DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A Davidson County mom is fighting for answers from county and state leaders about how thousands of dollars in death benefits were spent before her adopted children were in her care. Christopher and Falen came to Sana Myers as foster kids in October 2022 after their biological father passed away. The two kids were set to receive more than $900 a month per child.  After their foster care stipend is taken out, they're left with $269 per child per month. That's over $10,000 from the time they were with Myers as foster children. That money stays with the Davidson County Department of Social Services while the kids are considered foster children and is for bills, food, clothing and appointments, but Myers has always had questions about where that money was going. "Any time my kids needed to go to the doctor, I took them. I never asked any of the social workers to do anything for me. That's my responsibility," Myers said. Myers fostered the kids for almost two years aside from a four-month stay with their biological aunt. Any extra money that wasn't spent by the DCDSS while the two were in foster care was supposed to come back to Myers from the Social Security Administration after she adopted them in August 2024, but she never saw a check. "Show me where the money's gone for the last two years," Myers said. "It's theirs, It's what they're entitled to." Myers reached out in September 2024. Leaders with the DCDSS told her the money was spent on care for the kids and other bills, and leftover money would go to Social Security. She called the Social Security office which sent her back to the DCDSS and said there was no check for her, and they couldn't share with her how the money was spent. When Myers went back to the DCDSS to ask for a breakdown of how the money was spent, they told her child welfare records were confidential, and they couldn't share them with her. "I feel like they're my kids ... I should be able to know anything and everything," Myers said. With no check and no answers, she reached out to FOX8. When we reached out to the county manager, he shared two letters with us sent to the Social Security Administration, indicating the DCDSS sent the money back for both kids in October 2024. The county manager also shared an email with us to the Social Security Administration, which was dated Jan. 15, after we got involved. Portions of the email are redacted, but one line states the check is being reissued. FOX8 reached out to the Social Security Office to ask who got the original check and how a payee for these benefits is determined and is waiting to hear back. We later learned from Myers a check is on its way back to her from the office for $1,500, which is well under the $10,000 she was expecting. "We could put it in a college fund for them and let it grow. We could purchase their cars whenever it comes time for that. There's a lot of things that money could go towards that is rightfully theirs, and nobody can tell me where it is," Myers said. When FOX8 reached out to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to ask why Myers isn't allowed to know how her children's money was spent, they pushed us back to the Social Security Administration and said in part: “Child Welfare records are confidential and protected by state and federal laws … We would recommend someone with questions about how social security benefits were previously spent contact the Social Security Office to see what may be able to be shared. Individuals may also want to seek their own, private legal counsel for assistance.” Myers is now stuck hoping for help from her elected leaders at a county and state level to offer some kind of explanation. She worries the red tape could keep other people from growing their families through the foster and adoption system. "It's going to make a lot of people say ... 'I wanted to be a foster parent, but I don't want to ... jump through these hoops. I don't want to be treated this way,'" said Myers. "It makes me question everything." There is an additional almost $8,000 Myers says the aunt who fostered the kids temporarily is owed, and she's trying to track that money down, too.