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SPONSOR: |
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DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
890/aHCPAC |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Social Security Assistance for CYFD Children |
SB |
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ANALYST: |
Chabot |
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APPROPRIATION
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Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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($25.0) |
Recurring |
Federal
Funds |
(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
LFC Files
Responses
Received From
Children,
Youth and Families Department (CYFD)
Human
Services Department (HSD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of HCPAC Amendment
The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee amendment to House Bill 890 requires CYFD to apply to be appointed as representative payee for child Social Security beneficiaries in their custody. In addition, it requires the agency to conserve the benefits of the child rather than reimbursing the department for foster care expenses ninety days prior to the child’s eighteenth birthday. Editorial changes are made throughout the bill.
CYFD estimates the provision in the bill to
restrict the agency from using the funds received for individuals from 90 days
of the eighteenth birthday will cost it $25.0 in federal funds from the Social
Security Administration.
As a related item of interest, the Social
Security Administration will conduct a review of CYFD Children’s Maintenance
Accounts the week of
HSD states children in State custody should be
receiving Medicaid by virtue of being in foster care at CYFD. Once approved for Supplemental Security
Income (SSI), these children would transfer into Medicaid for SSI. However, if children become eligible for
Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), they may become ineligible for SSI
Medicaid and will revert back to a foster care category of Medicaid. Also, once children reach $2,000 in these
accounts, they would be ineligible for SSI.
This switching among Medicaid categories of eligibility will impact the
workload of HSD eligibility workers and may result in loss of Medicaid coverage
should the foster parents of these children not make sure that these children
are covered by Medicaid.
While this statement is true, the re-evaluation
of eligibility would not be caused by this bill but results from an individual’s changing income
status.
In addition, HSD states provisions in the
amended bill conflict with requirements in House Bill 35. In HB 890, CYFD would maintain the accounts;
in HB 35, DFA administers the accounts.
Synopsis
of Original Bill
House Bill 890 enacts
new statute requiring CYFD to provide assistance to children so they can
receive Social Security benefits from the federal government. CYFD will establish a program to accomplish
the following: screen all children in
custody of the department within six months of arrival; process applications
for supplemental security income or survivor benefits from Social Security;
have a process to track applications and appeal decisions; establish children’s
maintenance, interest-bearing, individual transaction accounts; and administer
the account for the benefit of the child including a $30 a month personal
allowance.
Significant Issues
CYFD states this bill will not significantly
impact the current processes for maintaining CYFD’s Children’s Maintenance
Accounts. Currently accounts are
established through the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) and monitored
to ensure the accounts do not exceed $2,000.
If they exceed that amount, the child would no longer be eligible for
Medicaid services. The accounts earn
interest from distributions from the State Treasurer. The bill would require these accounts to be
established with a “commercial savings account” and, presumably, the DFA accounts
would not satisfy this requirement.
Having separate commercial accounts will probably require greater
administrative effort since the records will be kept separately rather than in
a consolidated account in DFA.
Currently, there are 315 accounts for children in custody of CYFD.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
There is no
appropriation in this bill; however, staff will be required to administer the
accounts established under this bill and that may incur additional staff time
than having the accounts established through DFA.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
CYFD will have to
develop procedures for complying with the provisions of this bill. The agency will have to review the present accounting
system to see if it can keep track of the accounts established. The agency averages approximately 600
individuals in custody and the number of accounts could vary considerably.
CONFLICT
CYFD is concerned with
possible conflicts with Social Security regulations. Currently, when an individual is released
from CYFD custody, the funds in the account are returned to the Social Security
Administration and they make distribution to the next payee designated by the
courts or to the individual.
GAC/prr:sb:yr