relative to the department of health and human services management of social security payments, supplemental security income payments, and veterans benefits for children in foster care.

HB 661 requires New Hampshire's Department of Health and Human Services to ensure children in foster care receive federal benefits like Social Security and veterans' payments. Within 60 days of a child entering foster care, the department must check for existing benefits or apply for them, and if it becomes the representative payee, it must manage those funds exclusively for the child's unmet needs (not for care costs) using special accounts like ABLE accounts. The bill mandates annual reports to the child and family, prohibits using benefits to cover care expenses, and requires returning any remaining funds when the child exits foster care.