In Georgia the median length of stay for children in foster care in the 1999 point-in-time profile was 18.29 months and for the cohort group it was 14.39. In May of 1996, the Georgia Department of Audit and Accounts conducted a program evaluation that focused on the length of time children stay in foster care. "It did not attempt to evaluate other aspects of foster care such as prevention, safety in foster care or whether foster care placements were appropriate. The evaluation sought to identify the impact that management (at both the local and state level) has on the average length of stay in foster care and to identify problems that impacts the length of stay in foster care. The evaluation found the following:

• Goals and measurable objectives regarding length of stay in foster care are needed. The state also needs to provide more program monitoring to help local foster care workers minimize children's stays in foster care while continuing to ensure their safety. While Georgia's "reported" average length of stay in foster care compares favorably with figures "reported" by other states (national benchmarks do not exists), the evaluation team feels that room for improvement still exists. The amount of improvement cannot be predicted; however, a directed effort to identify and address problems that hinder the permanent placement of children in foster care should ultimately result in a reduced average length of stay.

• The Internal Data System (IDS) used to track children in foster care did not provide reliable information on the length of stay in foster care, and length of stay data in the IDS does not match information in case files.

• Computerized data is needed to adequately monitor length of stay in foster care, the time children spend in smaller component parts of the overall foster care process, the status of children available for adoption, and children whose permanent placement has been identified as long-term foster care.

• More study is needed to determine if local foster care workers' "caseloads" have an impact on the average length of stay of children in foster care.

• Problems that may impact children's length of stay in foster care (such as lack of parental responsibility, problems with severing parental rights) have not been thoroughly analyzed or quantified by program personnel."

A follow-up to the length of time in foster care evaluation was conducted in 1998 and identified that the Department of Human Resources had taken action to address, or was in the process of addressing, each of the findings in the evaluation:

• The Department has developed goals and performance measures regarding length of stay in foster care. The Department's Results Based Budget for FY 1999 includes goals and measures for making permanent placement decisions within 12 months and for expediting the adoptive placement of children in the permanent custody of the Department. ASFA and Senate Bill 611 helped to frame these measures. In addition, Georgia's First Placement/Best Placement Initiative is a structured plan and one of its main objectives is to shorten the length of stay in foster care.

• The Department is in the process of developing the data needed to adequately monitor length of stay in foster care. To address immediate problems with the accuracy and timeliness of the limited data available through the IDS, the Department's Quality Assurance Section has started reviews to ensure the IDS data is accurate and timely.

Problems identified in the evaluation that may impact children's length of stay in foster care have been, or in the process of being analyzed. Problems with the lack of parental responsibility and problems with severing parental rights have been studied. Changes in State and Federal laws have been made to facilitate severing parental rights.