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The state of Georgia's foster care system
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) shined a light on Georgia's foster care system during a news conference Friday.
ATLANTA - U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) recounted some of the disturbing experiences young people at Covenant House told him they endured while in Georgia's foster care system during his visit to the northwest Atlanta campus.
"I heard from these young people today about abuse they endured from those who were meant to care and protect for them," Sen. Ossoff told reporters during a news conference Friday.
Covenant House Georgia supports teens and young adults who are experiencing homelessness and those escaping human trafficking.
The senator met privately with the group as part of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights into the abuse and neglect of children in foster care.
Among the disturbing findings early in the investigation, the number of children reported missing from the Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) care in recent years.
A recent study conducted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found 1,790 children in the care of Georgia's DFCS were reported missing between 2018 and 2022.
"Some were repeatedly reported missing," Ossoff said. "In fact this analysis found nearly 2,500 episodes of Georgia foster children being reported missing during this 5-year span."
The senator said the number of children reported missing is unacceptable by any standard, particularly given those reported missing are more vulnerable to human trafficking, sexual exploitation and other threats to their health and safety.
"And the subcommittee is working right now to dig deeper into this data to analyze what happened next in all of these cases," Ossoff explained.
Once the subcommittee completes the investigation, they will release a summary of their findings and recommendations for reform.