Office of Sen.

Mike Johnston
Colorado General Assembly | 200 E. Colfax Avenue | Denver, CO 80203 | 303.866.4864

FACT SHEET MEMORANDUM

SB 13-047 Concerning Protections for Youth in Foster Care Against Identity Theft Sen. Newell Staff Name: Amanda Levin What the Bill Does: The law currently permits youth between the ages of 16-18 to obtain a free credit report if the credit report shows evidence of potential identity theft. It excludes youth who are in the custody of the division of youth corrections or a state mental hospital. This bill would change current law by removing the exclusion of youth in custody of the division of youth corrections or a state mental hospital, expanding the ages of youth to any youth age 16 or older and in foster care, and would require the department of human services to obtain annual credit reports instead of just a single report. Colorado Context: Identify theft is a common problem for children in foster care.1 Foster care children are three times more likely to get their identities stolen then other children in Colorado.2 National Context: The Federal Government passed an amendment to the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act on September 30, 2011. Section 106 requires that states make sure that every child under state responsibility who reached age of 16 receives, for free: (1) a copy of any consumer report pertaining to that child until the child is discharged from care, and (2) assistance in interpreting and resolving any inaccuracies in the report. California, Connecticut, Delaware3, Virginia4, have recently passed legislation aimed at protecting youth in foster care from identity theft.5
1

Childrens Advocacy Institute, The Fleecing of Foster Children, How we confiscate their assets and undermine their financial security, 2011, at 8, http://www.caichildlaw.org/Misc/Fleecing_EMBARGOED_ExecSumm.pdf. 2 CBS Denver, Foster Care Children Get Help With ID Theft, July 1, 2011, http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/07/01/foster-care-children-get-help-with-id-theft/. 3 News.Delaware.Gov, Governor Signs Bill Requiring Credit Check to Protect Children Aging out of Foster Care from Identify Theft, July 25, 2012, http://news.delaware.gov/2012/07/25/governor-signs-bill-requiring-credit-check-toprotect-children-aging-out-of-foster-care-from-identity-theft/. 4 National Conference of State Legislature, http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/human-services/2012-childwelfare-enacted-legislation-database.aspx. 5 Childrens Advocacy Institute, The Fleecing of Foster Children, How we confiscate their assets and undermine their financial security, 2011, at 8, http://www.caichildlaw.org/Misc/Fleecing_EMBARGOED_ExecSumm.pdf.

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For a complete list of fact sheets, visit www.mikejohnston.org/in-the-legislature.

Bill Provisions: Each youth in foster care who is custody of a county department of human or social services or the department of human service, and who is at least 16 years old, will receive a free annual credit report from the department of human services. The applicable department will inform the court with jurisdiction of any inaccuracies in the report. Childs guardian ad litem shall advise the youth of possible consequences and options to address the possible theft. Fiscal Impact: The Colorado Legislative Council estimates there will be a fiscal impact of $31,100 in the FY 2013-2014 and 30,600 in FY 2014-2015, because the DHS will contract with three major credit reporting agencies, in order to give the DHS staff and county departments the ability to pull credit reports for youths. These credit reporting agencies charge for organizational access to their databases, and one requires a onetime set-up fee. The majority of costs are associated with credit report remediation, to correct inaccuracies or fraud detected on youths credit reports.

DRAFT 3/5/2013 1:20 PM

For a complete list of fact sheets, visit www.mikejohnston.org/in-the-legislature.