STAND. COM. REP. NO. yfol
Honolulu, Hawaii
APR & 1 2024
RE: S.C.R. No. 188
S. D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2024
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was
referred S.C.R. No. 188 entitled:
"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF
HUMAN SERVICES TO IMMEDIATELY CEASE INTERCEPTING SOCIAL
SECURITY PAYMENTS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the
Department of Human Services to immediately cease intercepting
Social Security payments for children in foster care and deposit
the payments into savings accounts that may be accessed by foster
children when they return to their families, and adoption age out
of foster care.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i Stonewall Caucus and two
individuals.
Your Committee received comments on this measure from the
Department of Human Services.
Your Committee finds that roughly ten percent of foster
children in the United States are entitled to social security
benefit payments either because their parents have died or because
they have a physical or mental disability that would leave them in
poverty without financial assistance. Under federal law, these
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social security payments are considered the property of the child
beneficiary, and for child beneficiaries who are minors, the
United States Social Security Administration (SSA) generally
appoints representative payees to receive and manage the payments
on behalf of the child. Although child welfare service agencies
are least preferred as representative payees, many state child
welfare agencies, including the Hawaii Department of Human
Services, apply to become the representative payee of child
beneficiaries in foster care and seize their social security
payments purportedly to cover the costs of their care, often
without notifying the child or other persons who are more
preferred as the child's representative payee. This practice is
detrimental to foster children who are social security
beneficiaries, as it denies them money that belongs to them and
deprives them of the opportunity to accumulate savings that may
aid in their transition out of foster care. Accordingly, this
measure requests the Department of Human Services to immediately
cease this practice and instead set aside the social security
payments into saving accounts for the foster children to access
upon their exit from the foster system.
Your Committee notes the testimony of the Department of Human
Services stating that the social security payments it receives is
used for the child's current maintenance needs, such as food,
clothing, shelter, medical care, and personal comfort items, as
their education-related needs; that the Department has stopped
using all forms of social security payments (supplemental security
income and retirement, survivors, and disability insurance
benefits) it receives, for foster board reimbursement to the State
since July 1, 2023, as the Legislature provided funding during the
Regular Session of 2023; and that all moneys it receives on behalf
of a child is kept in a child specific trust account until the
child exits foster care, at which time the moneys are returned to
the SSA who will distribute the conserved funds to the individual
or to the next representative payee, if required.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Replacing the phrase "immediately cease" with "continue
to cease" to note that the Department of Human Services
is not intercepting social security payments at this
time; and
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 STAND. COM. REP. NO. ytol
Page 3
(2) TXmending its title to reflect its amended purpose.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this
report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of
S.C.R. No. 188, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in
the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 188, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on
behalf of the members of the
Committee on Health and Human
Services,
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 The Senate
Thirty-Second Legislature
State of Hawaii
Record of Votes
Committee on Health and Human Services
HHS
Bill / Resolution No.:* Committee Referral: Date:
5cR O3/7.Z/ZO2H
__ The Committee is reconsidering its previous decision on this measure.
If so, then the previous decision was to:___________________________________
The Recommendation is: >
__ Pass, unamended u Pass, with amendments __ Hold __ Recommit
2312 2311 2310 2313
Members Aye Aye (WR) Nay Excused
SAN BUENAVENTURA. Joy A. (C)
AQUINO. Henry J.C. (VC)
KEOHOKALOLE. Jarrett
SHIMABUKURO. Maile S.L
AWA. Brenton
TOTAL
Recommendation:
Ij^j^dopted __ Not Adopted
Chair’s or Designee’s Signature;..^^^---^ ^^^^^^ _
Distribution: Original Yellow Pink Goldenrod
File with Committee Report Clerk's Office Drafting Agency Committee File Copy
*Only one measure per Record of Votes
Revised: 12/27/23