AI-generated summary, reviewed by Better Utah staff.

Under current law, the state Department of Health and Human Services can use up to 75% of a foster child's federal benefits — such as Social Security or Veterans Affairs payments — to cover basic care costs like food, housing, and transportation. This bill reduces that cap to 25%, requiring the department to conserve or invest the remaining 75% in an account held on the child's behalf until custody ends. Children in state foster care who receive federal benefits will have significantly more of their own money preserved and transferred to them when they leave state custody, rather than being used to offset the cost of their care.