Georgia achieves highest marks yet on child welfare report

Georgia has received its highest marks yet for improving child welfare in Fulton and DeKalb counties in a report released June 19 by court monitors tracking the State’s progress in fulfilling the provisions of the “Kenny A.” consent decree.

Specifically, the Department of Human Resources (DHR) Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) improved in child safety, finding permanent homes for children, reducing the number of children who re-enter foster care and education. DFCS also surpassed the consent decree’s maltreatment in care standard and demonstrated the highest level of performance yet recorded on all child safety outcomes. Significantly, the report concluded that more children were achieving safe, lifelong connections with caring adults than at any time since the Period II report in December 2006. Also, the number of children re-entering the foster care system is the lowest ever measured for the consent decree. Another major indicator was the number of youth graduating from high school or receiving their GED, which increased by more than 21 percent in 2008.

The report, known as the Period VI Monitoring Report, used 28 outcomes to measure DFCS’ performance in specific areas of children welfare between July 1, 2008, and December 31, 2008. According to the report, DFCS’ overall performance in Period VI was the best yet measured in the consent decree’s six reporting periods.

“Although we have made great strides, there is still work that needs to be done to provide all children in our care with permanent homes and safety from abuse” said Mark A. Washington, DHR assistant commissioner and director of the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).

“The strides we have made on the ‘Kenny A.’ consent decree mirrors the overall progress the state has made in child welfare since 2004,” said B.J. Walker, DHR commissioner. “Today, there are fewer children in foster care, more children are being placed with relatives, the recurrence of child maltreatment is well below the national average and the average caseload per caseworker has significantly decreased. These aren’t just figures on a piece of paper. These are achievements that have enhanced the lives of Georgia’s children and their families.”

The Period VI Monitoring Report details opportunities for improvement in key areas, including the number of caseloads per case manager, the timeliness of permanency hearings and the monitoring of maltreatment reports in DFCS-supervised foster homes.

To address the increase in caseloads, DHR has given priority to filling critical positions like case managers in Fulton and DeKalb counties.

The “Kenny A.” consent decree is the result of a class action lawsuit filed in June 2002, on behalf of children in foster care in Fulton and DeKalb counties. A settlement agreement was reached with state officials in July 2005.

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New Effort Begins to Find Permanent Homes for More Foster Kids

As part of an effort to help Georgia’s foster children make a “lifelong connection,” the Georgia Department of Human Resources Division of Family and Children Services (DHR DFCS) is partnering with a nationally-renowned private foundation that specializes in helping child welfare agencies find permanent homes for more children.

Seattle, Washington-based Casey Family Programs is investing several million dollars over the next few years to strengthen DFCS’ ability to find permanent homes for some of its most difficult child welfare cases. Children who are older, have developmental disabilities or behavioral illnesses, or who belong to large sibling groups often face serious obstacles when trying to find permanent homes. Casey has a track record for helping states develop best practices that overcome these barriers.

“Permanency is something we’ve always done,” said Mark A. Washington, DHR assistant commissioner who oversees DFCS. “Since 2004, we’ve helped more children find a permanent, loving home. But the reason some of these youth are still not home is that there are major road blocks for them. Now we’re building new bridges. Working with Casey, we’ve developed an attack plan that targets each case and finds a solution for permanency.”

DHR began its partnership with Casey in spring 2008 to identify strategies for placing more foster children in permanent homes. Later, DHR and Casey escalated their work to help DHR settle a legal dispute on December 11 with Children’s Rights Inc. While that agreement begins with foster children in Fulton and DeKalb counties, DHR expects to apply the “permanency” strategies it was already developing with Casey throughout Georgia. Those strategies emphasize several options for foster children, including reunifying them with their existing families, placing them with relatives or legal guardians, or finding them adoptive homes.

“Different solutions work for different children,” Washington said. “But our goal is a lifelong connection for every child. We look forward to working with private providers to help make that connection.”

DHR is working with Casey Family Programs to conduct case reviews, called “Permanency Roundtables,” to determine the specific barriers a particular child faces to a permanent home solution. The Permanency Roundtable is a Casey best practice that unites child welfare case workers with other stakeholders to create a comprehensive strategy on a case-by-case basis. In addition, Casey is helping DFCS hire “master practitioners” – highly skilled workers whose sole focus is examining permanency strategies for youth – and create reporting measures to track efforts. DHR is also establishing a Permanency Unit that coordinates efforts to find more permanent solutions for more children.

DHR’s latest efforts build on years of work to transform Georgia’s child welfare system. Since 2004, DHR has added new case workers and reduced the number of Georgia children in foster care by 21 percent. Each year, more children leave foster care than enter it. And children are spending less time in foster care than before (in 2003, the average stay in foster care was 22 months before permanency. Today, the average stay is 19.9 months). Five years ago, a child seeking adoption waited 44 months on average to find a new home. Today, the average wait is about 38 months.

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