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Bipartisan panel meets as foster care costs surge higher
Georgia lawmakers met to address an $85 million shortfall in the state foster care system.
ATLANTA - A newly formed bipartisan joint study committee met at the Georgia State Capitol on Thursday to tackle surging child welfare expenses after unexpected cost mismatches left state agencies facing an estimated $85 million budget shortfall.
What we know:
The newly formed, bipartisan committee met for its first hearing to tackle Georgia’s escalating foster care crisis. Addressing the need for cross-chamber cooperation, Senator Kay Kirkpatrick who serves as Committee Co-Chair stated, "We know that the House and the Senate both need to be engaged in the subject matter, because there will probably be legislation that we're going to need both chambers to work on."
Explaining the importance of gathering all stakeholders in a single room, a representative stated, "It's important to have them all in the same room so that they can all hear the same information and understand what the committee is looking for."
Reflecting on past funding shortfalls, lawmakers stressed the importance of looking forward rather than backward.
Committee Co-chair Rep. Beth Camp (R-Concord) explained, "I think looking at what our challenges are moving forward is what we need to address, because that's what we look at as legislators. We're going to be funding a budget. We're going to be making new laws to protect children and families."
What's next:
The committee will continue examining state and national data and hear testimony from stakeholders and the public as they work to identify patterns and determine necessary funding levels. Regarding future legislative actions, a leader explained, "If there's something legislative, we need to do to make the process better, somewhere along the way to address that, so we're not playing whack-a-mole and we're actually moving forward in a way that's helpful to all the children in our state."
Emphasizing the urgency for proactive planning ahead of the upcoming legislative cycle, Kirkpatrick stated, "I can tell you that the appropriators and the General Assembly don't like surprises, and we need to figure this out ahead of time before we get into the budget cycle next session."
What we don't know:
The exact bills, policy changes, or legislative measures the panel will draft for the upcoming legislative session to curb rising costs are unknown.
The Source: Information for this story came from a meeting of the Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia's Foster Care System, statements from lawmakers, and reporting by FOX 5 Atlanta’s Deidre Dukes.