Online access will help children who have lost a parent
First Focus on Children and other leading advocacy organizations are urging the Social Security Administration (SSA) to streamline access to benefits for children who have lost a parent.
In a letter to the Commissioner, First Focus on Children, Child Welfare League of America, Easterseals, and Save the Children, urged SSA to modernize and improve access by allowing applicants to file applications and schedule appointments online.
“Losing a parent is a horrible shock for a child to have to endure. For decades, Social Security has helped mitigate that loss by providing critical benefits that help kids reach their full potential even after they’ve lost a parent,” said Chad Bolt, Senior Vice President for Economic Security at First Focus on Children. “But many families don’t know about the benefits or aren’t able to easily apply for them. That’s why we’re encouraging the Social Security Administration to take a few simple steps to connect these kids and their families with the benefits they’re already eligible for.”
“It is our collective responsibility—as parents, communities, and a nation—to ensure that every child has what they need to survive and flourish. When a child endures the unthinkable loss of someone who loved and cared for them, the trauma can be profound and lifelong”, said Linda Spears, President and CEO of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA). “We cannot afford complacency in addressing that harm. We must do everything in our power to provide children with ready access to the resources intended for their daily care and well-being. The CWLA urgently calls on the Social Security Administration to build on its commitment to survivors and meet today’s needs to simplify and modernize access, so that eligible children receive the critical benefits they need.”
“When a parent dies, a family shouldn’t have to fight an outdated bureaucratic process to access benefits their child is already owed. Roughly one million children are missing Social Security survivor benefits, not because they don’t qualify, but because the application process creates barriers,” said Ted Thompson, Senior Vice President of Government Relations at Easterseals. “Moving this application online and enabling self-scheduling are common-sense fixes well within SSA’s existing authority. Easterseals is proud to stand with First Focus on Children and our partners in calling on Commissioner Bisignano to support child survivors.”
The request follows a “digital-first” approach to government services and recent recommendations issued by the Social Security Advisory Board.
Social Security is one of the nation’s most effective anti-poverty programs for children, providing critical income support to children and families following the death of a parent. But despite its importance, too many eligible children are not receiving the benefits for which they’re eligible. Recent analysis suggests that roughly one million children whose parents died are not connected to survivor benefits, often due to gaps in awareness and administrative barriers that make applying unnecessarily difficult. This leaves children without the support that helps mitigate the economic shock of losing a parent and their income – which can lead to negative education, health, and employment outcomes later in a child’s life.
Improving the current application process could help close this gap.