A lawsuit is challenging Alaska’s practice of using some foster kids’ social security benefits to pay for care without notifying the child.
During oral arguments made in superior court, attorneys representing children questioned if the state can legally use children’s benefits without notice.
About 160 foster children in Alaska are entitled to social security benefits because they have a disability or one of their parents have died. Often, that money doesn’t go to the individual child, but instead goes straight to the state.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it is legal for state agencies to receive federal benefits on behalf of foster children and use that money to pay for the child’s care while they are in custody. The Alaska lawsuit is questioning a need for notice.