Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new bill that will protect the Social Security payments of tens of thousands of Californians. On Thursday, Newsom signed AB 2906 into law. He will now make sure that Social Security survivor payments go to the foster kids for whom they are meant.
People who want to get Social Security survivor benefits would have to tell foster children and their legal guardians whenever someone asks for benefits. The state kept these payments for years, even though they were meant to go to foster children when they turned 18.
Social Security will include new requirements and changes in California
The bill was passed by the whole state legislature before it got to Newsom’s desk last month. As Newsweek said before, they wrote Newsom and the Social Security Administration to ask for their thoughts. Last year, Newsom vetoed a bill that included disability benefits and benefits for foster youth survivors.
This time, however, the people may have pushed him to accept the package. The bill was passed by both the Los Angeles and San Diego Boards of Supervisors earlier this month. About 70 judges in California also signed a letter asking the governor to sign it.
Amy Harfeld, national policy director of the Children’s Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law (CAI), said that for some foster children in California, having access to these stolen items could mean the difference between growing up without a home and becoming homeless when they leave foster care.
We’re glad that Governor Newsom added California to the growing list of states that are doing something to stop this disgusting practice while also working to solve the state’s homelessness problem.
Between 40,000 and 80,000 young people in California are on welfare. But once they turn 18, they often have trouble paying their bills or are homeless. The Children’s Advocacy Institute says that 29% of kids who have been in foster care between the ages of 19 and 21 are homeless.
For years, counties in California have taken Social Security payments and put them in their own coffers, even though they should not have been able to because they were due.
Federal law says that when it comes to Social Security funds, county foster care organisations must put the best interests of foster children first. However, counties have been getting around this duty by not asking the kids who are meant to get the benefits what they think.
There was a time when California cities could apply for benefits for foster children without telling the children or their lawyer, and a judge did not have to oversee their care. Foster children can get Social Security benefits if they are disabled or if their parents paid into the system for a certain number of years before they retired, became disabled, or died.
However, many people never got the money they were owed because of old rules. In a statement, Robert Fellmeth, the founder and executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Institute, said that these payments are mostly just a rounding mistake for the counties.
If eligible foster kids could get their hands on their money, their lives might be very different. They might have a real chance at safe housing, food security, transportation, and school.
A number of states, including California, are trying to make the Social Security payouts of these adopted children safer. As of this summer, thirty states and local governments have taken steps to protect the benefits for foster children. In Arizona, Washington, D.C., Oregon, and Massachusetts, holding payments from people who are in the foster care system is no longer allowed.
Finally, it’s important to note that people who grew up in foster care and now get Social Security benefits are sometimes forgotten when it comes to keeping those benefits, even though they depend on them a lot. If this rule is passed, it will provide a lot of financial support for many years to come, making sure that the system stays financially stable.
Also See:- Changes Already Made: Some Americans will get more money from Social Security