Dawson Hayes knows the drill this time. 

He has his gray suit ready and his testimony typed and printed. 

Next week, he’ll share his story with legislators on the House Child and Family Law Committee. He’ll tell them how as a foster kid in New Hampshire’s state system, he never received $16,032 from Social Security benefits he would have been entitled to if he lived elsewhere. 

First, Hayes never thought he’d be in this position. He was admittedly shy as a kid. Addressing his elected officials in the State House chambers was never in question, but it will be a real-life civics lesson to share with his Concord High School class.

Second, he didn't think he’d be adopted out of foster care. His adoption ended a cycle that had brought him to live in at least four placement homes in three years after the state removed him from his biological parents’ care in 2021. Now, he calls Carolyn Mallon and Simon Warwick mom and dad.

Lastly, and perhaps most surprising to the 17-year-old, was that he had heard the same refrain during his years in foster care: He would get his Social Security, which the state was collecting as his designated payee, when he was adopted or aged out. 

That never happened.

“The whole time, I’m getting money. I think I’m gonna get it once I age out or get adopted,” he said. “I get adopted. Where’s the money?”

New Hampshire is one of few states that does not return Social Security benefits to children who qualify. Those who are eligible are a small sliver of the state’s 1,500 or so foster kids. Hayes is eligible because his parents qualified for a disability. Other foster kids are eligible if they have a disability or if their parents are deceased. To Rep. Mary Jane Wallner, a Concord Democrat, these kids are the state’s most vulnerable. 

“It’s really a small number of foster children, but they may be some of the neediest kids,” she said. 

Last year, Wallner introduced a bill to return Social Security benefits to children in foster care like Hayes, but legislators had questions about cost and implementation. Former Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill allowing for the state to hire a consultant to provide a road map for how to reverse course and pay these kids. 

With that plan now in place, Wallner is trying again and reintroducing the same legislation to return benefits. And just like last year, Hayes is ready to share his story publicly in the State House, hoping that when lawmakers hear of children who could have been entitled to thousands of dollars, they’ll put his name and face to the problem. 

“I get to advocate for the foster youth of New Hampshire,” he said. “It makes me feel joy.” 

Returning the revenue

Wallner was listening to National Public Radio when she heard a story about states holding foster care benefits that children could be entitled to. 

As a longstanding Concord Democrat in the State House, her first question was simple: Does New Hampshire do this too? 

She soon learned the answer was yes – New Hampshire was among several states in the country that pocketed benefits for children in foster care, justifying the practice by stating the money was used to offset the cost of care and services for the kid. 

A report from Public Consulting Group, a Boston-based firm that focuses on public health, education and human services, identifies Arizona and Massachusetts as model practices. 

In both states, programs are in place to help screen for kids who are eligible for benefits, maintain accounts while in care and preserve access to the money when a child transitions out of state custody. 

Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, the Division of Children, Youth and Families collects roughly $181,426 per month – or just over $2.1 million per year – from 290 eligible children, according to the report. 

To start this process, the report suggests New Hampshire first needs to enhance its screening process to identify children who might be entitled to benefits. Currently, the state reports that 4% of foster kids are eligible, while national averages are closer to 12%. 

The Granite State also does not use Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts for eligible youth, which allows states to keep the funds in a tax-advantage savings account. In the last 10 years, 46 states have implemented these accounts. 

Introducing the use of ABLE accounts is one of a few policy changes, along with holding Social Security and disability payments in an interest-baring account, the report recommends. 

If New Hampshire were to conserve 100% of benefits owed, it would cost roughly $6.1 million over the next biennium, according to the report.

With that in mind, Wallner knows it is a hard sell in a budget year.

“It’s going to be tough. It’s a tough budget,” she said. “I understand getting rid of a revenue source, as distasteful as it is.”

A head start

Hayes doesn’t hesitate when asked what he would have done with the money: Invest it. 

He talks about a return on investment without skipping a beat and how, when he turns 18 years old, he wants to buy a duplex. He’d rent out the other half to pay off the mortgage and have long-term stability – something he’s often reminded that most foster kids don’t have. 

One in five kids who were in foster care becomes homeless upon turning 18, according to research from the National Foster Youth Institute. Only half of foster youth graduate from high school, as well. 

That’s not the case for Hayes, and he hopes to help improve outcomes for other kids in care. 

He’s set to graduate a year early from Concord High School in June. He’s a teenager who likes to ice fish, kayak and play hockey and baseball. With a lighter course-load for his final year, he’s working part-time learning to become an electrician. 

He also leads his life by a simple motto: Make it better. 

“I’ve just been getting my stuff together early so that in the long run I won’t make the same mistakes my parents did,” he said. “Make it better.” 

And with that, he’s hoping to make it better for other kids entitled to the same benefits he could have received. 

“Even if it’s just for other foster kids who aren’t as lucky as me, if it’s just put into a high-yield savings account, it means the difference between being able to have a roof over your head or being homeless,” he said. “Who knows how much money it’s been for other kids.” 

In front of the House Children and Family Law Committee, Hayes will tell lawmakers and introduce them to his sister as well. She’s a few years older than he is, and Mallon and Warwick bought her a car, allowing her to get a job without worrying about transportation. 

With her entitled disability benefits, she could have had cash to do that herself, he points out. 

When Wallner’s request to hire a consultant went to Sununu’s desk last year, Hayes wrote to the governor asking him to take his story into account. 

Now, he’s hoping lawmakers will do the same.