Able Americans

Each year, thousands of young Americans with disabilities age out of foster care and step into adulthood with little more than determination. Too often, they do so without the financial tools or education needed to build independence and stability.

It is estimated that 25% of youth who had been in fos­ter care at age 17 and sur­veyed at age 21 said that they had been home­less at some point in the last two years. Foster youth also frequently struggle with credit issues, debt, and a lack of financial education, according to the National Foster Youth Institute.

Kansas decided to change that.

This fall, the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities (KCDD), in partnership with the Kansas Department for Children and Families, the Office of the Kansas State Treasurer, and the Kansas Council on Economic Education, launched a first-of-its-kind initiative to help foster youth with disabilities open and manage ABLE accounts—tax-advantaged savings accounts that allow individuals with disabilities to save for their futures without losing access to critical benefits like Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.

The program, supported by a KCDD grant, will reach an estimated 700 young Kansans in its first year, offering targeted financial education and practical support to help youth save for education, housing, transportation, or other essentials as they transition to adulthood.

This effort builds on Governor Laura Kelly’s Executive Order 25-01, which ended the long-standing practice of the states using foster youths’ federal benefits to reimburse themselves for the cost of care. Instead, Kansas now preserves those benefits for the youth—and when eligible, invests them directly into ABLE accounts.

The Marshall Project and NPR found in a 2021 report that “in at least 49 states* and Washington, D.C., foster care agencies comb through their case files to find kids entitled to these benefits, then apply to Social Security to become each child’s financial representative, a process permitted by federal regulations. Once approved, the agencies take the money, almost always without notifying the children, their loved ones or lawyers.”

Kansas’s reform was the right thing to do—and the smart thing to do. It recognizes that young people with disabilities in the foster care system deserve the same opportunity to plan, save, and invest in their futures as their peers.

The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, passed by Congress in 2014 with broad bipartisan support, was created to expand financial freedom for individuals with disabilities. Yet, in many states, the promise of ABLE remains unfulfilled—particularly for young people in the foster care system who stand to benefit the most.

Kansas is demonstrating what’s possible when agencies work together and prioritize upward mobility and independence for all. It’s a model that blends sound fiscal policy with compassion, ensuring that federal dollars meant to support youth in care actually help them build a future beyond the system.

Now, it’s time for other states to follow suit. Policymakers should partner across disability and child welfare systems to:

• End the practice of reclaiming all of foster youths’ federal benefits for state reimbursement
• Expand access to ABLE accounts for eligible youth with disabilities to help them save for when they age out of foster care
• Integrate financial literacy education into foster care programming

Financial empowerment is not just an economic issue—it’s a matter of equal opportunity. By investing in the long-term independence of foster youth with disabilities, we can strengthen communities, reduce dependency, and fulfill the original promise of the ABLE Act.

Kansas is leading the way. The rest of the nation should take note—and take action.