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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A Tennessee Senator has likened the state to Ebenezer Scrooge, the infamous protagonist in A Christmas Carol, for making orphans essentially pay for their own keep.
Senator Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville-District 21) has promised a bill before Christmas that would propose changes to how the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) uses Social Security survivor benefits to pay for the costs associated with foster care for children who have lost their parents.
Yarbro said last week that the practice “just reeks of Charles Dickens” while also pointing out that the state does not have similar requirements of surviving spouses who need Senior Care related services.
After a parent’s death, a child is eligible to receive survivor benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration typically until they turn 18. (A minor remains eligible to receive benefits beyond 18 if they have not yet graduated from high school or have a disability.) But in the case where a child has no other surviving parent and must go into state custody, DCS collects those funds.
According to the agency, more than $31.5 million in Social Security benefits for children in state care has been collected since 2019.
This year, DCS will collect $6 million in survivor benefits – a drop in the bucket for a department whose annual budget is now over a billion dollars and that recently put out its hand to ask for an additional $189 million.
Tennessee isn’t alone in how it handles orphans, as many states have used similar systems for decades but that is beginning to change. Child welfare advocates have successfully lobbied about a dozen states in the U.S. to adopt reforms over the last few years.
The state’s policy requires that federal benefits for children in foster care be spent on the direct care and maintenance and/or personal needs of children and youth and repays any leftover funds back to the Social Security Administration when each youth leaves custody or turns 18.
According to DCS policies, Child Welfare Benefits Counselors assist children in state custody in applying for federal benefits, like Title V – federal assistance for mothers and children with special healthcare needs that include disabilities – and then seek to receive and control the payments on behalf of minors.
Yarbro’s proposed legislation would have DCS conserve the funds in a trust to be used for any special needs that might come up during a minor’s childhood years, or as savings that a youth aging out of the system could access. His bill would also prohibit the department from using the payments on services they would otherwise be obligated to provide.
U.S. statistics for foster care youth as they leave state care at 18 are grim with roughly 28% to 46% experiencing homelessness after leaving DCS custody. Additionally, almost a third will wind up behind bars, and approximately a quarter of all former foster care kids will already be parents when they are released from state care.
Having survivor benefits saved up for them could make a significant difference in the lives of these young adults as they navigate life alone for the first time. On average over the last 6 years, DCS has collected about $42,000 per orphan.
At the federal level, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is looking to improve how state CPS/DCS departments interact with the children they are tasked with protecting.
Along with Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Blackburn has introduced a bill that would require all Child Protective Services (CPS) interviews be recorded.
The Generate Recordings of All Child protective Interviews Everywhere Act (GRACIE) would modernize interview protocols, increasing the likelihood that victims of child trafficking will be identified and ultimately removed from dangerous situations.
According to a press release from the pair of senators, 37.4% of children in the U.S. will be interviewed by CPS during their childhood. Approximately 60% of domestic child sex trafficking victims engage with the foster care system with many of them undergoing multiple interviews with CPS staff without ever being identified as victims or being removed from their abusive living conditions.
“Children are often silenced by their abusers, and we need to do everything in our power to ensure that does not happen,” said Blackburn. “The GRACIE Act would help give more children a voice, increase domestic violence reporting, and strengthen the foster care system.”
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
