For those that are not aware, many foster parents have been receiving over-payment notices that they didn’t neccesarily owe, dating back to 6 years ago, and some for thousands of dollars. This has caused a huge stir in the foster care world. Shala Crow of Fostering Together brought this to the latest 1624 meeting as an issue. A few weeks later Beth and I met with Jennifer to follow up and Jennifer has taken action. Here is a note from Jennifer Strus.
Mike and Beth – I met with the fiscal staff today and we will discontinue sending over payment notices to foster parents. There is an argument that the payments do not meet the definition of “overpayment” anyway. We are working on rescinding the notices that have gone out so far and also refunding the money that some folks have already paid. This will take a bit to accomplish but know that as of today, CA will not refer these cases to OFR for collection anymore. I will keep you posted of how the rest of the stuff will work so you can keep foster parents informed. We can also discuss at our next 1624 meeting. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Have a good weekend. Jennifer
Jennifer A. Strus
Assistant Secretary
Children’s Administration