Wisconsin continues to divert millions of dollars in child support and federal disability and survivor benefits from foster children and their families each year, even as Republicans and Democrats in the state say the practice should end.
State records show child welfare agencies in Wisconsin intercept both child support payments from parents and Social Security benefits that are legally owed to children in foster care.
The money is used to reimburse government costs for foster care instead of being saved for the children's needs or their transition to adulthood.
A Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis for Gov. Tony Evers' 2025–27 budget estimated that about 3.2 million dollars in Social Security survivors and disability payments are diverted from foster youth each year, with roughly 95% channeled back into the foster care system, according to Wisconsin Watch.
Separate state data and public records indicate that, when child support collections are included, foster children and their parents lose more than 10 million dollars annually under the current policies.
The practice has drawn rare bipartisan criticism in Madison. Gov. Evers, a Democrat, proposed ending the diversion of most Social Security benefits and child support in his latest budget, arguing that the payments should follow the child and help them build a financial base.
But Republican lawmakers on the Legislature's powerful budget committee removed the provision in a single vote, along with hundreds of other items, without a public debate focused on this issue.
Months later, GOP lawmakers introduced their own bills, signaling that opposition to the current system crosses party lines even as concrete changes have stalled.
In February, state Sen. André Jacque, a Republican, brought forward Senate Bill 990, which would require child welfare agencies to conserve Social Security benefits for foster youth instead of using them to offset care costs.
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The bill would ensure that any benefits already being collected on a child's behalf are saved for that child, though it does not force agencies to newly screen for eligibility. Another measure, Senate Bill 1072, authored by Republican Sen. Jesse James with an Assembly companion led by Rep., Madison365 reported.
Karen Hurd would bar child welfare departments from collecting child support in most foster care cases, calling it unfair to make low‑income parents effectively pay the state for taking their children.
Federal officials have also weighed in, adding national pressure on Wisconsin and other states.
In December, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families sent letters to 39 governors, including Wisconsin's, urging them to stop taking foster youths' Social Security survivor benefits and to preserve the funds for the children instead.
Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams said every dollar of earned benefits belongs to foster youth and should not be treated as revenue for agencies or bureaucrats.
Despite this federal warning and growing bipartisan agreement that the practice is wrong, Wisconsin's Legislature has not yet passed a law to guarantee foster children keep their own money, as per Patch.
