""There is no moral justification for why orphans should have to pay their own way," Adams told NPR. "They are not in foster care by any fault of their own. And they certainly should not be asked to pay their own bill.""
""Those Social Security benefits, Adams says, "might be the last resources that your deceased parents could leave behind for their children. To have those taken from that child and applied to state agency costs that's why I call it an orphan tax. It's morally shocking to me and it's morally corrupt.""
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services instructed states to stop taking Social Security survivor benefits from children in foster care. The practice, called an "orphan tax," had allowed states to retain monthly survivor checks as reimbursement for foster-care costs despite a statutory obligation to provide care. Average survivor payments are about $1,100 per month and can help stabilize children or be saved for housing, education, or transportation after leaving care. A 2021 investigation exposed the practice and prompted some jurisdictions to change policy. HHS directed states to end the practice and protect those benefits for children.
Read at www.npr.org
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