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Dear Colleague,

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes that youth in foster care are among the most vulnerable populations we serve. SSA plays an important role in supporting foster youth and protecting their rights. Across our programs, we take careful measures to assist foster youth with obtaining the benefits to which they are entitled or eligible. In many cases, child welfare agencies manage benefits on behalf of foster youth as their representative payees. We count on child welfare agencies to carry out the duties of representative payees, including meeting regularly with beneficiaries and deciding on an individual basis how to use and save benefits in the beneficiaries' best interests.

State and Tribal agencies are the cornerstones of the child welfare system in our country. It is imperative that we work together to ensure our programs achieve the best outcomes possible for these youth. We need your cooperation to ensure that we provide the best service to our beneficiaries in foster care. We are ready to provide assistance to ensure that when foster youth receive Social Security benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, State and Tribal agencies manage those payments to maximize outcomes for youth.

Several states have acted within their authority and capacity to implement changes that optimize how they use and conserve Social Security benefits and SSI payments for foster youth. We commend the jurisdictions that have already made or are considering changes. Such targeted changes can be an important tool for improving outcomes for foster youth. At SSA, we are committed to providing the support you need on issues that involve our programs.

We look forward to our collaboration.

Sincerely,

Stephen Evangelista
Acting Deputy Commissioner
Office of Retirement and Disability Policy
Social Security Administration