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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 963 FILED ON: 1/17/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 157
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Tricia Farley-Bouvier
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act protecting benefits owed to foster children.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Tricia Farley-Bouvier2nd Berkshire1/17/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/20/2023Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex1/25/2023David F. DeCoste5th Plymouth1/26/2023Joseph D. McKenna18th Worcester1/31/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/1/2023Mary S. Keefe15th Worcester2/6/2023Michelle M. DuBois10th Plymouth2/7/2023 1 of 7
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 963 FILED ON: 1/17/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 157
By Representative Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 157)
of Tricia Farley-Bouvier and others relative to protecting benefits owed to foster children.
Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act protecting benefits owed to foster children.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 21 of chapter 119 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Appropriate Services”
3the following definition:-
4
5 “Benefits”, benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, also referred to as
6“Supplemental Security Income” or “SSI”; benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act, also
7referred to as “Retirement, Survivors or Disability Benefits” or “RSDI”; or federal veterans
8benefits.
9
10 SECTION 2. Said section 21 of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby further
11amended by inserting after the definition of “Relative” the following definition:- 2 of 7
12
13 “Representative Payee or Fiduciary”, any person or entity designated to receive benefits
14for a minor child under the agency rules governing such benefits.
15
16 SECTION 3. Section 23 of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
17inserting after subsection (i) the following subsection:-
18
19 (j) The department shall comply with section 23C, including providing eligibility
20screening, payee or fiduciary assistance, appropriate notice, benefits accounting, conservation of
21benefits and other services relative to benefits for children and youth below the age of 22 under
22the custody, care, or responsibility of the department.
23 SECTION 4. Chapter 119 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
24section 23B the following section:-
25 Section 23C. (a) When a child is placed in substitute care pursuant to a voluntary
26placement agreement or due to court-ordered custody, the department shall make all reasonable
27efforts to identify within 60 days of the child being committed to custody of the department
28whether the child is already receiving or may be eligible to receive benefits. In reviewing
29eligibility, the department shall consult with the parents and others who may have information
30about the child’s eligibility. If the department ascertains, or has cause to believe, that the child
31may be eligible for benefits, it shall apply to the agency administering such benefits on the
32child’s behalf, in cooperation with the child’s attorney. If benefits are denied, the department 3 of 7
33shall notify the child’s attorney and consult with its legal department regarding whether to appeal
34the decision. The department shall review cases of children in care annually to determine
35whether the child may have become eligible for benefits after the initial assessment. Whenever
36the child is or may be eligible for SSI, the department shall, if necessary for benefits eligibility,
37forego claiming that child for purposes of any federal IV-E maintenance payments under Section
38475(4) of the Social Security Act. The department shall designate an individual in its central
39office and each of its regional offices to oversee its responsibilities under this subsection.
40
41 (b) If the child is already receiving benefits prior to entering department custody, the
42department may apply to be designated as the child’s representative payee or fiduciary. If the
43department is applying for benefits for the child, the department may also apply to be the
44representative payee or fiduciary. In either instance, in deciding whether to apply to be the
45representative payee or fiduciary, the department, in cooperation with the child’s attorney, shall
46consider the preferences mandated in 20 C.F.R. § 404.2021(c) or 20 C.F.R. § 416.621, or other
47applicable program rules, and apply to become representative payee or fiduciary only if there is
48no other suitable candidate available. Where the goal is reunification, the department shall
49consider whether applying to become the child’s representative payee or fiduciary will
50undermine the goal of reunification and be contrary to the child’s best interests. Where the
51department is the representative payee or fiduciary, the department shall periodically review if
52under current circumstances, someone other than the department is available to apply to the
53applicable benefits agency to assume such a role, and could better serve as representative payee
54or fiduciary, in the child’s best interests. 4 of 7
55
56 (c) When the department submits an application to be appointed as a child’s
57representative payee or fiduciary, or applies on behalf of the child for benefits, the department
58shall provide prior notice to the child’s parents if parental rights have not been terminated, the
59legal guardian or guardians, the child’s attorney, the attorney or attorneys for the parents or legal
60guardian, the child’s caseworker and the child, if the child is aged 12 or older. The notice shall
61state that interested parties may submit information relevant to the selection of a representative
62payee or fiduciary for the child, and that individuals may have the right to contest the selection of
63a representative payee or fiduciary before the Social Security Administration or Veterans
64Administration. Prompt notice shall also be given to such persons regarding any communications
65from the Social Security Administration or Veterans Administration pertaining to acceptance or
66denial of benefits or the selection of a representative payee or fiduciary, as well as any appeal or
67other action requested by the department regarding an application for benefits. Prompt notice
68shall also be given to all such parties whenever a special trust account or savings account is
69established on behalf of the child under subsections (e) and (f).
70 (d) When the department is the child’s representative payee or fiduciary, it shall maintain
71an accounting of the child’s benefits, and shall submit a report quarterly to the child, if the child
72is aged 12 or over, parents, if parental rights have not been terminated, guardian, counsel for the
73child, counsel for the parent or parents, counsel for the guardian, the child’s caseworker and the
74court. The report shall include a statement of the amount and source of benefits collected by the
75department since any prior notification; the amount of benefits paid into any account maintained
76on behalf of the child; any amounts deducted by the department and the reasons for the
77deductions; any other withdrawals from the account established for the child and the reasons for 5 of 7
78such withdrawals; and information regarding all the child’s assets and resources, including
79benefits, insurance, cash assets, trust accounts, and earnings.
80
81 (e) If the department is the child’s representative payee or fiduciary, it shall place no
82less than 10 per cent of the child’s benefits in an account to be used only for the child’s personal
83needs. The department shall not use such funds to pay for items or activities that it ordinarily
84purchases for other foster children who do not receive benefits. If the child is receiving SSI
85benefits, the department shall ensure that any funds retained for personal needs do not exceed
86any federal asset limit. The balance of funds from benefits held by the department as a
87representative payee or fiduciary may be spent on unmet needs, subject to program requirements
88for administration of such benefits, and otherwise shall be conserved as savings for the child’s
89transition to adulthood at age 18. Any funds administered for SSI recipients above the federal
90asset limit shall be conserved in an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account,
91authorized by Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or another trust account for
92the child determined not to interfere with SSI or asset limitations for any other benefit program.
93If the child is not receiving SSI or other benefits with an asset limit, the department shall place
94excess funds in a savings account for the child. Benefits of a foster child shall not be used by the
95department to offset the cost of providing foster care. If the department is the child’s
96representative payee or fiduciary and receives retroactive benefits for the child, those funds shall
97be administered as required by program rules and placed in a separate dedicated account
98pursuant to applicable regulations, where necessary.
99 6 of 7
100 (f) The department shall take steps to conserve the benefits of children receiving benefits
101under this paragraph to assist them in the transition to adulthood and living independently. The
102department shall establish accounts as specified in subsection (e) in conserving a child’s benefits.
103The department shall work actively with the Social Security Administration and the child to
104ensure that when the child leaves foster care or turns 18, all payments of benefits will be returned
105to the Social Security Administration to be held on the child’s behalf or, upon the instructions of
106Social Security Administration, transferred to the child or to a new representative payee. The
107department shall provide the child with ongoing financial literacy training and support, including
108specific information regarding the existence, availability, and use of funds conserved for the
109child, beginning by age 14. Financial literacy training concerning restrictions on the use of
110conserved funds shall also be made available to all parents, guardians, and adoptive parents
111gaining access to funds conserved by the department.
112 (g) The department shall provide an annual report to the house and senate committees on
113ways and means, the committee on children, families and persons with disabilities, the clerks of
114the house and the senate and the secretary of the executive office of administration and finance,
115not later than September 1; provided, that the report shall set forth (i) the numbers of children
116committed to the department’s custody who were screened for eligibility for benefits; (ii)
117whether such screening occurred within 60 days of being committed to the department’s custody
118and if not, the date of the screening and reasons for the delay; (iii) the percentage of the children
119screened who were already receiving benefits; determined to possibly be eligible for benefits;
120and determined not to be eligible for benefits; (iv) the actions taken on behalf of such children to
121apply for such benefits where they have been determined to be possibly eligible, including the
122number and type of applications filed and approved and the number of appeals filed; (v) the 7 of 7
123percentages of such children determined to be eligible for SSI, RSDI and veterans benefits; (vi)
124of all such children receiving SSI, RSDI or veteran’s benefits, the number of children for whom
125the department is the representative payee, the number of children for whom the parent or
126guardian is the representative payee, and the number of children for whom another interested
127person is the representative payee; and (vii) the savings tools used by the department to conserve
128for transition the benefits of such children receiving SSI, RSDI and veterans benefits and the
129frequency and degree to which such tools were employed for such children during the annual
130review period.
131
132 (h) In administering the benefits of young adults ages 18 to 22 for whom the department
133is acting as a representative payee or fiduciary, the department shall comply with the
134requirements for children under subsections (a) through (g).
135
136 SECTION 5. Not later than 90 days after the effective date of this act, the secretary of the
137executive office of health and human services shall promulgate regulations as necessary to
138implement section 23C of chapter 119 of the General Laws, as inserted by this act.