NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7778

Senate Bill S7778

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires commissioners of local social services districts to screen, apply for, and use and conserve federal benefits on behalf of children placed in foster care

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 06, 2025	referred to children and families

2025-S7778 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8036
Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §398, Soc Serv L

2025-S7778 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires commissioners of local social services districts to screen, apply for, and use and conserve retirement, survivors and disability insurance, supplemental security income, veterans' or any other federal social security benefits on behalf of children placed in foster care; provides for responsibilities of local commissioners of social services appointed to serve as the representative payee for a child; provides for technical assistance and financial literacy for foster children; makes related provisions.

2025-S7778 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7778

SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring
commissioners of local social services districts to screen, apply for,
and use and conserve retirement, survivors and disability insurance,
supplemental security income, veterans' and other federal social securi-
ty benefits on behalf of children placed in foster care

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends the Social Services Law § 398(6) by adding three new
paragraphs, q, r and s:

Paragraph q provides that LSSDs must timely screen all children who
enter foster care and apply for all federal benefits.

Paragraph r provides that when an LSSD serves as the representative
payee for a child, it must meet regularly with the child to assess their
needs, use the funds to meet any current needs not met through the
foster care system, and conserve the remaining funds in individualized

accounts, including specialized accounts that permit savings in excess
of any relevant federal or state assets cap. The LSSD must also provide
an annual accounting to the child and the child's attorney outlining how
the benefit has been used. This legislation further provides that LSSDs
are prohibited from using children's social security benefits to cover
the LSSD's own costs of providing foster care.

Paragraph s provides that LSSDs must provide information to the child
and the child's representative payee regarding use and conservation of
benefits. This provision also mandates LSSDs to provide at least five
hours of financial literacy to children and family members serving as
representative payees in appropriate circumstances.

Section two sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

For decades, LSSDs across the nation screened children who entered
foster care for eligibility for Social Security and other federal bene-
fits, applied for those benefits on behalf of children in foster care,
and retained the money. This egregious practice turned children, often
poor children of color, into sources of revenue for the state. This was
first brought to light through reporting by NPR and the Marshall
Project, who elevated the stories of children and young people who lived
through this practice and had tens of thousands of dollars secretly
taken from them.

Jurisdictions across the country have begun shifting their practices to
ensure that children's federal benefits are not taken by the state
simply because they are placed in foster care. New York State has long
engaged in this practice of taking children's benefits and now has the
opportunity to lead the nation in addressing the systematic economic
disenfranchisement of these vulnerable children in foster care.

In New York State, children who do not receive federal benefits are not
required to pay for their foster care placement, no matter their finan-
cial circumstances. Although LSSDs have a legal obligation to provide
foster care for free to all children, for years they have made disabled
children and those who have lost one or both parents pay for the foster
care system itself, using vulnerable children as a revenue stream.

Children pulled into the foster care system in New York State are
disproportionately children of color and are often from the poorest,
most vulnerable families. Children who age out of foster care currently
face myriad difficulties, at significantly increased rates from their
peers. Children leaving the system typically have much higher rates of
homelessness, shelter stays, unemployment, arrest and incarceration, and
face challenges paying for education, childcare, transportation, and
basic needs.

Having access to their own benefits can serve as a lifeline for children
transitioning out of the foster care system, and economic stability can
reduce future involvement in the foster care system, as well as the
juvenile and criminal justice systems, Federal benefits conserved on
behalf of a former foster youth could pay for housing, education, and
transportation, as well as costs related to their disabilities.

Protecting benefits on behalf of children would allow them to:

*Purchase necessary items not covered by foster care maintenance
payments, such as specialized medical equipment, technology(including
laptops, iPads, and tablets for academic work, and entertainment), and
equipment for participating in extracurricular activities;

*Establish savings for post-high school education opportunities;

*Pay for medical services (including mental health care) not covered by
Medicaid, or from a private provider to avoid lengthy waitlists for
services;

*Practice financial literacy while still in supportive care; and

*Transition to economic independence after discharge from care, includ-
ing being able to afford a stable apartment.

This bill would reduce economic hardships and the collateral conse-
quences that children who go through the foster care system suffer by
ensuring they are not economically disadvantaged simply because of their
placement in foster care and instead that their benefits are used to
their advantage.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S7778 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7778
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 6, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. BRISPORT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN ACT to amend the  social  services  law,  in  relation  to  requiring
   commissioners of local social services districts to screen, apply for,
   and  use  and conserve retirement, survivors and disability insurance,
   supplemental security income, veterans' and other federal social secu-
   rity benefits on behalf of children placed in foster care
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 6 of section 398 of the social services law is
 amended by adding three new paragraphs (q),  (r)  and  (s)  to  read  as
 follows:
   (Q)  FOR ALL CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE, A COMMISSIONER SHALL: (I) SCREEN
 FOR POTENTIAL  ELIGIBILITY  FOR  RETIREMENT,  SURVIVORS  AND  DISABILITY
 INSURANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME, VETERANS', OR ANY OTHER FEDERAL
 SOCIAL  SECURITY  BENEFITS  AND APPLY FOR SUCH BENEFITS ON BEHALF OF ANY
 CHILD DETERMINED TO BE POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE WITHIN SIXTY  DAYS  OF  SUCH
 CHILD ENTERING FOSTER CARE.
   (II) RESCREEN ALL CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE ANNUALLY FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR
 ALL  FEDERAL  BENEFITS,  AND  WITHIN  THIRTY  DAYS OF RECEIPT OF ANY NEW
 INFORMATION TENDING TO INDICATE THAT A CHILD MAY BE ELIGIBLE  FOR  BENE-
 FITS  AND  APPLY  FOR  SUCH  BENEFITS ON BEHALF OF ANY SUCH CHILD WITHIN
 SIXTY DAYS OF THE DETERMINATION OF SUCH POTENTIAL ELIGIBILITY.
   (III) PROVIDE NOTICE TO A  CHILD,  SUCH  CHILD'S  ATTORNEY,  AND  SUCH
 CHILD'S PARENT OR PARENTS OR LEGAL GUARDIAN OR GUARDIANS OF ANY APPLICA-
 TION, DECISION, COMMUNICATION, OR APPEAL RELATED TO SUCH CHILD'S RETIRE-
 MENT,  SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME,
 VETERANS' OR ANY OTHER FEDERAL SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS.
   (IV) FOR EACH CHILD THE COMMISSIONER  DETERMINES  MAY  POTENTIALLY  BE
 ELIGIBLE  FOR BENEFITS, IDENTIFY AN APPROPRIATE REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE, IN
 COOPERATION WITH SUCH CHILD, SUCH CHILD'S FAMILY, AND THE  ATTORNEY  FOR
 SUCH  CHILD,  PURSUANT TO THE ESTABLISHED CATEGORIES OF PREFERRED PAYEES
 IN 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.2021 AND 416.621. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL SEEK TO  BE
 APPOINTED AS THE REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE ONLY WHEN THERE IS NO OTHER APPRO-

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11060-02-5
 S. 7778                             2

 PRIATE  PREFERRED  PAYEE  AVAILABLE  WHO  AGREES TO USE AND PRESERVE THE
 BENEFITS IN THE INTEREST OF A CHILD.
   (R)  FOR  EACH  CHILD FOR WHOM A COMMISSIONER IS APPOINTED TO SERVE AS
 THE REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE, SUCH COMMISSIONER SHALL:  (I)  MEET  REGULARLY
 WITH  ANY  CHILD WHO IS DEVELOPMENTALLY ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN FINANCIAL
 PLANNING AND SUCH CHILD'S ATTORNEY TO DEVELOP A PLAN TO USE AND CONSERVE
 THE BENEFITS.
   (II) USE THE PAYMENTS TO MEET THE  CHILD'S  SPECIFIC  IMMEDIATE  UNMET
 NEEDS,  AS DETERMINED IN COOPERATION WITH SUCH CHILD, SUCH CHILD'S CARE-
 TAKER, AND SUCH CHILD'S ATTORNEY. BENEFITS MAY  BE  USED  TO  MEET  SUCH
 CHILD'S NEEDS FOR GOODS OR SERVICES NOT PROVIDED THROUGH THE FOSTER CARE
 SYSTEM  AND  THAT  ARE  NOT  COVERED  BY  SUCH CHILD'S HEALTH INSURANCE,
 INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DISABILITY AIDS, SCHOOL TUITION, A CAR, OR
 TOOLS OF THE TRADE FOR EMPLOYED YOUTH.
   (III) MONITOR THE FEDERAL AND STATE ASSET LIMITATIONS ON FEDERAL BENE-
 FITS, AND DEPOSIT ANY BENEFITS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH ASSET LIMITATION
 AND ARE NOT USED TO MEET THE CHILD'S IMMEDIATE NEEDS IN A SPECIAL  NEEDS
 TRUST,  A POOLED SPECIAL NEEDS TRUST, AN ACHIEVING A BETTER LIFE EXPERI-
 ENCE (ABLE) ACCOUNT UNDER 26 U.S. CODE § 529A, OR OTHER TRUST ACCOUNT OR
 LEGAL MECHANISM THAT WILL ALLOW A CHILD TO SAVE IN EXCESS OF ANY FEDERAL
 AND STATE ASSET LIMITATIONS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH 20 C.F.R. § 416.645.
   (IV) PROVIDE THE CHILD AND THE ATTORNEY FOR SUCH CHILD WITH AN  ANNUAL
 ACCOUNTING OF THE USE OR CONSERVATION OF SUCH CHILD'S BENEFITS.
   (V)  UPON  DISCHARGE FROM FOSTER CARE, TRANSFER ALL CONSERVED FUNDS TO
 THE NEW REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE OR THE CHILD, AS APPROPRIATE.
   (VI) DECLINE TO USE A CHILD'S BENEFITS TO REIMBURSE THE  LOCAL  SOCIAL
 SERVICES DISTRICT FOR THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH MAINTAINING ANY CHILD IN
 THE  CARE AND CUSTODY OR THE CUSTODY AND GUARDIANSHIP OF THE COMMISSION-
 ER, INCLUDING THE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH FOSTER CARE.
   (S) FOR ALL CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE, A COMMISSIONER SHALL: (I) PROVIDE
 ALL REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES AND BENEFICIARIES WITH INFORMATION ABOUT  WHAT
 IS  LEGALLY  REQUIRED  UNDER  LAW  REGARDING THE USE AND CONSERVATION OF
 FEDERAL BENEFITS.
   (II) ASSIST ANY CHILD WHO  MAY  QUALIFY  TO  BE  THEIR  OWN  PAYEE  IN
 COMPLETING AN APPLICATION TO BECOME THE PAYEE FOR SUCH CHILD'S BENEFITS.
   (III) ASSIST ANY CHILD WHO NEEDS TO BE RE-CERTIFIED TO REMAIN ELIGIBLE
 FOR  A BENEFIT AFTER REACHING THE AGE OF MAJORITY TO BE RE-CERTIFIED FAR
 ENOUGH IN ADVANCE OF SUCH CHILD REACHING THE AGE OF MAJORITY TO AVOID  A
 GAP IN THE PROVISION OF SUCH BENEFIT.
   (IV) FOR ANY CHILD WHO THE COMMISSIONER ANTICIPATES WILL BE DISCHARGED
 FROM  CARE  WITHIN  THREE  MONTHS,  AND WHO IS NOT ABLE TO SERVE AS SUCH
 CHILD'S OWN REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE, IDENTIFY AN APPROPRIATE REPRESENTATIVE
 PAYEE, IN COOPERATION WITH SUCH CHILD,  SUCH  CHILD'S  FAMILY,  AND  THE
 ATTORNEY  FOR  SUCH  CHILD,  PURSUANT  TO  THE ESTABLISHED CATEGORIES OF
 PREFERRED PAYEES IN 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.2021 AND 416.621,  AND  ASSIST  THE
 IDENTIFIED  INDIVIDUAL IN PROCESSING AN APPLICATION TO BECOME THE REPRE-
 SENTATIVE PAYEE.
   (V) PROVIDE AT LEAST FIVE HOURS OF DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE  FINAN-
 CIAL  LITERACY AND SKILL BUILDING ANNUALLY FOR ALL CHILDREN AGE FOURTEEN
 OR OLDER, AND FOR ALL FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WILL SERVE AS A  REPRESENTATIVE
 PAYEE  FOR  A  CHILD.  SUCH TRAINING SHALL INCLUDE SKILL BUILDING AROUND
 PROPER USE AND CONSERVATION OF BENEFITS, INCLUDING THE USE  OF  SPECIAL-
 IZED  ACCOUNTS ENUMERATED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (III) OF PARAGRAPH (R) OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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