children and family services

Children and Family Services Strengthening Act of 2008

Regardless of what one may think of Governor Perdue on any given

issue, he and the state's First Lady have long been advocates for

child welfare. In that vein, he is restructuring the various state

agencies responsible for "at-risk" children and advancing legislation

to make those changes permanent. This issue is important to me because

my wife and I have been involved with DFCS for years as

foster/adoptive parents and I am a current member of the Children's

Trust Fund Commission. The following is the press release announcing

the restructuring in its entirety:

Today Governor Sonny Perdue took action to restructure four agencies

responsible for serving Georgia's at-risk children and families to

better serve the state's child advocacy community. The Children's

Trust Fund Commission (CTF) will combine with the Children and Youth

Coordinating Council (CYCC) and become the Governor's Office for

Children and Families. The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) will

assume the responsibilities of the Office of Child Fatality Review

(OCFR).

"By combining the skills and resources of these agencies, we will be

in a better position to ensure that our child welfare system is strong

and that we are funding those programs that our policy research shows

are proven to work," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "With this

reorganization, we will have a more unified approach to serving all

at-risk children, from infancy through adolescence."

The two new agencies will work together to ensure consistency and

effectiveness in child welfare planning, policy and funding. The

combined agencies will also report directly to the Governor's Office

and work closely with policy staff and child welfare agency

leadership.

"This strategy is designed to maximize the impact of resources

invested in communities to support the healthy development of children

and youth," said Pam Brown, Program Director of Prevent Child Abuse

Georgia. "It promotes shared responsibility between the state and

community for comprehensive and cohesive program planning,

implementation and accountability which is so important for the

success and sustainability of efforts."

Governor Perdue also announced the Children and Family Services

Strengthening Act of 2008, legislation that the Governor intends to

introduce in the upcoming session to make this agency reform

permanent. The combined funding agency, to be called the Governor's

Office for Children and Families, will share office space with the

expanded Office of the Child Advocate, which will continue its

responsibility to oversee and improve the state's child protection

system.

"I'm looking forward to being able to work in partnership with the new

Governor's Office for Children and Families," said State Child

Advocate Tom Rawlings. "While OCA will remain an independent agency,

sharing office space will allow us to share ideas and to work together

toward our mutual goal of improving the lives of Georgia's children."

Upon legislative approval, the Governor's Office for Children and

Families will rely on a consolidated board composed of CYCC and CTF

board members to make grants to communities. Additionally, the

alignment of staff resources will allow funding of a continuum of

services, from child abuse prevention to juvenile delinquency

treatment. The Governor's Office for Children and Families will also

serve as the new home for the First Lady's Children's Cabinet.

"By combining the expertise of our staff and citizen boards, we will

now be able to target the entire family cycle, from the at-risk infant

to the troubled teen," said Jen Bennecke, Executive Director of the

newly created Governor's Office for Children and Families.

The Children's Trust Fund has funded over $25,000,000 in child abuse

prevention projects in local communities. The CYCC disburses millions

of dollars annually to local abstinence education, delinquency

prevention and juvenile justice projects.

The Office of Child Fatality Review uses local data on child deaths to

develop policies and practices designed to prevent such deaths. The

youngest of the four agencies, OCA, is the state's independent

ombudsman for child welfare practice and policy.

Now, if only something could be done about the DFCS bureaucracy.