An Eastern Wisconsin Senator is looking to end a longstanding practice known as the “orphan tax.”
Senator Andre Jacque tells SeehaferNews.com that states take government benefits provided to a child in foster care, such as social security survivor benefits earned through a deceased parent, and use those funds as reimbursement for the cost of a child’s care.
Sen. Jacque has teamed up with Representative Dean Kaufert of Neenah to introduce a bill that would require human services or social services departments to “conserve the child’s benefits in protected accounts that avoid asset limitations for federal and state programs, consistent with the best interests of the child” and provide periodic accounting to the child, their attorney/guardian ad litem, or their parent or guardian.
In the announcement of the bill, Sen. Jacque noted, “Children are placed in foster care through no fault of their own. Government benefits provided to them should be reserved for their use as they transition into adulthood, to support college expenses, housing, a first car, or starting a new career. This money belongs to the child, and not to the state.”
