SCCSSA As The Payee Of Benefits

Natural or adoptive parents or guardians who have custody of the child are the preferred payees for Retirement, Survivor, and Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income (RSDI/SSI) benefits; authorized custodial agencies are the last resort. When a child is court-dependent under the supervision of the Department of Family and Children's Services (DFCS or Juvenile Probation Department (JPD, the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency (SCCSSA can petition the Social Security Administration (SSA) to become the authorized representative payee (ARP for RSDI/SSII benefits.

Reminder: Effective June 22, 2025, Survivor benefits are never to be abated. These benefits must be conserved for the youth.

 Noticing Requirements – Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) 13754 

Before applying to be appointed as the child’s ARP, the county is required to send a written notice of intent (to be appointed as the payee) to the child’s attorney and parents or legal guardians.

ARPs are responsible for using the benefits in the best interest of the child or youth. They must notify SSA of changes in income or anything that might affect the status of the benefits.

When SCCSSA is the payee on behalf of a child or youth receiving SSI or RSDI, the county must establish a no-cost, interest-bearing maintenance account for each recipient. Interest earned shall be credited to the account. The county must keep an itemized current account of all income and expense items for each child’s maintenance account. The funds used in the account(s) must be only for the beneficiary's expenditures and cannot be loaned or used for anything other than the child’s needs.

The ARP is responsible for submitting annual reports to SSA that indicate how benefits were spent or saved.

The ARP must submit an SSI/SSA Advocacy Program for Foster Children and Non-Minor Dependents form (SCD 2432 FC) when instructing Account Payable to issue benefits. A copy of the form must be maintained in the RSDI/SSI file.

Conserved Funds

Conserved funds are funds that have not yet been disbursed. When the ARP stops serving as the payee, the benefits and the earned interest must be returned to SSA if not eligible to be abated to an FC or Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC) account. SSA will reissue returned conserved funds to a successor payee or to the beneficiary directly if a payee is no longer needed.

If it is in the beneficiary's best interest, SSA may allow an ARP to directly give conserved funds to a successor payee to pay for food, clothing, and shelter costs instead of returning all the funds to SSA. SSA will allow such transfers on a case-by-case basis.

The following procedures should be used for the conserved fund:

  • If court dependency is dismissed and the child returns home,  
    • Apply any benefits that can be abated
    • Return excess to SSA.
  • If court dependency is dismissed and the child is in a legal guardianship (LG) (including Kin-GAP),
    • Apply any benefits that can be abated
    • Assist the LG in becoming the ARP
    • Return excess funds to SSA.
  • If the child is adopted,
    • Apply any benefits that can be abated
    • Assist the adoptive parent in becoming the ARP.

When the youth is 18 but under 21, and is exiting foster care, the case must be reviewed with the assigned SW/PO. If the youth is entering an adult treatment facility, the Analyst may seek SSA's approval to transfer any conserved funds to the facility. The Analyst must also contact the agency’s Public Guardian program to determine if the youth has an assigned SW. If the youth has an assigned SW, the Analyst must advise the SW of the benefits before returning them to SSA. Benefits are to be disbursed based on the young adult’s need, with the joint approval of SSA, the assigned SW, and the Analyst.

Maintenance of Benefits

Benefits are stored in different accounts. The account type will depend on the type of benefits (RSDI/SSI), whether the payment is retroactive, and whether the payment is a lump sum.

SCCSSA must open one or more of the following accounts to receive the RSDI/SSI benefits:

  • A Dedicated Account is opened by the Analyst to maintain certain large retroactive payments covering more than six months of the current SSI benefits for an eligible child under 18. When retroactive benefits are approved, SSA will generate a letter to the ARP. When the letter is received, the Analyst must open a dedicated account before SSA will disburse the funds. The funds in this account must be maintained separately from the account that receives monthly benefits and is used for holding funds. When the account is opened, the Analyst must forward the letter to Accounts Receivable to deposit the money into the child’s account. SSA monitors the account. Funds in this type of account cannot be used for basic maintenance costs, including foster care placement. The monthly funds are to be used for those costs. The funds can be used for the following:
  • Medical treatment
  • Education or job skills training
  • Personal needs assistance
  • Special equipment
  • Housing modification
  • Therapy or rehabilitation
  • Items or services approved by SSA.
    • The Analyst must keep records of deposits and expenditures from the dedicated accounts, and submit them to SSA if requested. SSA must approve any expenditures not for one of the needs listed above, including repayment of SSI overpayments. The assigned SW/PO may request funds to be used for any of the above needs without providing a pre-authorized purchase order.  After the purchase is made, the receipts must be forwarded to the Analyst, and a copy of the receipts must be retained in the SW/PO file.
  • A Child Sub-Payee (CSP Account is a monthly maintenance account opened by the Analyst when an RSDI/SSI application is filed. The status of the account will remain pending until notified by the fiscal department RSDI/SSI money is received. The CSP account is also used where there is no open FC account. This account is normally opened when the FC payment is pending authorization, the FC program is discontinued, or the child is receiving ARC. This type of account is used manage monthly benefits.
  • The Foster Care (FC) Account is a monthly maintenance account established by the Analyst and is used to abate RSDI/SSI money against an open FC case. As long as the FC program is open, the RSDI/SSI income is abated each month. When the FC program is discontinued and funds can no longer be abated, the money is maintained in a CSP until it is either returned to SSA or disbursed to an approved payee authorized by SSA.

Note: Abatements are only to be applied to FC cases, including “county-only” funded FC cases.

  • A Blocked Trust (BT Account is an account with a financial institution in which money or securities are placed. No person may withdraw funds from a blocked account without the court’s permission. BT accounts are established for SSA beneficiaries receiving retroactive RSDI benefits. The funds can be maintained in a CPS account but must be transferred to a BT account when (at the point of the initial FC intake) the benefits exceed the resource limit. Monies in BT accounts can only be released by court order.

Reminder: The FC resource limit of $10,000 only applies at the initial FC intake.

  • When requesting money to be deposited into a BT account the Analyst must provide the MC 355 and the MC 356 to Account Receivable.
  • The Analyst and the assigned SW/PO must work together when requesting withdrawals from BT accounts. When requesting disbursement. a copy of the signed
    MC 358 must be provided with the request to Accounts Payable.
    • If a BT is needed the Analyst will prepare the following forms for deposits and withdrawals:
      • Order to Deposit Money Into Blocked Account form  (MC 355)
      • Receipt and Acknowledgement of Order for the Deposit of Money Into Blocked Account form (MC 356),
      • Petition for Withdrawal of Funds From Blocked Account form (MC 357)
      • Order For Withdrawal of Funds From Blocked Account form (MC 358).

Note: BT account documents are located at http://www.courts.ca.gov.

 

SCCSSA uses the RSDI/SSI benefits to directly pay for the child’s or youth’s monthly placement costs and any excess in the account is used to pay costs in connection with their placements and passed on to the caregiver.

All transactions associated with any of the above accounts must be maintained on a ledger documenting receipts and expenditures of the funds.

When resources exceeds $2,000 for SSI recipients, the Analyst and the assigned SW/PO must disperse the excess to the provider for the needs of the child or return the funds to SSA.

When SCCSSA is no longer the ARP for RSDI/SSI benefits, all held benefits are returned to SSA for distribution. This includes circumstances where children who were in FC and have transferred to Kin-GAP or been adopted.

Related Topics

Social Security Administration Benefits