LETTER: Bill would be bad for Nevada’s foster kids

Aging out of foster care is one of the most difficult transitions a young person can face. Many leave the system without stable housing, family support or financial security. For those who qualify for federal benefits, these funds provide a safety net — helping them pay for rent, college, transportation and other essentials as they enter adulthood.

Senate Bill 284 threatens to take that safety net away. Instead of ensuring that foster youth receive the financial support to which they are entitled, the bill allows their benefits to be pooled into government-controlled accounts. That means a youth who was supposed to receive Social Security survivor benefits from a deceased parent might never see that money at all. Instead, the state could use it to cover costs that should be paid by the child welfare system.

This bill also disproportionately affects youth who have disabilities or who have lost a parent. Many foster youth qualify for Supplemental Security Income or VA benefits and, under SB284, those funds could be taken from them with no guarantee of direct financial assistance when they transition out of care.

Lawmakers need to prioritize policies that help foster youth build financial stability, not ones that take it away. Nevada should implement stronger financial literacy programs, direct deposit accounts for youth and better protections for their benefits — not ways to absorb their funds into state budgets.

Lawmakers must reject this bill unless the provision allowing the seizure of benefits is removed. Foster youth deserve better.