SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 5488
As of January 27, 2025
Title: An act relating to strengthening the financial stability of persons in the care of the department of children, youth, and families.
Brief Description: Strengthening the financial stability of persons in the care of the department of children, youth, and families.
Sponsors: Senators Alvarado, Warnick, Wilson, C., Chapman, Krishnadasan, Nobles, Trudeau and Valdez.
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Human Services: 1/28/25.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Provides that as of January 1, 2026, the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) may not apply any benefits, payments, funds, or accrual paid to, or on behalf of,?a person in the care of DCYF as reimbursement for the cost of care.?
  • Specifies when DCYF is to apply for Social Security benefits on behalf of a person in their care, DCYF's responsibilities as a representative payee, and how DCYF is to work with a person receiving benefits and transitioning out of their care.
  • Directs DCYF to develop and implement a financial literacy training for youth that includes information related to public benefits.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Staff: Alison Mendiola (786-7488)
Background:

Children in the Care of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.?A child may come into the care of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) through the child welfare (dependency) system, or through the juvenile justice system.
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Anyone, including?DCYF, may file a petition in court alleging that a child should be a dependent of the state due to abuse, neglect, or because there is no parent, guardian, or custodian capable of adequately caring for the child.? If a court determines that a child should be a dependent, the court will conduct periodic reviews and make determinations regarding the child's placement, provision of services by the?DCYF, compliance of the parents, and whether progress has been made by the parents.? When children are removed from the home of a parent or guardian during dependency proceedings, they may be placed in an out-of-home placement with relatives or with a foster parent.


DCYF operates juvenile rehabilitation institutions for juveniles convicted of crimes and sentenced to more than 30 days of confinement.? DCYF?also operates community facilities for youth convicted of crimes, which are less restrictive settings that allow youth to begin transitioning back to the community, and include treatment, education, and vocational services.? To be eligible for community facility placement, a youth must be placed on minimum security status.?
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Funds of Children in the Care of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.?The secretary of the?DCYF?(Secretary) is the custodian of funds for persons placed with DCYF.? As?custodian, the Secretary has the authority to disburse moneys from the person's funds for certain designated purposes, including for the personal needs of the person or to reimburse for public assistance expended on behalf of the person, which may include funds paid for the cost of the person's care. ?All funds held by the Secretary as custodian may be deposited into a single fund, with receipts and expenditures accounted on an individual basis. When the funds belonging to any one person exceeds $500, the Secretary may deposit the funds into a savings and loan association account, on behalf of the person. When the conditions of placement no longer exist, the Secretary must deliver all remaining funds to the person along with a full and final accounting of all receipts and expenditures.
Summary of Bill:

As of January 1, 2026, DCYF may not apply any benefits, payments, funds, or accrual paid to, or on behalf of, a person in the care of DCYF as reimbursement for the cost of care.?

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When a person is in the care of DCYF and is not already receiving Supplemental Security Income and Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits, DCYF is to assess whether the person is eligible for such benefits. DCYF is to screen persons in out-of-home placement for eligibility for such benefits on an ongoing basis. When a person is assessed to be eligible for Social Security benefits, DCYF shall:

  • apply for Supplemental Security Income and Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits on behalf of the person. If the person is over the age of 12, the person shall be asked to consent to authorize a release of information for the application;
  • provide notification of the application,?when DCYF applies for Supplemental Security Income, and Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits on behalf of a person,?to the person and to the person's caregivers and all other parties to the dependency, if the person is a dependent child;?or the person's parent or legal guardian if the person is being held under the supervision of juvenile rehabilitation for juvenile and adult offenders;
  • provide all relevant information to the Social Security Administration concerning potential representative payees; and
  • maintain eligibility for the benefits if the person is approved for benefits.

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When a person is in the care of DCYF and is already receiving Supplemental Security Income and Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits, and the permanency plan for the person is reunification, DCYF may delay applying to become representative payee to support reunification.

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When DCYF is representative payee for a person in the care of DCYF, DCYF shall?place funds into an account on behalf of the person. DCYF shall disburse funds from the account for the purpose of meeting any of the person's unmet personal needs while in care not covered by other state or federal funds and may not supplant other funding sources that would cover the person's care. When the amount of money due to the person exceeds asset limits for the benefit or exceeds the amount needed to provide for the person's personal needs, DCYF shall place the funds in an appropriate savings or investment that will not count against a person's eligibility for Supplemental Security Income and Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits, unless such funds are needed for the person to access Medicaid waiver services provided by the Developmental Disabilities Administration. Such accounts may include, but are not limited to:

  • a?Washington Achieving a Better Life Experience program account managed by the Department of Commerce;
  • a special needs or pooled trust; or
  • a savings account, and provide an annual account statement to the person and any other persons required to be notified.

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When the conditions of placement no longer exist, DCYF is to work with the parent, person, or agency who is legally responsible for the person, to become the representative payee. If the person is turning 18, DCYF is to work with the person to become the payee, unless the person requires a guardian to manage the funds.

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DCYF shall develop and implement a financial literacy training for youth that includes information related to public benefits. The training must be provided to persons exiting the care of DCYF when the person is:

  • over the age of 14;
  • receiving or likely to be eligible to receive public benefit payments; and
  • likely to have the ability to participate in the management of their own payments in the future.

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When funds belonging to a person in DCYF's care exceeds $2,000, those funds may be deposited into a savings and loan association account, or other savings or investment account provided for under this act.?
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 24, 2025.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed, except for Section 1 which takes effect January 1, 2026.