[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 212 (Friday, November 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87453-87457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25462]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

[DOCKET NO. SSA-2024-0038]


Request for Information: Use and Conservation of Social Security 
Benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Payments That 
Representative Payees Receive for Beneficiaries Residing in Foster Care

AGENCY: Social Security Administration and Children's Bureau, 
Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and 
Human Services.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 
Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration for 
Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF), Children's Bureau (CB) oversees 
the child welfare system, which is administered by State, local, and 
Tribal child welfare agencies nationwide. The Social Security 
Administration (SSA) administers the Social Security and Supplemental 
Security Income (SSI) programs. This request for information (RFI) 
seeks public input to inform how Federal agencies can support broader 
State and local efforts to improve the outcomes of children in the 
child welfare system who are eligible for Federal benefits. The input 
we receive will inform our deliberations about potential policy 
changes.

DATES: To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive 
them no later than December 2, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of three methods--
internet, fax, or mail. Do not submit the same comments multiple times 
or by more than one method. Regardless of which method you choose, 
please state that your comments refer to Docket No. SSA-2024-0038 so 
that we may associate your comments with the correct docket.
    Caution: You should be careful to include in your comments only 
information that you wish to make publicly available. We strongly urge 
you not to include in your comments any personal information, such as 
Social Security numbers or medical information.
    1. Internet: We strongly recommend that you submit your comments 
via the internet. Please visit the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Use the Search function to find docket number 
SSA-2024-0038. The system will issue a tracking number to confirm your 
submission. You will not be able to view your comment immediately 
because we must post each comment manually. It may take up to a week 
for your comment to be viewable.
    2. Fax: Fax comments to 1-833-410-1631.
    3. Mail: Mail your comments to the Office of Legislation and 
Congressional Affairs, Regulations and Reports Clearance Staff, Social 
Security Administration, Mail Stop 3253 Altmeyer, 6401 Security 
Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401.
    Comments are available for public viewing on the Federal 
eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov or in person, during 
regular business hours, by arranging with the contact person identified 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Smith, Social Security 
Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, 
(410) 966-3235 for information about this notice. For information on 
eligibility or filing for benefits, call our national toll-free number, 
1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778, or visit our internet site, 
Social Security Online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Some children in foster care are eligible 
for various types of Federal benefit payments. Among the Federal 
payments that may be available to children in foster care are Social 
Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. 
Because of the importance of these Federal benefits received by members 
of this vulnerable population, we address these benefits and their 
operation specifically in this RFI. While the scope of this RFI is 
limited to Social Security benefits and SSI payments, we recognize that 
this issue is broader than just those Federal benefits paid by SSA.
    Children can become eligible for Social Security benefits because 
of the disability, retirement, or death of a parent, and can become 
eligible for SSI because of their own disability. Whether these 
children receive benefits during their stay in foster care, and how 
benefits are managed on their behalf if they do receive them, have 
emerged as complex policy and operational issues in recent years. This 
RFI seeks to better understand relevant policy issues to inform HHS's 
and SSA's joint consideration of how to meet the goals of the 
respective foster care and Social Security programs to promote positive

[[Page 87454]]

outcomes for children. This notice first describes what we understand 
about this population of children and the policy and operational issues 
related to their Federal benefits, and it then invites the public to 
answer specific questions to help inform our next steps. To achieve our 
goals, we seek to receive responses from a host of interested partners, 
including States, Tribes, grantees, and community providers, and we 
also strongly encourage responses from respondents with lived 
experience of SSA benefits, youth, parents, relatives, caregivers, 
foster and adoptive parents, advocacy and philanthropic organizations, 
and anyone else with an interest in this issue area.

Profile of SSA Beneficiary Children in Foster Care

    SSA provides benefits to about 27,000 children in foster care (5.3% 
of all children in foster care).\1\ These children receive benefits 
from one or both of the following programs:
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    \1\ Congressional Research Service, Children in Foster Care and 
Social Security Administration Benefits: Frequently Asked Questions, 
S. Rep. No. R46975 (Nov 23, 2021).
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    1. SSI, for which children may qualify if their medical conditions 
meet the statutory definition of disability, as well as certain 
financial requirements,\2\ or,
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    \2\ See 42 U.S.C. 1382(a) and 1382c(a).
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    2. Social Security, for which children may qualify based on the 
disability, retirement, or death of an insured parent.\3\
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    \3\ See 42 U.S.C. 402(d).
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    Among children in foster care who receive SSA benefits,\4\ about 
half receive Social Security (typically after the death of a parent) 
and about half receive SSI.\5\ A small percentage of children in foster 
care receive both Social Security and SSI concurrently.
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    \4\ For brevity, this notice occasionally uses the term ``SSA 
benefits'' to refer to Social Security benefits and SSI payments 
collectively when the statement applies to both and a distinction is 
not necessary. Similarly, the notice occasionally uses the term 
``SSA beneficiary'' to refer collectively to individuals receiving 
Social Security benefits, SSI payments, or both when a distinction 
is not necessary.
    \5\ Social Security Administration, Study on the Conservation of 
Funds by Child Welfare Agency Representative Payees, June 2024.
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    Some children enter foster care already receiving SSA benefits. 
Others begin receiving benefits after their foster care placement. A 
typical child in foster care spends less than two years in care. About 
one-third of children exiting foster care in FY 2022 spent less than a 
year in care, and about 63 percent spent less than two years in 
care.\6\
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    \6\ Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of 
Children and Families, Children's Bureau, The AFCARS (Adoptions and 
Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System) Report, FY 2022 Data, 
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/afcars-report-30.pdf.
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    About nine percent of youth who exited foster care in FY 2022 did 
so by aging out, meaning the youth reached an age where they are no 
longer eligible for foster care services. Youth typically age out of 
foster care between the ages of 18 and 21 years, depending on the 
State. Many of these youth exit foster care with limited resources to 
support themselves during this significant transition. Former foster 
youth are at increased risk of homelessness, early parenthood, and 
substance abuse.\7\ Extended foster care is available in most States to 
help meet housing, education, medical, and other needs of youth up to 
age 21 at State discretion, who would otherwise have aged out of foster 
care.\8\ Children who received SSA benefits are about as likely as 
other children to have emancipation (i.e. aging out) or extended foster 
care as their case plan goal.\9\
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    \7\ The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Child Welfare and Foster Care 
Statistics (blog), Entry posted May 16, 2022. Accessed July 29, 
2024, https://www.aecf.org/blog/child-welfare-and-foster-
carestatistics#:~:text=Youth%20Aging%20Out%20of%20Foster%20Care&text=
Not%20surprisingly%2C%20these%20youth%20and,and%20other%20potentially
%20lifelong%20adversities.
    \8\ The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Extended Foster Care 
Explained (blog), Entry posted May 24, 2021. Updated May 20, 2023. 
Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.aecf.org/blog/extended-foster-care-explained.
    \9\ Congressional Research Service, Children in Foster Care and 
Social Security Administration Benefits: Frequently Asked Questions, 
S. Rep. No. R46975 (Nov 23, 2021).
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    Aging out of foster care poses additional challenges for receipt of 
SSA benefits. All children receiving SSI face an eligibility 
redetermination at age 18. If they are in foster care, child welfare 
agencies can assist with completing the redetermination process. 
Children who do not receive SSI, particularly those who are ineligible 
because of receipt of Federal foster care payments that end at age 18, 
may apply for SSI under a special application procedure for transition-
age foster youth. When the child meets certain requirements, SSA will 
accept an SSI application up to 180 days before foster care payments 
are to end. Many SSI recipient children have their SSI payments ceased 
at age 18 because they have not established that they continue to meet 
the SSI eligibility criteria (either the adult disability criteria or 
the SSI financial criteria). Like children who age out of foster care, 
children whose SSI payments cease at age 18 face many significant 
challenges. These challenges can include unstable housing, 
homelessness, and difficulty with employment and educational 
attainment. Often as a result of such instability,\10\ they are twice 
as likely to be charged with income-generating crimes than they are to 
maintain steady employment.\11\
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    \10\ Young Adults Formerly in Foster Care: Challenges and 
Solutions. Accessed on October 11, 2024, available at: https://youth.gov/youth-briefs/foster-care-youth-brief/challenges.
    \11\ Manasi Deshpande, Michael Mueller-Smith, ``Does Welfare 
Prevent Crime? the Criminal Justice Outcomes of Youth Removed from 
SSI,'' The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 137, Issue 4, 
November 2022, Pages 2263-2307, https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjac017.
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    The demographics of children in foster care differ somewhat between 
SSA beneficiary and nonbeneficiary children. The median age of a child 
entering foster care in FY 2022 was six years old.\12\ However, 
children in foster care receiving Social Security benefits and SSI 
payments are older, on average, than those not receiving benefits.\13\ 
Nearly half of SSA beneficiary children in foster care have a 
disability, compared to about a quarter of children in foster care not 
receiving benefits--likely due to the fact that SSI eligibility is 
based on having a qualifying disability.\14\ Finally, children in 
foster care are disproportionately non-White.\15\ However, those 
receiving Social Security or SSI are more likely than average to be 
White and less likely to be Hispanic than other foster youth.\16\
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    \12\ Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for 
Children and Families, Children's Bureau, The AFCARS (Adoptions and 
Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System) Report, FY 2022 Data, 
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/afcars-report-30.pdf.
    \13\ Congressional Research Service, Children in Foster Care and 
Social Security Administration Benefits: Frequently Asked Questions, 
S. Rep. No. R46975 (Nov 23, 2021).
    \14\ Congressional Research Service, Children in Foster Care and 
Social Security Administration Benefits: Frequently Asked Questions, 
S. Rep. No. R46975 (Nov 23, 2021).
    \15\ The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Foster Care Race Statistics 
(blog), Entry posted on April 13, 2020, Updated on May 14, 2023. 
Accessed on August 7, 2024, available at: https://www.aecf.org/blog/us-foster-care-population-by-race-and-ethnicity.
    \16\ Congressional Research Service, Children in Foster Care and 
Social Security Administration Benefits: Frequently Asked Questions, 
S. Rep. No. R46975 (Nov 23, 2021).
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Importance of SSA Benefits for Children in Foster Care

    Receiving SSA benefits is very important and a critical resource to 
all eligible children and their families. The death of a parent can 
have lasting effects on family stability, financial standing, and 
children's well-being.\17\ Families

[[Page 87455]]

raising children with disabilities face higher costs, more demands on 
their time, and more insecurity than families not caring for a child 
with a disability.\18\ SSA benefits are valuable, averaging $1,104 per 
month for Social Security child survivors and $821 for child SSI 
recipients in August 2024.\19\ The income that SSA benefits provide can 
stabilize family finances and help meet children's material needs.
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    \17\ Weaver, David, ``Parental Mortality and Outcomes among 
Minor and Adult Children'' (September 5, 2019). Population Review, 
Volume 58, Number 2, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3471209; Evermore, America's Forgotten Orphans: An Urgent 
Call for the White House and Congress to Address Childhood 
Bereavement (December 2022). Available at: https://evermore.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Evermore-Americas-Forgotten-Orphans.pdf.
    \18\ Romig, Kathleen. ``SSI: A Lifeline for Children with 
Disabilities.'' Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (blog). Entry 
posted May 11, 2017. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/ssi-a-lifeline-for-children-with-disabilities.
    \19\ Social Security Administration, Monthly Statistical 
Snapshot, August 2024 (ssa.gov).
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    Potential eligibility among children in foster care appears to be 
higher than average, according to research that estimated more than 20% 
of children in foster care have health conditions that likely make them 
eligible for SSI.\20\ Children whose parents die are also more likely 
to be placed in foster care and may be eligible for SSA benefits. 
Despite higher-than-average potential eligibility, the rate of children 
in foster care receiving SSA benefits is only a little higher than the 
overall rate. In addition, the rate of SSA benefit receipt among 
children in foster care varies dramatically by State, with five States 
reporting that between 13% and 24% receive benefits while nine States 
reported that less than two percent receive SSA benefits.\21\
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    \20\ Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for 
Children and Families, National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-
Being, Estimates of Supplemental Security Income Eligibility for 
Children in Out of Home Placements, Research Brief No. 12.
    \21\ Congressional Research Service, Children in Foster Care and 
Social Security Administration Benefits: Frequently Asked Questions, 
S. Rep. No. R46975 (Nov 23, 2021).
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    Child welfare agencies can play an important role in ensuring that 
eligible children receive SSA benefits. By law, agencies must provide 
reasonable efforts to prevent foster care placements and facilitate 
reunification or permanency--but they have significant flexibility in 
how to meet this requirement for families.\22\ We know that access to 
economic and concrete supports--for example, Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance (SNAP) benefits, child care, and SSA benefits, when 
applicable--can help keep families together.
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    \22\ 42 U.S.C. 671, 672.
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    If children are placed in foster care, many child welfare agencies 
screen children for potential eligibility for Social Security benefits 
and SSI payments as part of their case planning activities.\23\ States 
also consider eligibility for and use of other funding sources to meet 
children's needs, including Title IV-E funds for children from low-
income families and State funds. The decision whether to seek SSI 
payments on behalf of a child who also qualifies for Title IV-E foster 
care payments is complicated by the fact the Social Security Act 
requires that the SSI payment amount be reduced and receiving Title IV-
E foster care payments could even affect a child's SSI eligibility.
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    \23\ American Public Health Services Association, Study on Title 
II and Title XVI Benefits for Children in Out-of-Home Placements, 
2012.
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    The presence of economic and concrete supports, such as monthly SSA 
benefits, can also speed children's reunification with their 
families.\24\ Income from SSA benefits can also enhance economic 
stability for children who achieve permanency with other caregivers. 
Children receiving Social Security survivors benefits who are adopted 
may also continue to receive benefits.<SUP>25 26</SUP>
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    \24\ ``Child and Family Well Being System: Economic & Concrete 
Supports as a Core Component.'' Chapin Hall at the University of 
Chicago. Last modified March 2023. https://www.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/Economic-Supports-deck.pdf.
    \25\ Social Security Administration, Program Operations Manual 
System RS 00203.035--Child's Benefits Termination of Entitlement, 
available at: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0300203035.
    \26\ For children receiving SSI payments, a change in living 
arrangement can affect continued SSI eligibility.
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Representative Payees for Children in Foster Care

    SSA generally appoints a representative payee (payee) to manage the 
benefits of a minor child.\27\ A payee is a person or organization 
appointed by SSA to receive and manage the Social Security benefits or 
SSI payments on behalf of a beneficiary or recipient. When SSA selects 
a payee, the agency's primary concern is to choose someone who will 
best serve the child's interest.\28\ For most child beneficiaries, 
their parents serve as payees. However, when parents are not willing, 
able, or suitable to serve as payees--as is more often the case for 
children in foster care--SSA must turn to alternatives.\29\
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    \27\ In certain situations, we will make direct payments to a 
beneficiary under age 18 who shows the ability to manage the 
benefits. See 20 CFR 404.2010(b), 416.610(b).
    \28\ 20 CFR 404.2020, 404.2021, 416.620, 416.621.
    \29\ Social Security Administration, Program Operations Manual 
System GN 00502.159--Additional Considerations When Foster Care 
Agency is Involved, available at: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200502159.
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    SSA regulations establish a preferred order of selection for 
payees.\30\ For child beneficiaries, the preferred order is:
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    \30\ See 20 CFR 404.2021 and 416.621.
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    (1) A natural or adoptive parent with custody or a legal guardian;
    (2) A natural or adoptive parent who does not have custody of the 
beneficiary, but is contributing toward the beneficiary's support and 
is demonstrating strong concern for the beneficiary's well being;
    (3) A natural or adoptive parent who does not have custody of the 
beneficiary and is not contributing toward his or her support but is 
demonstrating strong concern for the beneficiary's well being;
    (4) A relative or stepparent who has custody of the beneficiary;
    (5) A relative who does not have custody of the beneficiary but is 
contributing toward the beneficiary's support and is demonstrating 
concern for the beneficiary's well being;
    (6) A relative or close friend who does not have custody of the 
beneficiary but is demonstrating concern for the beneficiary's well 
being; and
    (7) An authorized social agency or custodial institution.
    This order is flexible, and SSA rules allow for selecting a payee 
lower on the preference list when it would be in the beneficiary's best 
interest. SSA policy is to not automatically select the child welfare 
agency as the payee for a child in foster care. Appointment of a payee 
is an individualized determination to identify and select the person or 
organization who will serve the best interest of the child. A child 
welfare agency is sometimes the legal guardian of a child in foster 
care--making the agency the first choice as payee. However, we will 
appoint a willing and able relative or friend who will serve the child 
better if one is available. SSA is not always able to identify a 
suitable alternative to the child welfare agency. Currently, nearly 
three-quarters of SSA beneficiary children in foster care have a child 
welfare agency as their payee.\31\
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    \31\ Social Security Administration, analysis of electronic 
Representative Payee System data (February 2023).
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    Children's payees must use SSA benefits for the use and benefit of 
the children, in ways that the payee determines, under SSA's rules, to 
be in the child's best interests.\32\ Payees must first use the 
benefits for the child's current maintenance, which includes food, 
shelter, clothing, medical care, and personal comfort items.\33\ For 
children in foster care, the rules permit child welfare agencies or 
other payees to

[[Page 87456]]

use children's SSA benefits to pay for monthly foster care maintenance 
payments. Child welfare agencies also use SSA benefits to meet 
children's other needs, such as education, medical, or discretionary 
expenses.\34\ After meeting the child's immediate or foreseeable needs, 
all payees are required to conserve any benefits for their future use, 
such as by saving or investing those funds.\35\ When a child 
beneficiary in foster care has a payee who is someone other than the 
child welfare agency, it is that payee who must use the benefits for 
the child's current and foreseeable needs, and conserve any remainder.
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    \32\ See 42 U.S.C. 205(j) and 1631(a)(2); 20 CFR 404.2035(a) and 
416.635(a).
    \33\ 20 CFR 404.2040(a), 416.640(a).
    \34\ Government Accountability Office, Social Security 
Administration: New Data Exchanges with Some States Provide Limited 
Information on Foster Care Beneficiaries, Report GAO-21-441R (June 
3, 2021).
    \35\ See 20 CFR 404.2045 and 416.645.
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    In 2023, SSA paid approximately $190 million in Social Security 
benefits and SSI payments to children in foster care who have a child 
welfare agency as their payee. In this same year, all 50 States and the 
District of Columbia conserved some portion of the SSA benefits that 
they received, with the percentage by State ranging from less than one 
percent to 31 percent. On average, child welfare agencies conserved 12 
percent of SSA benefits paid to children in foster care. The percentage 
of child beneficiaries in foster care who had some funds conserved on 
their behalf ranged by State between one percent and 81 percent. On 
average, child welfare agencies conserved SSA benefits for 36 percent 
of child beneficiaries in foster care.\36\
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    \36\ Social Security Administration, Study on the Conservation 
of Funds by Child Welfare Agency Representative Payees, June 2024.
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    Conserving SSI payments for children in foster care can pose 
challenges. SSI has a resource limit of $2,000, which could include 
funds in a child's savings account or investments. SSI recipients who 
exceed the resource limit are suspended and eventually terminated from 
program participation if their savings remain above the limit for over 
a year. They (or their payees on their behalf) must repay any benefits 
paid while they were over the limit. The Achieving a Better Life 
Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014 allows States to create programs with 
tax-advantaged savings accounts for eligible people with disabilities; 
funds held in ABLE accounts up to and including $100,000 do not count 
toward the SSI resource limits. Account owners may receive tax 
advantages when funds from an ABLE account are used to pay for a broad 
set of ``qualified disability expenses,'' including housing, 
transportation, health, and basic living expenses. Additionally, 
special needs trusts may also contain funds that do not count toward 
the SSI resource limit.
    Generally, if there is a change in payee, the former payee must 
return any conserved funds to SSA to be reissued to the successor 
payee.\37\ If the child stops receiving benefits or no longer needs a 
payee (typically when they turn 18), the payee must return any 
conserved funds, including any earned interest, to SSA to be reissued 
to the beneficiary or recipient. On a case-by-case basis, SSA may 
permit the former payee to transfer any conserved funds directly to the 
successor payee or the beneficiary or recipient.
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    \37\ 20 CFR 404.2060 and 416.660.
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    All payees have reporting responsibilities. They must report any 
changes that could affect the beneficiary's eligibility or benefit 
amount and any change that would affect the payee's suitability to 
serve (such as a change in custody).\38\ SSA requires certain payees, 
including child welfare agencies, to report annually on who made the 
decisions on how benefits were spent or saved, how the payee used the 
benefits, how much of the benefits were saved, and how those savings 
were invested.\39\ A payee's answers may cause SSA to further 
investigate the payee or initiate a site review. Protection and 
Advocacy agencies in each State conduct payee site reviews, which 
include a face-to-face meeting with the payee, an examination of the 
payee's financial records and supporting documentation.\40\
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    \38\ 20 CFR 404.2035 and 416.635.
    \39\ 20 CFR 404.2065 and 416.665.
    \40\ 42 U.S.C. 205(j)(6)(C).
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State Policy and Federal Technical Assistance

    Some State legislatures and child welfare agencies have recently 
changed their policies for SSA beneficiary children in foster care, 
such as requiring child welfare agencies to screen and apply for Social 
Security and SSI benefits on behalf of children placed in foster care 
and requirements to conserve some or all benefits for the children's 
later use. SSA and the Children's Bureau have worked together to 
provide guidance and technical assistance to child welfare agencies as 
they consider and make these changes.\41\ However, advocates and 
policymakers continue to consider whether and how additional changes 
and clarifications to the policies and practices regarding Social 
Security benefits and SSI payments when child welfare agencies are 
payees could improve service to and outcomes for children in foster 
care.
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    \41\ Social Security Administration and Department of Health and 
Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Letter 
Regarding Reminders to State and Tribal Title IV-E Agencies about 
the Social Security Representative Payee Program and the Title IV-E 
Federal Foster Care Program, Published August 17, 2023, available 
at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/policy-guidance/reminders-social-security-representative-payee-program.
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Request for Information

    This request is to gather information for our internal planning 
purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation or as an 
obligation on our part or on the part of any participating Federal 
agencies. We seek to learn more from people with experience with foster 
care, such as current and former foster youth, foster parents, adoptive 
parents, and parents whose children were referred to child welfare. We 
also invite comments and suggestions from State and local child welfare 
agencies, Tribal Nations, community-based and other non-profit 
organizations, researchers, and other interested members of the public. 
Responses to this request will inform our decisions about possible 
future policy changes or additional guidance.
    We ask respondents to address the following questions, where 
possible, considering the context discussed in this document. You do 
not need to address every question and should focus on those that 
relate to your lived experience, expertise or perspectives. To the 
extent possible, please clearly indicate which question(s) you address 
in your response.

Application

    <bullet> For children who have contact with the child welfare 
system but who are not in foster care, what opportunities or challenges 
exist for child welfare agencies to assist with screening children for 
SSA benefit eligibility and applying for benefits?
    <bullet> What opportunities or challenges exist for child welfare 
agencies to apply for SSA benefits on behalf of children in foster care 
or living away from their parents with other caregivers? Are there 
differences depending on whether the child or their family are eligible 
for other public benefits, such as preventative child welfare services, 
TANF, SNAP, or title IV-E foster care payments?

SSA Benefit Use and Conservation

    <bullet> Current SSA rules allow payees, including child welfare 
agencies, who serve children in foster care to use SSA

[[Page 87457]]

benefits to pay for the child's current needs, including the cost of 
monthly foster care maintenance payments. Payees must conserve SSA 
benefits for future use only after meeting all of the child's current 
and foreseeable needs. How effectively do these rules contribute to the 
ability of child welfare agencies to serve children in foster care? Are 
there differences depending on whether the child receives Social 
Security benefits or SSI payments?
    <bullet> Please describe if it would be beneficial to offer 
additional guidance or clarification related to when Social Security 
benefits or SSI payments must be conserved by payees, including, as 
applicable, child welfare agencies, or expand on what kinds of factors 
should be considered in a conservation decision.
    <bullet> For child welfare agencies that serve as payees for 
children in foster care, how do you make decisions about the use and 
conservation of the children's SSA benefits? What do you do with SSA 
benefits that are not used as part of the monthly foster care 
maintenance payment?
    <bullet> For child welfare agencies that serve as payees for 
children in foster care, a child may be eligible to receive benefits 
from various sources, including Federal, State, and local. What are the 
benefits in using SSA benefits before or after other sources of funding 
to cover the costs of the child's foster care maintenance?
    <bullet> For child welfare agencies, if you were required to 
conserve SSA benefits on behalf of eligible children in foster care, 
would that affect the agency's decision about whether to screen or 
apply for SSA benefits on behalf of a child?
    <bullet> What would be the implications or challenges if child 
welfare agencies are restricted from using SSA benefits for foster care 
maintenance and required to conserve SSA benefits?
    <bullet> For child welfare agencies that serve as payees for 
children in foster care, do you conserve any amount of the children's 
SSA benefits for future use? If not, why not? If you do, how do you 
determine how much to conserve? Do you hold the funds, such as in a 
savings account or a trust account? Do you use Achieving a Better Life 
Experience (ABLE) accounts or special needs trusts to conserve funds? 
What are the benefits of and impediments to using ABLE accounts or 
special needs trusts? Does the decision on whether to conserve benefits 
depend on the type of benefit provided to the child (e.g., Social 
Security, SSI, foster care maintenance payments, etc.)?
    <bullet> For current and former foster youth, what current needs 
would be met if you had access to your conserved SSA benefits? Are 
there examples of current needs that are not commonly met by the 
monthly foster care maintenance payments? If so, which needs?

General

    <bullet> Are there other aspects of HHS's or SSA's programs where 
guidance, technical assistance, or information can be offered or 
improved to better support children in foster care or otherwise in 
contact with the child welfare system?

Guidance for Submitting Documents

    We ask that each respondent include the name and address of his or 
her institution or affiliation, if any, and the name, title, mailing 
and email addresses, and telephone number of a contact person for his 
or her institution or affiliation, if any.

Martin O'Malley,
Commissioner, Social Security Administration.
Rebecca Jones Gaston,
Commissioner, Administration for Children, Youth, and Families 
Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and 
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2024-25462 Filed 10-31-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P