SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A new California bill that will protect the social security benefits of foster children is one signature away from becoming law.
Assembly Bill 1512, introduced by State Assembly Majority Leader Isaac Bryan, was passed by the State Legislature and sent to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for signature on Thursday.
Once the bill is signed into law, county agencies will be prohibited from using a foster child's state or federal benefits to pay for their care. It will also require that agencies notify the child, their attorney and their parent of the benefit payments.
"It will basically make sure these resources are not just treated like some sort of revenue stream," Bryan told CBS 8. "They are not a revenue stream for the child welfare system. What they are is a direct cash benefit for the young people who have lost their parents and we're going to make sure it is treated that way."
Since 2015, San Diego County has taken more than $3 million in social security or disability payments from foster children without their knowledge or consent and deposited it into county bank accounts.
Public documents obtained by CBS 8 show that San Diego County has collected $3,214,968 in retirement benefits, disability payouts, or Social Security survivor benefits from 310 foster youth in the past eight years.
Signing foster children up for disability benefits and survivor benefits if their parent has died without informing the child is the standard operating procedure at Child Welfare agencies in San Diego and throughout the country, says Washington D.C-based attorney Amy Harfeld, who works for the University of San Diego's Children's Advocacy Institute.
Harfeld told CBS 8 that over the years states across the country have taken an estimated $250 million each year in benefits from foster children before depositing them into municipal accounts.
"It is unconscionable for the State to be dipping into the pockets of California's most vulnerable foster youth behind their back, without telling them or their attorneys that they were doing so," Harfeld told CBS 8.
Harfeld pointed out that that these survivor benefits can be transformational for young people leaving the foster care system.
"This amount of money, which in some states averages about $10,000, really could be the difference between homelessness and housing, between having food in the fridge and having to go on benefits," she said.
She added that, while this legislation is a huge step forward, it does not go far enough.
While it would protect the benefits of current and future foster care children, the owed benefits are not retroactive, meaning that former foster care youth who have already left the system would not see the money that was taken from them under this bill.
"Ultimately a lot of young people would say they would like their money back," Harfeld said. "This bill does not accomplish that, but it goes a long way to ending the practice and preventing thousands of current and future foster youth from having their money intercepted improperly."
Bryan, who was in the foster care system himself growing up, said that he is not done fighting for this most vulnerable population.
"There's a lot of work that we got to do but we are going to take it one step at a time, keep building on the progress and move forward," Bryan promised.
In recent years, the Children's Advocacy Institute has made some headway in getting laws changed to prevent agencies from keeping foster children's benefits.
California joins states such as Connecticut, Illinois, Oregon, and Arizona, which have limited or outlawed the practice.
In May, CBS 8 spoke with San Diego County officials who said they have taken proactive steps in addressing the payments.
"If the County is the representative payee, the benefits still go into the child’s reserve account under the county’s main account to accrue interest," a county spokesperson told CBS 8 in May.
The spokesperson, however, said the county is waiting for guidance from the state in regard to benefits that were intercepted prior to the policy change.
Said the spokesperson, "For survivor’s benefits obtained prior to March 2022, the process has yet to be changed pending clarification from the State."
CBS 8 reached out to the County of San Diego, and in response, a spokesperson said the County supports AB 1512. The County Board of Supervisors voted to support AB 1512 in June.
WATCH RELATED: San Diego has taken millions in benefits from foster children