(The Center Square) – Orphaned and disabled children in Pennsylvania’s foster care system often qualify for Social Security, disability and veterans benefits.
About 10% of them don’t see a dime, according to Amy Harfeld, national policy advocate and senior staff attorney for the Children’s Advocacy Institute.
County officials may apply for benefits on behalf of these children and receive them as designated payees. In many cases, the buck stops there.
“In Pennsylvania this is unfortunately a routine practice,” she told the House Children and Youth Committee last week. “County agencies apply for and intercept federal benefits from eligible children, about 10% of children, and take the funds to offset their own fiscal duties without any regard for the child’s individual circumstances, without regard for the child’s current and future needs, and without ever consulting with them or their attorney.”
Advocates say keeping the funds to cover the cost of care for foster children is not only unethical but illegal at the federal level. Nevertheless, it’s so commonplace that 12 states enacted laws to prevent it.