Georgia’s human services commissioner is firing back at an inquiry into the state’s foster care system, saying U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s efforts “leave the unfortunate impression that the goals of this investigation are political.”
Lawyers hired by the state wrote a letter Tuesday to the Georgia Democrat and Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, disputing testimony Monday by two Georgia juvenile judges who said Commissioner Candice Broce asked judges to violate state law by keeping some children inappropriately locked in juvenile detention centers.
The judges said Broce, in an August meeting, asked judges to order children with mental and behavioral problems to be detained by the Department of Juvenile Justice while the state’s Division of Family and Children Services looked for a place to house them.
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“Commissioner Broce did not encourage judges to violate state law, and it has never been DFCS policy to punish a child with complex needs through detention,” wrote Patrick Strawbridge, a private lawyer hired by the state.
The letter says the judges’ statements Monday lacked “critically important context and accuracy” about a meeting that it says was intended to discuss recent changes in law, possible proposals for more legal changes and ways to better collaborate. It’s often hard to find an appropriate place to care for the most troubled juveniles.
“Ultimately the courts and DFCS are in this fight together, and must stay focused on productive efforts to improve Georgia’s child welfare system,” the letter states.
Ossoff spokesperson Jake Best said the U.S. Senate Judiciary Human Rights Subcommittee looks forward to interviewing DFCS employees about the judges’ testimony and that the panel will seek the agency’s cooperation.
“The subcommittee’s investigation is ongoing, and the essential question is whether children in foster care…
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