Children in foster care are a vulnerable population that states need to protect financially. Few states provide legislative protections for the Social Security benefits of children in foster care. Social Security benefits are important because when foster youth age out of foster care, they must navigate life on their own. Having conserved funds from their Social Security benefits will help foster youth in their young adult years pay for housing, transportation, and education. Without state legislative protections for foster children’s Social Security benefits, foster children may not be aware that they are entitled to receive benefits or that their foster care agency is receiving benefits on their behalf. Additionally, without legislative protections, agencies can misuse foster children’s Social Security benefits. As a result, many children leave foster care with no income or resources. State legislation that protects all aspects of foster children’s Social Security benefits can help these children when they age out of foster care to lead more successful lives as young adults.
This Note argues that each state should enact comprehensive state legislation to protect all aspects of foster children’s Social Security benefits by using the legislation of Maryland and Arizona as a model. When combined, Maryland’s and Arizona’s legislation protect a variety of aspects of foster children’s Social Security benefits. If each state used the combined legislation enacted in Maryland and Arizona to implement comprehensive legislation protecting foster children’s Social Security benefits in their own states, then the vulnerable population of foster children would have greater support and resources and have a better chance of achieving stability and more positive outcomes as young adults.