Child Advocacy Agencies Could Merge

Governor Perdue wants to merge several child advocacy agencies. He says it will create better coordination of sevices for troubled children and their families.

He is proposing to merge the children and youth coordinating commission and the Children's trust fund. Their mission is to prevent child abuse and juvenile delinquency.

Also, under the plan, the office of Child advocate would oversee the office of child fatality review.

"It is not enough to create agencies if those agencies are not coordinated to work together towards one goal," said Tom Rawlings, Goergia's Child Advocate. That goal "should be to make the lives better for our children and Families. Especially those troubled families," he said.

Because the agencies were created by laws, Perdue has to ask the legislature to change their structure.

Perdue defends child welfare system

Governor Sonny Perdue says the state's child welfare administrators are doing their best, despite two reports that indicate otherwise.

Perdue defends the state Division of Child and Family Services in an interview with GPB television's Georgia Weekly, which will air Sunday at 1 PM.

"I give the department a good grade, a grade of great effort and great progress," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in [Department of Human Resources] Commissioner [B.J.] Walker."

But a report by the state child advocate and preliminary findings from a federal review indicate the state is leaving children in homes where they are being mistreated. The documents accuse agency staff of failing to investigate incidents of child abuse.

Also on Georgia Weekly, Perdue says he will not suspend state gas taxes anytime soon, despite rising gas prices.

He also denies rumors that he is positioning himself as a vice-presidential candidate.

Report: State leaves children in danger

Georgia’s child welfare system leaves children in danger, according a federal review.

The preliminary review found that Georgia leaves welfare children in homes where they are being maltreated, and doesn’t accurately report that abuse.

The review also found that the state is not investigating cases of children sexually abusing other children while in care.

The review covered cases in Fulton, Floyd and Walton counties.

Today Georgia’s Child Advocate Dee Simms characterized Georgia’s performance in taking care of children as getting a grade F.