Ossoff puts Ga. foster care system under the microscope

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff addressed the ongoing issues with foster care here at home.

Ossoff says an internal audit from the Department of Family and Children Services shows that 84% of reviewed cases failed to make efforts to address risk and safety concerns of kids.

Back in February, our I-TEAM found issues ranging from caseworkers not responding to child abuse cases quickly to placement issues for victims of human trafficking.

In 2019, Lincoln Davitte died just before his second birthday. People close to him said there were warning signs and that the Department of Family and Children Services was warned.

“The first day I got there, I walked in and he had two black eyes and a busted mouth,” said Jessica Oster, Lincoln’s teacher, in 2019 when we spoke to her.

Last year, our sister station in Atlanta reported children were living out of a DFACS office. Too many children have been falling through the cracks, it’s why this hearing was so important.

“Our role at this time is to investigate and understand what is happening to the most vulnerable children in the state of Georgia,” said Ossoff.

Wellroot Family Services, a local foster care agency, says they are doing everything they can to protect foster kids. They require foster parents to through training and their case managers meet with parents on a regular basis.

“We really focus on ing foster families to make sure that the children in their care can have the best possible experience from the recruitment that we do to the immense amount of training that we do for foster families, to the and ongoing training that we give to families once children are placed with them. We want to ensure that the homes that the children are placed in are as safe and secure as possible,” said Allison Ashe, Wellroot CEO.

And today, safety and security were top of mind.

“In Georgia, there are three levels of response depending on the severity of the allegation. Immediately, within 24 hours, or within 72 hours,” said Melissa Carter, a professor and witness at the hearing.

But if that doesn’t happen or the agency continues to miss critical chances to step in, more children will become statistics.

One mom spoke of her daughter who she felt was failed by the system after her daughter was killed.

“Brooklyn’s death can not be in vain I’m here today to seek change. The child care system is supposed to protect families not destroy them,” said Rachel Aldridge, Brooklyn’s mother and witness at the hearing.

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