Former Foster Kid Slams Social Security Withholding Benefits

Lori Martin ran away from her foster home two weeks after her 16th birthday. Now, nearly three decades later, Martin still has never received access to her federal benefits from her time in the system.

A recent study from the Children’s Advocacy Institute (CAI) at the University of San Diego School of Law discovered states across the country are consistently siphoning federal benefits from foster children. These children are left without any money to earn an education or build a life once they age out of the system at 18.

“Though it is the states’ responsibility to pay for the care of these children, states regularly apply for children’s federal benefits on their behalf, then intercept them as part of their ‘revenue maximization’ efforts, using the children’s funds to offset their obligation to pay for foster care,” the Children’s Advocacy Institute said in a statement.

Martin, now a 44-year-old land use consultant living in Ventura, California, knows this situation all too well.

She first entered foster care in 1991 after being the victim of severe child abuse by her maternal grandmother. Her grandmother had been taking care of her since Martin’s mom died in 1986, and at the time, Martin said there were very few good foster parents available.

Out of the 13 homes she stayed in, Martin said only three cared about her more than their “monthly check.”

In Martin’s first foster home, she said she was stabbed and nearly drowned by another foster child.

“I have very few good memories of being in the system, which is why I ran away… two weeks after my 16th birthday,” Martin added. “I was moved so many times I fell behind in school and it was hard to remain at one school long enough to have credits to graduate. It was hard to maintain friendships. It’s nothing a child dreams of for a lifestyle.”

Because of Martin’s background, she was entitled to a range of survivors’ benefits, Social Security payments and veteran’s payments collected from her biological father. But she didn’t know this assistance was available until 2012, years after she ran away and aged out of the foster care system.

“I’ve gone to Social Security and had an attorney contact the county of Kern for accounting records. They refused to provide these,” Martin said. “Foster care affects people life long. [There’s a] lack of extended family, and lack of available programs for adults who suffered the system.”

While federal law requires that foster care agencies prioritize the best interests of children, and the Social Security Administration outlines that all benefits must be used, in consultation with the child, to pay for unmet needs or save for the future, this often doesn’t take place. Routinely, the states apply for the benefits and deposit the checks into their own programs.

“States fund the majority of their foster care systems and try to find ways to minimize the cost using federal funds,” finance expert and 9i Capital Group CEO and founder Kevin Thompson told Newsweek. “So, states are incentivized to cut spending deficits and they use federal funds provided by the government to do so. The main issue is that it’s the kid’s money and they should be able to access it when they leave the foster care system.”

Nationally, CAI estimates anywhere between 40,000 and 80,000 foster care children are eligible for federal benefits, which could amount to more than $11,000 a year.

This money could be used to fund a college education or keep a foster youth from experiencing homelessness at age 18. Today, less than 3 percent of foster children end up graduating with a bachelor’s degree, and a third of those who remained in foster care after age 17 will become homeless down the line.

Martin’s one of those foster kids who has experienced homelessness and says she still hasn’t received funds she says she’s entitled to.

The California legislature previously passed a law preventing the state from taking foster children’s benefits, but Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill last fall.

Newsweek reached out to California Social Services for comment via email.

Despite reports from CAI revealing how state governments keep foster children’s benefits from them, she said the public is generally unaware of how kids aren’t protected within the system.

Martin said for some foster parents, each child solely presents as an opportunity to net up to $8,400 a year, as monthly foster care parent payments can range from $450 and $700 a month.

“They are only a paycheck, and there are continuous incentives in keeping them in the system,” Martin said.