State of Alaska, Department of Health and Social Services; Adam Crum in his Official Capacity as Commissioner of the…

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the superior court’s judgment concerning the State’s practice of applying to serve as representative payee for foster children and using their Social Security benefits to reimburse foster-care costs. The court held that the practice was not preempted, but that due process required notice describing the practice, its financial consequences, and the possibility of proposing another representative payee. The court also held that the asserted equal protection claim and requested restitution remedies were preempted by federal law.