Jesse Fernandez, center, stands with his former foster parents Jason and Joyce White Friday, May 17, 2024, in Independence, Mo. Fernandez was paid thousands of dollars of Social Security survivor’s benefits because of the death of his mother, but by the time he turned 18, the money had all been used by the state of Missouri and Fernandez’s relatives to pay for his foster care .
But that’s beginning to change under pressure from child advocates who contend the practice is both immoral and detrimental to foster children because it exhausts funds that could have helped them transition to adulthood. “There is a strong and growing interest to implement reforms,” said Meg Dygert, staff leader of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators.
In Missouri, the Children’s Division spent more than $9.3 million last year on foster care services from the accounts of about 1,400 foster children who received Social Security benefits, according to legislative research staff. Had the state set aside some of her childhood disability benefits for future use, “it would have helped me start out my life,” Brandon said.
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