Committee weighs changing trust-account requirement and delays effective date for youth Social Security provisions

The committee reviewed Senate floor amendments to H657, the bill that governs diversion and handling of Social Security benefits for youth in foster care, and discussed administrative and child-protection implications.

John Bray of the legislative council described a floor amendment that would change language requiring a trust account to a more general "account" for children who are not SSI recipients while keeping the statute's final clause that a qualified ABLE account remain the mechanism for children receiving SSI. "So the first thing I wanna clarify... this would not disrupt the final clause here, which shall be a qualified ABLE account for any child receiving SSI benefits," Bray said, and he explained the change was requested by the treasurer for administrative flexibility.

The floor amendment also delays the bill's effective date by one year, moving implementation from July 1, 2027, to July 1, 2028, to give the Department for Children and Families (DCF) more time for systems and staffing changes and to consider phased implementation options.

Representative Steady raised a practical concern: if the bill permits a simple account rather than a trust, could a parent who regains custody access and withdraw funds intended for the child? "I work at a bank... a little girl came in, and her mother took all of her money," the representative said, urging that trust accounts provide stronger protection. Bray and other staff acknowledged trust accounts offer greater fiduciary protection and noted ABLE-account protections remain in place for SSI recipients; committee members also noted the bill cannot alter underlying parental rights outside the narrow DCF custodial context.

Staff and members discussed next steps including clarifying the account language, ensuring DCF's representative-payee obligations remain explicit, and monitoring whether phased implementation or targeted application by age could ease DCF workload. The committee did not adopt final action on H657 at the meeting; staff will prepare revised language and follow-up materials.