Welfare Watch - January 5, 2010 - Georgia's Child Advocates Departs

Just before Christmas, Tom Rawlings, Georgia's Child Advocate announced his intent to take a position with an international child welfare agency and move to Central America.  For those who know him, this was a decision that he struggled with for a long time.  Challenges for our Child Advocate is not something that he ran from, but rather ran toward.  Working for abused and neglected children is a passion for Tom Rawlings and this new challenge in Central America will bring together all the talents, experiences and training that he has. 

His Deputy, Melissa Carter will continue as the Acting Director of the Office of the Child Advocate.  He leaves his Office in capable hands.  She has worked in the area of child advocacy for many years in Georgia and shares Tom's vision for the Office of the Child Advocate. 

Tom Rawlings brought a new vision to the Office of the Child Advocate.  He saw the Office not as a policeman to catch the State in a delinquent act, but rather as an independent arm of government that saw problems as symptoms of systemic issues.  He saw failures in the systems not as an opportunity to place blame--he saw an opportunity to learn about the weaknesses of our child welfare system and to correct them. 

His observations and suggestions from his Office were often uncomfortable, but mostly well received.  His latest report concerning the death of Bryan Moreno, illustrates how he saw his Office.   He looked at "incidents" in the child welfare system as an opportunity to assist the State in improving the child welfare and the child protective services system.  His recommendations often called for more transparency by the Department, more evidence based policy development, more training, and more data driven decision making. 

Tom Rawlings will be missed.  In his short tenure as Georgia's Child Advocate, he brought a fresh and liberating approach to the system.  No one wants any child abused. No one expects to eliminate it completely.  What we can do is learn from our mistakes, our missed opportunities, and our failures.  We can continually develop a system that better protects children and supports their families for a stronger Georgia. 

We wish Tom Rawlings the best and much success in his new international endeavor. 

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Welfare Watch, an email newsletter of the
Georgia Association of Homes
and Services for Children
as a public service.
http://www.gahsc.org
                            Normer Adams, Editor
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