NYC must pay back $18.8M it kept from children in foster care: advocates

NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – New York City kept $18.8 million in funds intended for children in foster care whose parents had died, a now-changed policy advocates say was “reprehensible.”

The social security benefits were collected by the Administration for Children's Services between 2011-2022 on behalf of children in foster care and used to cover the cost of care. It’s a federally legal practice many states use and New York City was among the first to change, according to a representative of ACS. 

The Legal Aid Society is now calling on ACS to retroactively reimburse children who had their benefits taken before the policy change in 2022, and further protect disability benefits for foster children. 

“Instead of conserving money to put foster children whose parents died on a pathway towards financial security and independence, ACS kept millions in federal Survivors Benefits. This is simply reprehensible, and ACS must create mechanisms to allow these individuals to be retrospectively compensated,” said a representative of The Legal Aid Society. 

A spokesperson for ACS confirmed to PIX11 the agency collected $18.8 million in children's benefits between 2011-2022 to cover costs like providing foster parents with sufficient funds, but emphasized the practice was legal and has since changed. 

The department in 2022 changed its policy to put survivor benefits in an interest-bearing account for children to receive once they leave foster care, according to a representative of the administration. New York City was one of the first regions in the country to make such a switch, a spokesperson for ACS said. 

There is not likely to be a mechanism for people to retroactively collect funds kept before the policy change, a representative said. 

This money could have been life changing for many children, like Alyssa Snow’s child, who had tens of thousands of dollars withheld while she was in foster care, according to The Legal Aid Society. 

“ACS must create a system to allow children … to make themselves economically whole - as intended by the Survivors Benefits program,” a representative of The Legal Aid Society said.