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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Report: Metro-Atlanta Child Welfare Services Much Improved

Georgia has received its highest marks yet for improving child welfare in Fulton and DeKalb counties.

The news comes from a progress report issued Friday by court monitors charged with overseeing reforms of state child welfare agencies as part of a 2005 consent decree.

The report used 28 criteria to measure the Department of Human Resources' Division of Family and Children Services' performance on things like keeping foster children in safe settings and placing them in permanent homes quickly. The report says DFACS' overall performance was the best in the decree's six reporting periods.

The decree resulted from a 2002 class action lawsuit. Children's Rights, a New York-based advocacy group, argued Georgia's child protection agencies were overburdened and mismanaged.

Officials settled the suit in 2005, agreeing to monitoring and periodic progress reports.

(Associated Press)

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