Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic Policy Paper

The time to act is now. There is great need for higher salaries, more caseworkers, better trained caseworkers, better work conditions, and more resources including adequate legal representation, appropriate placements for children, and a statewide information system. In Georgia, child protection case worker salaries are deplorably low, case loads are dangerously high, and case workers lack the tools, training, support, and resources that are essential to protect Georgia's children. Caseworkers are leaving their jobs at an alarming rate, and there have been four DHR commissioners and five DFCS directors in the past ten years.

Now is the time to make the changes necessary to raise the standards for child protection in Georgia. The existing system in Georgia is failing to protect children, and this failure has drawn the attention of the national media. Time Magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show and 60 Minutes have recently addressed the issue of child protection failures in Georgia. While national attention is increasingly focused on Georgia's CPS system, the public and political support within Georgia for systemic improvements to CPS is growing. This item received the most votes on the Georgia Children's Agenda ballot, and thousands of people participated in the CPS Task Force public forums.

There are success stories as well. The Oprah Winfrey Show highlighted two successful Atlanta organizations serving young people by honoring them with her Angel Award: My House and Inner Strength. Several other initiatives are also developing around this issue. Community leaders have formed a Georgia Alliance of the Black Community Crusade for Children, an initiative of the Children's Defense Fund. Peachprint, a long-range plan for Georgia's children, is also being developed. Additionally, discussions are taking place among state graduate schools of social work regarding collaborative training solutions for DFCS caseworkers. Finally, Marian Wright Edelman of the renowned Children's Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. traveled to Georgia on January 18, 2001 to introduce the inaugural Child Watch program, sponsored by the Atlanta Child Watch Coalition.

In his budget address to the General Assembly on January 11, 2001, Governor Roy Barnes pledged his support for many of the changes proposed in this policy paper.⁸⁶ We are encouraged by his support for this initiative, and for his support of Georgia's children. We hope that this paper will be used as a tool for child advocates and policy makers as they work together to protect the children of Georgia.