State foster care agencies have been taking benefits that belong to some of the most vulnerable kids. Here’s what to ask to see if it’s happened to you — and how to ask for your money back.

The majority of states obtain money intended for foster children with disabilities or a deceased parent without telling them, The Marshall Project and NPR found.

Every year, thousands of children are removed from their homes by officials who fear for their safety—only to be returned within days. It “felt like being kidnapped,” one said.

Being stripped of parental rights while in prison, even for minor crimes, is “the family separation crisis that no one knows about,” one advocate said.