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)

Judge orders foster care reform in Fulton, DeKalb

An order issued by a federal judge Monday says Georgia child welfare officials must do a better job of finding permanent homes for 500 children who have been in foster care at least three years. The order by U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob is part of a settlement to a lawsuit brought by a non-profit group to reform foster care systems in Fulton and DeKalb counties. Children’s Rights Inc. accused the state Division of Family and Children Services of contempt of court for not finding homes for the 500 kids. The order calls for DFCS to set-up a special unit to organize better efforts for reviews and strategies helping to find children permanent homes.

Flying baby lands Georgia youth in jail

Screen shot from YouTube video. The infant and youth's faces have been intentionally blurred. (The Associated Press)

Police have jailed a Lee County teen after he posted a Youtube video showing a baby thrown across a room.

The clip shows the youth placing an eight-month-old baby on one side of a large, inflatable pillow on the floor. The 16-year-old then jumps on the pillow, propelling the baby over six feet across the room, before the infant hits the floor on its face and bursts into tears.

The parents of the infant took the baby to the hospital; the condition of the child is unclear. The Sheriff’s Department alerted the Division of Family and Children Services.

One of the youth's former teachers saw the video on Sunday and alerted authorities, according to Lee County Sheriff Harold Breeden.

Colonel Dwayne Sapb of the Lee County Sheriff’s Department says the youth has been charged with a felony and a misdemeanor charge:

“We immediately launched a full-scale investigation, and ultimately wound up arresting the offender yesterday. He’s charged with one count of cruelty to children in the first degree, and one count of cruelty of children in the third degree.”

The youth is being held at the Crisp County Youth Detention Center in Cordele. The second youth who uploaded the video was not detained.

YouTube has since pulled the video.

View Larger Map