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GEORGIA: “Foster children experiencing ‘high’ rate of abuse and neglect”
01.28.2010 | Child Protection / Foster Care
By: Craig Schneider
As a result of the settlement of a 2005 lawsuit filed by Children’s Rights Inc. against Fulton and DeKalb counties, two federal monitors were appointed to evaluate the performance of the counties’ foster care systems. According to the monitors’ recent report, the counties were found to have too high of a rate of abuse and neglect of children in foster care. The consent decree requires that the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), which directs the child welfare systems, have no greater than a 0.57 percentage rate of children abused or neglected while in the care of the state; however, the report found the rate to be 1.06 percent. Dena Smith, spokeswoman for DFCS, responded by stating that additional staff and resources have been added in order to make improvements. According the report, an explanation for the “high” abuse and neglect findings may be a result of decreased staffing and lack of monitoring of private foster care agencies that work with the state to provide care.
The Atlanta Journal – Constitution, January 24, 2010
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