(The Center Square) — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is launching an inquiry into reports that Georgia officials have failed the children in their care.
Ossoff, D-Georgia, and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, sent a letter to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services questioning the agency’s ability to protect children in their care.
“As leaders, we have no higher obligation than to protect those who cannot protect themselves — especially children at risk of abuse or neglect,” the senators wrote in a letter to Candice Broce, commissioner of the Department of Human Services and director of the DFCS.
“Our nation’s foster care systems implicate the most fundamental human rights of American families and children, including their safety, dignity, and wellbeing,” the lawmakers added. “Yet recent official and press reports raise serious concerns about the ability of Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children in its care.”
Ossoff chairs the U.S. Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, while Blackburn is the ranking member.
The lawmakers cited reporting from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about an investigation by the Georgia Office of the Child Advocate. The lawmakers’ letter indicates there are roughly 11,000 children in foster care in Georgia on any given day.
According to a news release, the report found widespread, systemic breakdowns within Georgia’s foster care system. It also revealed that caseworkers did not properly respond to cases of child abuse and placement services for human trafficking, sexual abuse and physical abuse victims were often “inadequate” or “inappropriate.”
A news release from Ossoff also cites a report from WSB-TV earlier this month that revealed the state spent $28 million last year to house children in hotels, sometimes for months.
“We have received the letter, and we look forward to sharing our efforts to protect Georgia’s children,” the DHS said in a statement Friday to The Center Square.
Spokespeople for Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, did not respond to a request for comment on the inquiry, while a spokeswoman for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican, declined to comment. When contacted by The Center Square on Friday, no one answered the OCA’s phone, and its voicemail was full.
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