatically be able to get a college education with room and board provided. This is ridiculous. I wish I had enough money to open a home for those who have to leave foster care. This is heartbreaking.
so in Mich they talked some family members into taking in their cousins kids due to drug abuse and after 6 months they told them the foster care wouldn't give them a dime cause they didn't take some foster classes that they never offered. they were inpected several times also in this timespan. so my question is if they weren't good enough to get paid cause they didn't get some classes how were they able to have them for 6 month or so
This is stealing and is a felony and should be prosecuted as such. These are the real important matters that I wished congress would argue about and also making citizens who were already in this country whole before offering aid to others and debit cards and housing.
These kids have Education benefits too. This sucks!!!!!😞😡
He need to get a lawyer.
If they emancipate as a minor they can apply for those benefits themselves. if they have a good attorney that will fight for them, but they don’t want them to know that little secret. Depends on the circumstances and their age if they have siblings. to go through the system like that is horrible. I know because I’m speaking from personal experience and that was a long time ago.
How they heck she do online classes in a tent??
🙄
The library provides a hot spot& laptop computer loan system. Certain schools also provide resources to help those who need it. When their is a will their is a way. This way is sad and shouldn't be the only option for parent-less student's . So easy to look down on the struggling souls in our streets but how many of us do the critical thinking and intervine in positive change to happen.
We have failed in whole as a country, children were never meant to be put in systems/adopted!! The parents/families who allow this to happen will be held accountable!!! It's just very sad & evil!!!
And this money goes to people never pay taxes and retired???SSI ???
This is heartbreaking and wrong in every way.
This is so messed up.
This is just wrong! Imagine if foster kids, who age out, had a nest age to help them get established? I find it criminal that these young people are basically “kicked to the curb” once they are no longer eligible to be in foster care.
Or it had been invested and allowed to build interest.
How sad
Can I get back pay? When I went back to foster care after my mom died they took the death benefits I was getting.
If that's the case then social security DONT BOTHER OFFERING IT THEN IF PEOPLE ARE STEALING IT!! Take it off the social security list of benefits..
Replacing the voices with the reporter’s voice didn’t save time and took away the voices’ power. Like interrupting, the voice of that person believes they are more important? What can we do? Protest to governors? Protest to Congress representatives and senators?
The Representative may need more money to get a bill passed for foster children.
foster children usually battle a lot of mental health issues including compound stress disorders and relationship issues because they did not have nurturing environments or from neglect growing up. As adults it makes functioning day to day even harder. statistics say foster kids are more likely to commit crimes, not graduate, or abuse and be addicted to substances and die younger. these young people are exceptions to the rule= sheer perseverance.
The system is a joke 😢??
They was trying to keep me in falter care until I was 21 in Louisiana for what I heard it was because they was getting a lot of money
Mmmm... in my county, it pays for the foster care.
The evil people in charge always exploit the most vulnerable.
why should tax payers have to pay? and there should be sliding scale payments for families with living parents....no payment for lower income, to full payment for upper middle class parents
Unfortunately this what people don't understand they use thay income to help offset care for them. Otherwise it's all funded by taxes
@@ncdiva919 that is how it should be. but in my state, the foster subsidy is about 900. the SS survivor benefit could be MUCH more than that. It would be fair to give $900 of that SS money to the foster parent (instead of the subsidy), but the rest should be in a dedicated account for the child controlled by a payee. If the child wants more than the subsidy covers, that should be paid by the payee, it shouldn't just be confiscated by the state. For example, a teen wants to go to prom, They need $1000. The payee can authorize that specific expense. But in some states, the state is keeping the excess and never using it for the specific child.
Oh we tried to tell you people about this over 30 years ago. Keep your heads stuck in the sand
A whole lot longer. I'm 53 and lived this too.
@@lissabee49 I'm a bit older than you, having worked in law and Social Services starting in the 70s. It would be interesting to hear what you might have to say also, what you saw, the corruption we were asked to participate. I refused
In the 1990s, I had it. I went to the media, politicians - crickets.
I caught them red-handed so many times stealing children, destroying lives, targeting good moms
It blew my mind how politicians in the media just go along with the system.
There truly is evil on Earth
Some foster kids they're parents are not dead! They're lying!
Do you mean self serving accounts?
There's a lot of bull$hit loopholes that allows officials, politicians, and the elites criminal actions, without any consequences..
What can we do to stop this!!!! This is awful!!, this government is so corrupt and evil 😢😢😢
Or funnel the survivor benefit through child support accounts only!
Gavin Newsom vetos the bill to help these foster kids in California and once again proves the type of man he is. Remember this when he runs for national office.
Check disabled foster kids. They, too, take their funds under the guise to hold onto the money for age out status or adoption. After adoption their money is still held because they are of age but can not question it because they are disabled. That is unless they have advocate and a avg of 5 yrs to solve. You'll still only be able to get 2 to 3 yrs of back dues.
Whose helping the disabled?
Absolutely no one
@@TaureanRuler thank you for responding.
It doesn't surprise me to be honest. They do the same thing to people who get disability checks, and people who get food stamps - if you go to like a rehab for instance,they take it. Just like for people in rehab, this money could really benefit them when they are on the other side of this. This is sick. These kids deserve access to this money. It could help them pay for college 😢
Not so. I work for an agency that provides food stamps. If a participant goes into a facility, federal/state benefits are cut off if the agency has knowledge of the placement.
then the child should have been required to pay their expenses if they were given the SS/VA payment...and only what is left over put in trust for the child. if the foster subsidy is $900 paid to the foster parent....900 of the SS/VA should go to their care..then there should be a payee who can pay out extra for things the child needs/wants or keep it in savings for when they are 18...that is the purpose of the payments to pay for the kids current needs, not to bank it all for when they are adults.
No the point is those are SS benefits that the parents worked to receive upon their retirement. They never got to use it so it goes to their child. That is why the children deserve what their parents WORKED for. All of the children with living parents are not accountable for paying for their own care why should children who lost their parents have to?
@@benji6632 not true....the survivor benefit is different than the parent benefit. that is why taxpayers deserve to not support the child. the survivor benefit is for the CURRENT NEEDS OF THE CHILD. say one parent dies and child lives with surviving parent....surviving parent doesn't have to bank all the benefit and turn it over to the child at 18...they are free to spend all of it on the child's housing, food, etc
@@benji6632 if the child benefit was just an inheritance of benefits parent didn't get to collect, then why aren't adult children age 18-40 given the benefit if the parent dies before collecting retirement?
@110311DONTWANTCHANNE It's not a retirement benefit. It is a survivor's benefit. The parent has died. The money is intended to pay for child's care up to age 21.
@@ddigiorgio8438 NO..AGE 18.....SOCIAL SECURITY is a disability/retirement benefit..there is ALSO a dependent/survivor benefit for MINORS until age 18 or 19 if they are in high school.. AND THAT IS WHAT I AM SAYING, THE MONEY IS INTENDED TO SUPPORT THE CHILD NOW,.not be banked and given to them at 18 (unless there is left over money after expenses are paid). why should tax payers be paid for the child's need now--just to give the person a windfall at 18.....the child in foster care should have a payee. the payee should pay up to the amount of the foster subsidy for the care of the child. Anything left can be saved or used for a specific expense for the child such as a good bike or cell phone or dance lessons they want, etc. in my state the subsidy is about $900 (varies based on age and needs). figure $300 for food and other items like soap/toilet paper. $200 for the bedroom (in my area the difference in rent between a 1 and 2 bedroom apartment is about 200---so 200 is fair compensation for the foster parent to maintain a large enough home). $50 for added utilities. $50 for transportation costs. $50 towards furnishings...although i do think there is an extra initial clothing alllowance....school supplies, recreation...
Listen to this I saw on the NEWS 5 in Tennessee that the LGBTQI could NOT foster a child. I found out from someone in Nashville that the report was NOT true
Foster kids need a home with mentally stable adults. That won't be found in alphabet people's home.
😢 smh.
TAKE IT AWAY FROM SOCIAL SECURITY AND PERMIT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OFFER IT ONLY THROUGH A TAX RETURN BENEFIT!
😭😭😭
The churches need to step up and reach out to agencies to foster children. They need to educate their congregations and ask them to foster God’s children.
It is sad to see actual US citizens get treated like this while illegals are well taken care of. Hope these kids get the well needed help they deserve.
This is disgusting
This system is evil but I realized that people don't care about other people's kids.....
Government they're more worried about illegal immigrants 😢??