各州利用寄养儿童的联邦福利来抵消成本。 States utilize foster children's federal benefits to offset costs.

几十年来，各州一直利用寄养儿童的联邦福利，例如社会保障遗属福利，来抵消州服务的成本。 For decades, states have utilized foster children's federal benefits, such as Social Security survivor's benefits, to offset the costs of state services. 然而，在儿童权益倡导者的压力下，这种做法开始改变。儿童权益倡导者认为，各州应该将这些资金中的一部分存起来或划拨出来，用于寄养儿童年满 18 岁后的福利。 However, this practice is starting to change under pressure from child advocates who argue that states should save or allocate a portion of these funds for the welfare of foster children once they turn 18. 在许多情况下，这些福利全部被寄养系统或亲属用来支付寄养费用，寄养儿童成年后就什么也没有剩下。 In many cases, the entirety of these benefits is used by foster care systems or relatives to cover foster care expenses, leaving nothing for the foster child once they reach adulthood.