Bill > A4495

Introduced Session

The bill requires the Department of Children and Families (the department) to determine, within 60 days of a child's placement in a foster home, whether the child currently receives, or is eligible for, federal benefits, such as Social Security or Veteran's Administration benefits. Upon determining that a child is eligible for federal benefits, the department will apply for these benefits on the child's behalf, after notifying the child, the child's attorney, the child's parent, provided parental rights have not been terminated, or the child's legal guardian. If a child received federal benefits prior to placement in a foster home, or if the department applies for federal benefits on the child's behalf, the department, in consultation with the child and the child's attorney, will identify a representative payee. If no suitable candidate is available to serve as the child's representative payee, the department may apply to become the representative payee for the child's benefits. In such cases, the department is required to annually review whether an appropriate individual is available to serve as representative payee; if so, and with the consent of the child and the child's attorney, the department will petition to have this individual appointed as representative payee. If the department is appointed as the representative payee, the department is prohibited from using the child's federal or any other benefits, savings, or assets to offset the State's costs for the child's care. The department is also required to utilize the child's federal benefits for the child's unmet needs, or to save for the child's future needs. Under the bill, the department is required to establish an account at a financial institution, into which the child's federal benefits will be deposited, consistent with federal and State asset and resource limits. The department may establish certain types of accounts, such as a special needs trust or an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE), which will not conflict with the income and asset limits of certain federal benefits programs. The department will annually provide the child, the child's attorney, and the child's parent or legal guardian with an account of the use, application, or conservation of the child's benefits. The department is also required to annually review the cases of children in foster care to determine whether a child may have become eligible for federal benefits in the time since the department's initial assessment of the child's eligibility. Upon termination of the department's responsibility for a child, the department must turn over any remaining federal benefits to the child, if the child is age 18 years or older or is an emancipated minor, or to the child's parent or legal guardian.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Shanique Speight (D)*,  Reginald Atkins (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee (on 06/06/2024)

Official Document