Bill
A 4543
Prohibits DCF from using a child’s federal benefits to offset foster care costs, instead preserving those benefits and assets to support the child’s needs and SSI eligibility.
Status & Timeline
- Introduced: June 13, 2024.
- Committee actions: Reported with amendments by Assembly Children, Families & Food Security (9/23/2024) and Assembly Appropriations (3/20/2025).
- Referred to: Racing and Wagering (2/4/2025).
- Effective date: First day of the 12th month after enactment (Commissioner may take anticipatory administrative action earlier).
Primary sponsors (per bill text and committee reports)
- Assemblywomen Shama Haider, Shanique Speight, Shavonda Sumter; co-sponsors Assemblywomen Hall, Reynolds-Jackson, Swift. (Companion: S3153. Prior-session: A7526.)
Purpose and intent
- Ensure that federal benefits and other property belonging to a child in out‑of‑home placement are preserved for the child’s needs and future use, rather than routinely being used by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to offset State foster‑care costs — while preserving the child’s eligibility for means‑tested federal benefits (notably Supplemental Security Income, SSI).
Key provisions
- General prohibition: DCF may not use a child’s property or federal benefits (e.g., Social Security, SSI, VA survivor benefits, Railroad Retirement) to offset State maintenance/care costs for a child in the custody of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, except as described below.
- SSI/asset‑limit exception: DCF may use or conserve a child’s benefits when necessary to establish or maintain eligibility for benefits or services (including SSI), and must avoid causing a violation of federal asset/resource limits that would jeopardize benefit receipt.
- Accounts and monitoring: DCF must monitor federal asset/resource limits, and establish a qualified ABLE account or other trust account for every eligible child to conserve benefits consistent with federal limits. (New Jersey’s ABLE program: annual contributions up to $18,000; lifetime cap cited ~$305,000; balances under $100,000 excluded from SSI resource limit per committee report.)
- Representative payee duties and process: DCF must screen children for benefit eligibility, apply for benefits when appropriate, manage conserved funds in the child’s interest, and (as amended) provide notifications to the child, parent/legal guardian, counsel, and court under specified circumstances. The department must provide accountings and adopt implementing regulations.
- Federal waivers and Title IV‑E: The Commissioner must seek any federal waivers necessary to implement the bill and to preserve federal reimbursement under Title IV‑E. However, the bill directs DCF that, in cases where a child is or may be SSI‑eligible, the department will — if necessary to ensure the child’s SSI eligibility — forego claiming Title IV‑E foster care maintenance payments for that child.
Who is affected
- Primary: children in out‑of‑home placement under DCF custody who receive or may be eligible for federal benefits (SSI, Social Security Disability/ survivor benefits, VA, Railroad Retirement).
- Secondary: DCF operations (caseworkers, finance units), county child‑welfare systems, and state federal reimbursement flows under Title IV‑E.
Fiscal and operational impact
- Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates:
- Annual State expenditure increase: ~$170,000 (to hire two entry‑level analyst positions for universal screening, account monitoring, and ABLE/trust account management).
- Annual State revenue decrease: ~$500,000 (loss of federal Title IV‑E reimbursements when DCF foregoes claiming IV‑E on behalf of SSI‑eligible children to preserve eligibility).
- OLS notes many DCF practices already mirror these requirements, so operational impacts are limited primarily to additional monitoring and administrative duties.
Related legislation
- Companion: S3153. Prior-session reference: A7526.
Overall effect
- A4543 prioritizes preservation of a care‑recipient child’s federal benefits and future resources, while requiring DCF to manage those benefits in ways that protect federal benefit eligibility; it also recognizes potential federal fiscal consequences and directs DCF to pursue waivers but allows foregoing Title IV‑E claims when necessary to preserve SSI eligibility.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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