Before this year's General Assembly session, Gov. Roy Barnes carefully groomed education reform to be the star of his legislative agenda.

But as the session winds down, the haunting image of a 5-year-old Atlanta boy who suffered a lifetime of abuse and neglect before his death in 1998 may become an even more enduring legacy of this legislative session.

Lawmakers have quietly pushed through a series of measures designed to provide a broader safety net for at-risk children such as Terrell Peterson.

Two bills relating to child welfare await final action before the legislative session ends this week --- and both appear to be good bets to pass. Two more, including the Terrell Peterson Bill, have been given final approval by the House and Senate and are on the governor's desk awaiting his signature.

"I'm encouraged," said Dr. Randell Alexander, director of the Center for Child Abuse at Morehouse School of Medicine and a nationally known expert on child abuse who lobbied on behalf of the Terrell Peterson Bill. "I think these are some good first steps toward what we need for an overall comprehensive plan to combat child abuse."

The issue gained prominence with a series of stories in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about Terrell's death that cited serious shortcomings in the state's child protective services system. Lawmakers at each step invoked Terrell's name as a symbol of how the state's child welfare system failed him and hundreds of other youngsters.

Terrell and his siblings had been the subject of eight reports of abuse or neglect to state officials before he died, yet he continued to live with his grandmother, the focus of some of the allegations. His grandmother, aunt and the aunt's boyfriend have been charged in his death.

"I don't want to see another Terrell Peterson," an emotional Sen. Nadine Thomas (D-Ellenwood) said during one hearing on the bill, which she wrote. Thomas' bill gives doctors the right to take temporary custody of children they believe to be in imminent danger from abuse or neglect.

While Barnes' education reform package was picked apart and debated nonstop during the session, the bills safeguarding children were passed with little of the normal partisan bickering and virtually no dissent.

Sandra Wood, executive director of the Georgia Council on Child Abuse, said she is encouraged by both the bills and the fact that the Department of Human Resources has budgeted $11.2 million in the next fiscal year for early intervention programs that are designed to prevent abuse.

"These are all going to provide something that is more proactive on child abuse than what we've had in the past," Wood said. "We just have to make sure they are not the last steps we take."

• Senate Bill 315 (Terrell Peterson Bill): Supporters, citing similar laws in Iowa and Illinois, believe doctors will use it only in the most egregious cases of abuse or neglect. Morehouse's Alexander, who previously worked in Iowa, said he used the provision only four or five times in the 14 years he was there. Under the new legislation, doctors would be allowed to take custody for 24 hours of youngsters they believe have suffered from abuse or neglect. The doctors would be required to notify parents, Juvenile Court officials and law enforcement agencies of any decision to take custody.
• House Bill 1406 (DFACS bill): This bill, which is waiting for the governor's signature, would give the state Department of Human Resources commissioner the power to decide who oversees county Department of Family and Children Services offices. Under current policy, county DFACS boards nominate candidates, often only one, who are then voted on by county commissioners. The new law would give the DHR head the right to reject nominees and to fire heads of county DFACS. Only the governor and county boards have that power now. "We wanted to have a little bit more accountability in (DFACS)," said Sen. Connie Stokes (D-Decatur), one of the bill's supporters.
• House Bill 1422 (Child advocate bill): This bill, offered by Barnes, has gotten the green light from the Senate. It awaits House approval and final action on some minor amendments. The bill would create a state child advocate to oversee the child protection system and intervene as needed. The advocate would be appointed by the governor and answer to him, which has led Republicans and critics of the measure to question how truly independent the office would be. Further diluting the bill, critics say, is the fact that the advocate would not have to be a lawyer and would have to get the governor's permission to bring suit against a state agency.
• House Bill 182 (Juvenile Court judge bill): This legislation would allow counties to accept state money to fund Juvenile Court judgeships. Those judges rule on abuse and deprivation cases and can terminate parental rights. Even though there is only $1.8 million in the budget for additional Juvenile Court judges, supporters of the bill believe that just getting started is the key. Both the House and Senate have passed the bill, and it is now back in the House for final approval of some minor amendments.