JEFFERSON CITY – A House panel has launched this year’s effort to make sure that money intended for Missouri’s foster children gets to those children and isn’t intercepted by the state.
Representative Melissa Schmidt stated “An estimated 12,000 young people in Missouri’s foster care system are eligible for benefits from the Social Security or Veterans Administrations, or railroad retirement benefits, often because they are the survivors of deceased parents or because they have disabilities. The state Children’s Division takes those benefits to cover the costs of caring for those children. Social Security benefits, alone, can be around $900 or more each month.”
House Bill 737 would end that practice.
Legislators expressed shock and disbelief when they were first introduced to this issue in 2024, and the House passed a bill then to address it but that did not reach the governor. HB 737 is this year’s version, and at the urging of new House Speaker Jonathan Patterson it is among the first bills being considered in 2025.
“We must prioritize the most vulnerable among us, especially our foster kids,” Patterson said in his address on the opening day of the session, calling for this legislation to be the first bill the House passes this year.
HB 737 sponsor Melissa Schmidt (R-Eldridge) told the House Committee on Children and Families that the practice, “depletes a resource that could meet crucial needs and be a significant support for foster children as they age out of the system and attempt to enter into adult living.”
Madison Eacret with FosterAdopt Connect said those benefits could be going to things like housing, transportation, higher education, or other needs and wants.
“It’s really difficult when you’re in foster care and you’re transitioning at 18, to go out into the world, and these funds are really critical for that transition.”
Schmidt recalled for the committee testimony offered last year from a young man named Ian, who experienced this firsthand.
Ferguson Representative Raychel Proudie said, “During his time in care he stated that he had one source of hope. His mother served honorably in the U.S. Navy and Ian was eligible for her survivor benefits through both the Veterans Administration and Social Security. He had hoped these funds would help him through college and to establish stable housing and secure transportation. However, Ian learned when he turned 18 and exited foster care that the system had depleted those funds.”
Committee members expressed similar sentiments to those that were heard during the debate in 2024. Democrat Proudie has been among the most vocal.
“The fact that any government would do such a thing to some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, let alone children, is absolutely repugnant. The fact that we do this makes me sick. It’s outrageous,” Proudie said.
She explained how this practice could create a situation in which foster children don’t receive the same care that peers in their households receive, because there isn’t enough money to go around.
“I’m so embarrassed that our state does this. It does add some equity when you’re raising kids, foster children, to not treat them like they’re not your kids. That’s all they want, is to be treated like they belong somewhere.”
St. Peters Republican Wendy Hausman also filed a version of this proposal. She thanked Schmidt for carrying it.
“This is an amazing bill and it needs to be done, and we need to pass this as fast as we can because children need this.”
Chairwoman Holly Jones (R-Eureka) joined others on the Committee in thanking Speaker Patterson for making this a priority.
Representative Holly Jones said, “I love that we are starting this year, this 103rd General Assembly Children and Families Committee off with this bill, and something that we can all get around.”
HB 737 includes two other provisions.
One would specify that the offense of abuse or neglect of a child does not include letting a child do things like going to school or nearby locations on foot or by bicycle; play outside; or stay at home for a reasonable amount of time without supervision. Any such “independent activities” must be deemed appropriate for the child’s age, maturity, and physical and mental abilities.
The other would require the Children’s Division to attempt to place a child in its care with a person, agency, or institution governed by persons of the same religious faith as that of at least one of the child’s parents. Missouri Courts must already do so. The bill would require that the Division follow the same procedure.