ATLANTA — A legislative hearing about the “hoteling” of foster children in Georgia zeroed in the problems children in state custody face in getting health care.
So far this fiscal year, more than 400 children have spent the night in hotels or state offices because appropriate placements could not be found for them, Audrey Brannen, a complex care coordinator at the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services told lawmakers this week.
The reasons behind the hoteling problem are complex, but one major contributor is lack of access to appropriate health care, Brannen said during the joint hearing convened by the state Senate’s newly created Children and Families Committee and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
“We are here to protect children from their caregivers who may be maltreating them,” she said. “We cannot do that…
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