I was 13 when I lost my father. Then the state took what he left behind.
Justin was 13 when he heard the words no child should hear. His father — the man who taught him to ride a bike, who worked overtime to keep the lights on — was gone. Cancer had taken him in months. Within a year, Justin and his four siblings were in foster care.
What I didn't know right away: the state of Michigan had quietly applied to become the representative payee for my Social Security survivor benefits. No one told me. No one asked permission. Over three years, more than $18,000 — money my father had earned through a lifetime of work — was silently intercepted to reimburse the state for my care.
"Nobody told me. My father worked his whole life, and the money he left behind was quietly taken to pay the state back for my foster care. That could have been college tuition, a security deposit, a foundation for my future."
Today, Justin is a University of Michigan graduate and policy advocate. He has testified before the Michigan Senate and Kansas House, urging passage of legislation to ensure no foster child ever faces the same betrayal.