JEFFERSON CITY — Foster children who receive Social Security or Veterans Administration benefits are one step closer to holding onto that money.
Under a measure approved by the Missouri Senate on Thursday, the Children’s Division could no longer pay for care costs using public benefit money received by children in state custody.
Current Missouri says that “any money in the account of a child may be expended by the division for care or services for the child.â€
The proposal would bar the division from spending children’s money on care costs.
Funds could, however, be used for children’s “unmet needs†like school fees and supplies, transportation expenses, or housing costs in anticipation of leaving state care.
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Some children “are essentially paying for their foster care, where the others aren’t,†said Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, R-Scott City, who is sponsoring the bill.
She said she supports a national movement to instead “set this money aside for these kids so that they do have a little bit of a nest egg to help as they age out of the system.â€
Rehder is partnering on the effort with Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, who has been a foster parent. The House last week gave its stamp of approval to a similar proposal from Kelly.
“That money belongs to children who are wards of the state,†Kelly said.
Lawmakers regularly file multiple versions of the same bill so that, as the legislative process and negotiations unfold, a given proposal has a better chance to make it through myriad procedural and political hurdles and eventually to the governor for signature.
Rehder’s bill passed the Senate with a bipartisan 29-1 vote.
She was able to enlist the support of colleagues, in part, by negotiating the addition of several provisions.
“It was a wonderful process,†Rehder said. “Across the board, the Senate agreed, we’ve got to put these foster kids first and make sure the underlying bill is the priority.â€
The final bill included several provisions that would provide directives to courts on certain custody decisions and loosen some licensing requirements for some child care providers of school-age children.
The legislation is expected to benefit an estimated 1,300 of the 12,000 Missouri kids in foster care.
Rehder’s legislation is Senate Bill 862; lly’s is House Bill 2227