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June 4, 2021Lincoln, Neb. |  By: AP

Nebraska's taking of payments to foster children questioned


LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Some lawmakers and child advocates are raising concerns about Nebraska's practice of seizing the Social Security payments to foster children to pay for their care. Nebraska officials defend the practice as legal.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that since 2009, the state has paid a Virginia firm to research which of the state's 4,000 foster children might be eligible for Social Security benefits and then go after them.

The effort reaped about $2.7 million a year in the last three years, which is used to reimburse state expenses for foster care.

State Sen. Megan Hunt, of Omaha, has scheduled a study of the issue for the months before the next legislative session.