2023-08-30 09:08:00
“I have just discovered that 145 million euros belonging to foster children are sleeping in Caisse des dépôts accounts. It is with these words that the child rights activist Lyes Louffok alerted, Sunday on X (formerly Twitter), about a tidy sum that would gather dust in the files of the public financial institution.
Since 2016, the law has entrusted the Deposit Fund (CDC) the mission of receiving and protecting the back-to-school allowances (ARS) of children entrusted to the child welfare service (ASE). The sums are kept until their majority or their emancipation. “The idea of the so-called Rossignol law was that young people in care could benefit from protection after their majority, until they were 21,” explains the author of “In the hell of the homes”.
I have just discovered that 145 million euros belonging to foster children are sleeping in Caisse des Dépôts accounts. Since 2016, the Back to School Allowance has been paid into an account in the name of the child in order to provide him with a small nest egg at 18 years old. ↓
— Lyes Louffok (@LyesLouffok) August 27, 2023
“Since the creation of this mechanism, we had no idea of the available stock”, annoys Lyes Louffok, who discovered its reality unexpectedly. The information leaked… through a job advertisement posted by the CDC. The financial organization said it was looking for a “Protected Childhood Project Manager” whose task would be to manage this fund, by providing hitherto unpublished information. “The outstanding amount of these accounts represents 145 million euros to date, but only 42% of the children concerned receive, for lack of information, this savings to which they are entitled”, explains the announcement.
“Almost 60% of kids don’t know”
Contacted, the CDC confirmed to us the outstanding amount of 145 million euros as of December 31, 2022 for 126,371 children concerned. The public establishment also specifies that in 2022, the average sum was 885 euros for young people at their majority, with a very precise payment rate of 42.3%. Other important information: the child who has become an adult can recover sums deposited with the Caisse des dépôts for thirty years. After this period, they are paid back to the State if the beneficiary has not come forward.
“It is a fundamental aid for children in care, enough to pay a first deposit or a driving license when they become emancipated, recalls Lyes Louffok. I find it unfortunate that there is not more communication on this subject when nearly 60% of kids are not aware. It is their due. The activist also underlines unequal access to the ARS for some, such as wards of the Nation or unaccompanied minors who are not entitled to it. This situation, which accentuates the inequalities within an already precarious population, has not escaped the Secretariat for Children.
A “young adults” bill in the boxes
“The low rate of restitution of this allowance is clearly identified by the government. At the beginning of the year, I sent a letter to all the departmental councils, federations of establishments and user associations with a reminder of the terms of the restitution system as well as a summary brochure intended for young people concerned”, assures us Charlotte Caubel, the Secretary of State for Children. According to government member Borne, these terms detail the dedicated support process that the CDC has deployed, with a specific online procedure and specialized telephone advisers.
“I also asked the main players, Caisse des dépôts, CAF and the General Directorate for Social Cohesion (DGCS), to find a solution that would further facilitate the information and identification of beneficiaries. Work is underway to remedy the inequalities in treatment that are intrinsic to the current system. I hope that we can quickly implement a structural measure, which can act on these two aspects, ”concludes the Secretary of State. According to our information, she is working on a “young adults” bill for the coming months.
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