Georgia: Disturbing findings in the 2024 DFCS foster care report

Children who are placed in foster care are among the most vulnerable in our society. A report was recently released that highlights human rights violations within the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services, also known as DFCS. The report details failures in the form of compliance violations, child neglect, and a failure to perform the most basic tasks to ensure the safety of children.

The failures paint a picture of how children in the care of the state of Georgia have suffered injuries as a result of physical abuse, human trafficking, and death. How are officials in Georgia handling the news? By claiming that “other states have higher rates of children missing from foster care.” DFCS also pointed out that the number of cases that resulted in sex trafficking is a “projection, not evidence specific to any case from Georgia.” The report itself accuses the DFCS Director, Candice Broce, of asking her department to strongly defend their failures.

The report brings up failures that have widely affected their community. Including the details in the case of missing child Quinton Simon, who is believe to have been killed by his mother after DFCS failed to ensure compliance in his case prior to his disappearance. It also details other instances of child neglect and death.

The failure to be in compliance in the case of missing child Quinton Simon costed Chatham County funds that they did not have to spend. The County’s Board of Commissioners approved the reallocation of $250,000 from the school zone camera fund to police to support an “active long-term investigation.” As previously reported by WJCL.

Violations within the foster care system in Georgia have existed for many years, Health and Human Services initiated a program improvement plan for Georgia in 2017, as stated in the report. The plan was initiated to address failures that were endangering the lives of vulnerable children in Georgia. A representative from Health and Human Services testified that Georgia failed to complete the plan and was fined for failure to achieve requirements that were put in place for the safety of children in foster care.

Failing to comply with these requirements has resulted in child abuse, neglect and death. Over 100 witnesses and sources appeared at public hearings to testify about their knowledge of the inner workings of DFCS based on their experience. Families and youth affected by foster care, juvenile court judges, the FBI, and more.

Findings from the report:

• The investigation validates reports that DFCS failed to meet basic standards that prevent children from experiencing sexual abuse and death
• Nearly 2,000 children were reported missing while in the care of DFCS
• 410 children possibly victims of sex trafficking based on projections by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Juvenile court judges testified that DFCS improperly held juveniles in detention centers
• Only 13% of cases received adequate mental and behavioral health needs
• Only 40% of children in the care DFCS received proper medical and dental care
• Mental and physical health care for children in the care of DFCS has rapidly declined from the already low rates in 2015 when it was roughly 29%
• The report accuses DFCS of dismissing previous reports that revealed “systemic” child safety failures

View the report:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/georgia-2024-102344096?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link