Exclusive | Trump admin signs up 30th state to eradicateorphan tax on foster kids as New York continues to buck Melanias plea

The Trump administration has persuaded a 30th state to stop using the “orphan tax” after Melania Trump pushed a program that helps set up children in the foster care system for success later in life.New York, however, is one of 20 states that continue the practice of taking a foster child’s Social Security survivor or disability benefits to reimburse themselves for the cost of the child’s care, leaving them penniless when they age out of the system. Those funds, which can add up to thousands of dollars, could be the difference between success and poverty for children when they go out into the world. Alex Admas, the assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), told The Post that survivor benefits mean “the difference between success or not.”“It’s a down payment on a house.It’s years of apartment rent.

It’s higher education.It meant so much to those kids and so little to the state,” he said.When a parent dies after having worked and paid into Social Security, their child is entitled to a monthly survivor benefit.

But for those orphans who end up in foster care, many states intercept those funds, in what’s been dubbed the “orphan tax.”Critics call the practice “double billing,” as state and federal law already require the state to pay for foster care.States have taken $179 million from foster kids’ Social Security in a single year, the End the Orphan Tax group estimates.Survivor benefits usually average about $1,100 per month – money that can add up to help foster children jump-start their education or have safe housing.“If a child’s in foster care for two or three years, you can see that it adds up to some real resources for them,” Admas noted.The Trump administration has been urging states to end the practice.

On Wednesday, Oklahoma became the latest state to disavow the tax.“Every child deserves the opportunity to pursue the American Dream and build a brighter future, regardless of the ci...