The Seport discusses several issues: the overlap between SSI and the Title IV-E foster care program; the potential for improper payments because of how IV-E and other similar programs interact with SSI; information gaps created by waivers for federally funded but state-run welfare benefit programs that children in foster care recieve; the potential for repurposing non-SSI benefits to minimize Federal SSI expenditures in the long term; and the history of court cases that came to various and potentially conflicting conclusions on how SSI benefits should be allocated to children in foster care.
The Board recommends that SSA undertake a broad review of these topics, with goals of additional clarity in setting rules and procedures, improved data collection, closer oversight, and a process of continuing policy reviews.
The Statement is included in SSA’s 2014 Annual Report on the SSI Program. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 gives Board members the opportunity, individually or jointly, to include their views on SSI in SSA’s annual report to the President and Congress on the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. The Board or one of its members has submitted a statement every year since 1998, except for 2024 due to the lack of a quorum.