Dear Governor Barnes:

We, as stakeholders in the child welfare system, are very grateful for your leadership and commitment to reform as shown by your FY 2002 budget recommendations. You listened to our requests and you added even more funds. We thank you, and we look forward to working with you on the second installment of your special child welfare initiative.

Your vision for an improved child welfare system requires more resources. The 2001 federal review of Georgia's child welfare system highlights the system's continuing failure to protect children. We know that maltreated children are significantly more likely to become involved in delinquent or criminal behavior and otherwise consume a disproportionate share of state resources. We support your efforts to remedy the deficiencies of our system.

On your desk, you have a budget request from DHR to improve and strengthen the child welfare system. Unfortunately that request does not reflect the actual need. During our meeting on November 30, 2001, we agreed that, in addition to DHR's budget request, the following items are critical to the welfare of our children.

• Exempt all items in the child welfare initiative as defined in your original proposal from budget reductions, for both FY 2002 and FY 2003.

• Invest a portion of the reserves, which are currently estimated to exceed one billion dollars, in the child welfare initiative.

• Expand prevention services and placement options for children that will save state resources in the future.

• Strengthen the mental health system for children, which is interdependent with the child welfare system.

We know you understand child welfare reform requires a multi-year commitment. We will continue to advocate and to monitor the progress of our system toward achieving these goals. We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this dialogue and look forward to further budget and policy discussions.