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Child Welfare Council Reacts To Deal’s Privatization Plans

April 14th, 2014

Members of a Governor Nathan Deal’s child welfare panel are responding to his plan to privatize some of the child welfare system.As heard on the radio

Deal’s plan calls for a two-region privatization pilot program, with the state moving child placement and family recruitment to private groups already working with the state. Those two pilot regions have yet to be named.

The Department of Family and Children Services would maintain oversight of case management and investigations into abuse and neglect claims.

“I don’t think it really came as a surprise,” said Melissa Carter, who heads Emory’s Barton Child Law and Policy Center. She also sits on the governor’s Child Welfare Reform Council, which is tasked with reviewing the state’s entire system in the coming months.

Deal named the council a week before he announced his privatization trial run, which Barton supports.

“I think we know that the conversation around privatization had just begun and that additional work needed to be done to really explore this strategy for Georgia,” Barton said.

Privatization was one of the big issues during this past legislative session.

But its fate came into question when, just a week before the session ended, Deal announced plans for his appointed council to explore changes to the child welfare system.

The bill ultimately fell victim to infighting between House and Senate Republicans.

Republican Fran Millar was one of the big supporters of the effort in the Senate and also named to the governor’s council. He said he’s glad the Deal is moving forward with privatization.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in his thought process, so I’m optimistic,” Millar said. “Do I wish this all would have happened … before we walked out of there on day 40? Sure. But it didn’t.”

Democratic Rep. Carolyn Hugley, who also sits on the governor’s Child Welfare Reform Council, said she wishes the governor would have waited until after the council’s meeting.

“If the council felt it feasible, that might have been one of the recommendation, but at this juncture, it looks like we’re operating on two different tracks, and we will have to meet at the end,” said Hugley, who voted against plans to privatize the child welfare system when the bill came up in the House.

The Child Welfare Reform Council is scheduled to meet in early May.