Children: foster care; department to use or conserve benefits for children in foster care in the best interests of the children in foster care; provide, the official text

Act No. 51

Public Acts of 2026

Approved by the Governor

July 21, 2026

Filed with the Secretary of State

July 23, 2026

EFFECTIVE
DATE: October 1, 2026

state of michigan

103rd Legislature

Regular session of 2026

Introduced by Reps. Schmaltz, Pavlov, Markkanen,
Alexander, Bierlein, Frisbie, Paquette, Cavitt, Fox, Bohnak, BeGole, Rigas,
Prestin, St. Germaine, Mueller, Wozniak, Meerman, Kelly, Woolford, Aragona,
Roth, Schuette, Thompson, Beson, Linting, Greene, Robinson, Xiong and DeBoer

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4750

AN ACT to amend 1994 PA 203,
entitled “An act to establish certain standards for foster care and adoption
services for children and their families; and to prescribe powers and duties of
certain state agencies and departments and adoption facilitators,” (MCL 722.951
to 722.960) by adding section 8f.

The People of the State of
Michigan enact:

Sec.
8f. (1) This section and section 8g apply to children in foster care.

(2) As used in this section and section 8g, “benefits” means
all of the following:

(a) Federal Supplemental Security Income.

(b) Social Security benefits.

(c) State Supplemental Security Income.

(d) United States Department of Veterans Affairs benefits.

(e) If identified by the department, other applicable
benefits for which the child in foster care is eligible.

(3) Within 60 days after a child enters foster care and
annually thereafter while a child in foster care is in foster care, the
department shall screen a child in foster care for potential eligibility for
benefits and apply for benefits for which a child in foster care may be
eligible and is not already receiving. When applying for benefits under this
section and section 8g for a child in foster care, the department shall, in
cooperation with the child in foster care’s guardian ad litem, if one has been
appointed, identify a representative payee or fiduciary in accordance with the
requirements of 20 CFR 404.2021 and 416.621, as applicable, and shall apply to
become the representative payee only if no other suitable candidate is
available to be a representative payee.

(4) Consistent with federal law, when the department serves
as the representative payee or in any other fiduciary capacity for a child in
foster care receiving benefits, the department shall do all the following:

(a) Use or conserve the benefits of a child in foster care in
the best interests of the child in foster care, including using the benefits
for services for special needs not otherwise provided by the department or
conserving the benefits for the child in foster care’s reasonably foreseeable
future needs. The department shall not use any benefits of the child in foster
care to reimburse this state for the cost of care for the child in foster care.

(b) Ensure that when the child in foster care is 14 years
through age 17, and until the department no longer serves as the representative
payee or fiduciary, at least 50% of the benefits of the child in foster care is
conserved.

(c) For the benefits or resources of the child in foster care
that are below or not subject to any federal asset or resource limit, exercise
discretion in accordance with federal law and in the best interests of the
child in foster care to conserve the funds or use the funds for services for
special needs not otherwise provided by the department, including choosing 1 or
more of the options listed under subdivision (d).

(d) Appropriately monitor any federal asset or resource
limits for the benefits and ensure that the best interests of the child in
foster care are served by using or conserving the benefits in a way that avoids
violating any federal asset or resource limits that would affect the
eligibility of the child in foster care to receive the benefits, including, but
not limited to, all the following:

(i) Applying to the Social Security
Administration to establish a plan for achieving self-support (PASS) account
for the child in foster care under the social security act, 42 USC 301 to
1397mm, and determining whether it is in the best interests of the child in
foster care to conserve all or part of the benefits in the PASS account.

(ii) Establishing a plan under section 529A
of the internal revenue code of 1986, 26 USC 529A, for the child in foster care
and conserving the benefits of the child in foster care in that account in a
manner that appropriately avoids any federal asset or resource limits.

(iii) Establishing an individual development
account for the child in foster care and conserving the benefits of the child
in foster care in that account in a manner that appropriately avoids any
federal asset or resource limits.

(iv) Establishing a special needs trust for
the child in foster care and conserving the benefits of the child in foster
care in the trust in a manner that is consistent with federal requirements for
special needs trusts and that appropriately avoids any federal asset or
resource limits.

(v) If the department determines that using
the benefits for services for current special needs not already provided by the
department is in the best interests of the child in foster care, using the
benefits for those services.

(vi) Applying any other exclusions from
federal asset or resource limits available under federal law and using or
conserving the benefits of the child in foster care in a manner that
appropriately avoids any federal asset or resource limits.

(e) Provide an annual accounting to the child in foster care,
the appropriate contact at the supervising child placement agency, and the
child in foster care’s guardian ad litem, if one has been appointed, of how the
resources of the child in foster care, including benefits, have been used or
conserved in accordance with this section and section 8g.

(f) If appropriate, as determined by the department, provide
the child in foster care with financial literacy training when the child in
foster care has attained the age of 14 years through the teaching of personal
financial management skills and the basic principles involved with earning,
spending, saving, borrowing, and investing. The financial literacy training
required under this subdivision must include an exploration and evaluation of
the options for financing postsecondary education, including, but not limited
to, an evaluation of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
requirements to apply for postsecondary financial aid, and identification of
strategies for reducing the overall cost of postsecondary education. The
evaluation described under this subdivision must also discuss the impact of
scholarships, grants, work study, and other forms of assistance and the
application processes for each.

(g) Make monthly payments from the benefits of the child to
the child in foster care for allowable expenses. The department shall establish
a process for reviewing and approving allowable expenses requested by the child
in foster care. Notwithstanding this subdivision, the department shall approve
the payment of allowable expenses requested by the child in foster care unless
the department determines that the expenses are not in the best interests of
the child in foster care. As used in this subdivision, “allowable expenses”
means expenses incurred or needed by the child in foster care that are related
to any of the following:

(i) Education.

(ii) Medicaid or health insurance co-pays or
deductibles or out-of-pocket expenses for medical treatment received by the
child in foster care.

(iii) Job training.

(iv) Transportation.

(v) Immediate living expenses.

(5) The department shall do all of the following if another
person serves as the representative payee for a child in foster care:

(a) Keep track of the activities of the representative payee.

(b) Provide guidance, as needed, for the representative
payee.

(c) Require the representative payee to provide an annual
accounting report to the department and the child in foster care.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes
effect October 1, 2026.

Enacting section 2.
This amendatory act does not take effect unless Senate Bill No. 18 of the 103rd
Legislature is enacted into law.

This act is ordered to take
immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of
Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved___________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Governor