As partisan politics grind Congress to a standstill, foster care probably isnāt among the top 10 or even 20 most-discussed issues. But if you care about stopping federalĀ waste and unnecessary spending, it should be. There is a victory for kids and fiscal responsibility hiding in plain sight.
New researchĀ shows that providing lawyers to foster kids will save taxpayer dollars. Guaranteeing lawyers for foster kids that donāt currently have one will save the federal government $67 million to $145 million per year.
The child protection system is complicated, but letās keep it simple: When a state accuses a parent of abuse or neglect, it often pays for foster parents to care for the child.
States fund foster care. The federal government reimburses states some of those costs through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act and other streams. Under Title IV-E alone, the federal government spends at least $75 per child per day they are in foster care. This doesnāt even count other costsā Medicaid, block grants, and state dollars.
A judge decides what happens next: where the child will live, go to school, and what contact they may have with their parents and siblings.
These court cases are complex. In 37 states, the child receives a lawyer to protect their rights and help them navigate the system. The lawyer ensures the judge hears the person at the center of the case: the kid.
Lawyers also catch procedural mistakes, explain the process to children, and expedite a system that often lumbers at the pace of its slowest bureaucrat, amongĀ many other benefits.
Legal representation for children is a commonsense policy. Thatās why theĀ Center for the Rights of Abused ChildrenĀ and theĀ America First Policy InstituteĀ rallied for it. Itās why the Trump administrationĀ endorsedĀ legal representation for kids in foster care and uplifted their needs by executive order in the PresidentāsĀ firstĀ andĀ secondĀ terms.
We donāt send kids to hospitals without doctors. We donāt send kids to schools without teachers. Yet 13 states collectively send approximately 57,000 foster kids to court without a lawyer.
The good news is Congress can fix this problem and save taxpayer dollars.
A lawyer reduces the time a child remains in foster care byĀ up to 30 percent, helping them either return safely to their family or find a permanent solution like adoption. A shorter stay in foster care costs taxpayers less money, and these savings cover the price of providing a lawyer manyĀ timesĀ over.
If the government guaranteed lawyers for the kids that do not currently have one, it would reduce foster care costs by $4,300 to $8,200 per child, yielding a net federal benefit of $3,300 to $7,200 for each kid in care.
These are conservative estimates. The actual savings for American taxpayers is likely even greater because this new research does not count savings in other programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Social Services Block Grants, and federal Medicaid dollars. Additionally,Ā federal savings lay the foundation forĀ further savings at the state level.
Past efforts to guarantee legal counsel for kids faltered because of Congressional Budget Office scoringāwhich estimates the potential cost of legislation. But those old CBO scores donāt consider this new research, the potential federal savings, or the numerous other downstream benefits of reducing the time kids spend in foster careābetter educational outcomes, reduced incarceration rates, better health, and more.
Congress took a small step in 2024 updating a separate section (Title IV-B) of the Social Security Act so kids and their parents receive information about lawyersif available.Ā But there is a big difference between learning that lawyersĀ mightbe available and being guaranteed one.
Doing the right thing for kids doesnāt necessarily mean spending more money; sometimes it means investing wisely to save money in the long run. The 119thĀ Congress can get this over the finish line. Protecting kids and stopping government overreach are cornerstone American values, so legal representation has always made common sense. Now research shows it also makes fiscal sense.
Allison Green is Chief Legal Officer for National Association of Counsel for Children
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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