Update to an earlier report: This article includes new information about a story we previously covered. Read our earlier report.
With Georgia’s Nov. 3 governor’s election approaching, the candidates are offering different child welfare priorities as the state system faces an estimated $86 million budget shortfall and documented staffing turnover.
Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, who adopted four children, says Georgia should improve caseworker pay, training and recruitment to address burnout and turnover. She says the foster care system must work as designed, with caseworkers fully funded and paid what they deserve.
Republican candidate Rick Jackson was in foster care as a child. His campaign pledges to streamline the path to permanency and expand access to mental health services.
Staffing figures cited in a 2024 federal review show 30% turnover at Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services. In a separate measure, the division lost 16% of its workforce—more than 1,100 staff—from 2017 to 2022.
DFCS has also faced scrutiny over spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on surveillance equipment to locate missing foster children. Legislators raised concerns about privacy, overreach and legality.
A University of Georgia poll conducted Oct. 16 put Jackson at 46% and Bottoms at 45%, with 8% of likely voters undecided.
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
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