Welfare Watch - October 6, 2010 - Office of the Child Advocate Midyear Report

The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) issues an unprecedented midyear report in anticipation of state administrative transitions.  This report is for OCA's activities from January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010.  In this report are recommendations for improvements in policy and legislative considerations in the child welfare system. 

Among the OCA recommendations in the report:

• Refining Diversion/Family Support Practices to include development of those components of a "model" differential response system that is missing from Georgia's safety practice and issuance of a statewide policy or law to inform and guide critical practice decisions in the field.
• Adoption of a clear and strategic focus on well-being outcomes for children in foster care, specifically including a process for review of the administration of psychotropic medications. 
• Broaden the juvenile court permanent guardianship statute to allow for the juvenile court to be accessed by children and families without the prerequisite of a deprivation petition. 

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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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