Foster Children in New Hampshire Will Finally Keep Their Own Benefits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Tuesday, July 14th
Media Contact: Dawn McKinney | Policy Director at the New Hampshire Legal Assistance | dmckinney@nhla.org | (603) 206-2228

Press release is also available as a PDF.

Foster Children in New Hampshire Will Finally Keep Their Own Benefits

Governor signs HB 661, ending the state’s practice of using children’s Social Security and veterans benefits to pay for its own use.

Concord, N.H. – On Friday, Governor Kelly Ayotte signed HB 661 into law, securing a brighter financial future for New Hampshire’s foster youth. The bipartisan legislation protects and invests Social Security, SSI, and veterans’ benefits owed to children in foster care, opening the door for New Hampshire’s foster youth to start building real financial security for their future. While the full benefits of this reform will unfold over the next 8 years, HB 661 puts children on a path toward greater financial security and opportunity in the years ahead.

“A lot of kids who end up getting out of foster care, aging out, they end up homeless because they can’t afford living these days,” shared Dawson Hayes, a former foster youth and now young entrepreneur. “It could mean the difference between living on the streets or having a roof over your head and being able to eat every meal every day.”

The bipartisan law requires the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to:

• Stop using children’s federal benefits to pay the state’s own child welfare expenses.
• Save the money in an account in the child’s name.
• Hand over what is left to the young adult when they age out.
• Exhaust every other option first – DHHS will work with the federal agency to ensure all options to find a representative payee have been exhausted and step in as payee only when there is no other suitable adult available.

Nationally, approximately 40% of youth who age out of foster care experience homelessness. An estimated 280 children in New Hampshire foster care currently receive some form of federal benefit, according to reporting shared during the 2026 legislative session.

For youth leaving foster care, access to conserved benefits can provide critical financial support for housing, education, transportation, health needs, and other expenses associated with the transition to adulthood. “When I lost my father in 8th grade, I started receiving his death benefits, but the moment I entered foster care at 16, I lost access to them,” said Maddie Lemay, founding member and former leader of the New Hampshire Youth Success Project. “That money could have covered things I needed, made home visits easier, and given me a real head start when I aged out at 18. Instead, I had nothing saved for a place of my own. Every young person in care should have access to what’s rightfully theirs.”

We are thankful to the bipartisan group of legislative champions, including Representatives Mary Jane Wallner, Maureen Mooney, Debra DeSimone, and Kimberly Rice, and Senators Cindy Rosenwald, Patrick Long, Tim Lang, and David Rochefort. Representative Wallner shared, “this legislation will make a significant difference in the lives of young people transitioning out of the foster care system. The bill had strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate and with the Governor’s signature the bill will impact many children in our foster care system.”

The new law gradually increases the percentage of benefits that DHHS must save for the child. Beginning on July 1, 2028, DHHS must protect at least 25% of a child’s benefits. That increases to 50% on July 1, 2030, 75% on July 1, 2032, and finally reaches 100% of a child’s benefits on July 1, 2034.

“This is what young people in foster care have been asking for – a real chance to build something for their future instead of starting from zero. We are grateful to the Governor and the Legislature for getting this done,” shared the Youth Advocacy Policy Coalition. “Our focus now is on ensuring children can benefit from these changes as soon as possible. We look forward to working with policymakers to advance the statutory changes needed to accelerate implementation and get these resources into the hands of young people without unnecessary delay.”

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The Youth Policy Advocacy Coalition is an alliance of non-profit organizations that work to support the health and well-being of New Hampshire’s children and youth, including Waypoint, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, New Futures, Disability Rights Center – NH, ACLU-NH, and the Children’s Law Center of New Hampshire.