The husband of Georgia’s child welfare agency director will make his first court appearance next month, following his arrest for allegedly driving while intoxicated with his two young children in the car.
Jason Broce was arrested Oct. 16 north of Atlanta on six misdemeanor charges after allegedly getting into an accident with another vehicle and fleeing the scene in his F-150 truck. The charges included driving under the influence, hit and run, and two counts of child endangerment, according to a police report obtained by The Imprint.
Broce will be asked to enter a plea during an arraignment scheduled for Dec. 11 in Cartersville. Potential penalties for these charges include jail time, fines, community service and completion of a substance use program.
The case has garnered national attention because Broce, a prominent lobbyist, is married to Candice Broce, commissioner of Georgia’s Department of Human Services and director of its Division of Family and Children Services. The division investigates allegations of parental neglect and abuse, which includes “negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child under circumstances that indicate that the child’s health or welfare is threatened.”
It remains unclear whether the state child welfare agency is investigating the Jason Broce incident. Law enforcement personnel are mandated reporters of suspected child abuse and neglect under state law. But Crystal Zion, a spokesperson for the arresting agency, the Georgia State Patrol, said in an email that the responding officer did not “directly” notify CPS on the scene.
She added her agency “does not have a specific policy” requiring CPS referrals when suspects are arrested on charges of endangering children under age 14 while driving under the influence, or other traffic offenses involving children.
Division of Family and Children Services officials have declined to answer questions about the case. Ellen Brown, a division spokesperson, said in an email that due to state and federal laws, the agency could not confirm or deny whether a child welfare investigation had been launched.
The case is being closely watched by child welfare experts who question whether Candice Broce’s family is receiving the same scrutiny from the state’s child welfare system as other families that have found themselves in similar situations.
“As someone representing parents, you want things to be done fairly,” said Amber Walden, a Georgia attorney who specializes in child welfare cases. “Treat all the parents fairly. It doesn’t matter who.”
Brown maintains there will be no special treatment for Candice Broce, who was appointed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in 2021. Prior to her appointment, she served in several capacities in the Kemp administration.
“The agency has protocols in place to avoid conflicts of interest if a report is received on an agency employee,’’ she said. “Under these protocols, the employee shall be recused from reviewing the case, which shall instead be referred to an impartial, independent reviewer.”
A call to Jason Broce’s firm was not returned. And since news of her husband’s arrest broke, spokespeople for Candice Broce have declined to answer specific questions about the case.
But she told The Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Professionally, I pour my heart and soul into serving others and aiming to always do what’s right. I would never expect nor ask to be treated differently than anyone else in these circumstances.”
Charged with speeding while drunk with kids in the car
The allegations against the 43-year-old father stem from an incident that occurred near a state highway in Bartow County.
According to the police report, a driver called the police about an F-150 truck striking the rear of their vehicle and then fleeing. The complainant provided Broce’s license plate number, adding that the driver appeared “possibly impaired.”
A responding officer who eventually spotted the truck noted damage to its front bumper and that it was “weaving heavily.” After being pulled over into a gas station parking lot by the officer, the truck’s driver reversed and nearly backed into the patrol car, the report stated.
The officer approached and observed two children in the back seat, later described as ages 5 and 8. He also reported that he detected a “strong” odor of alcohol on Jason Broce’s breath, as well as “bloodshot” and “watery” eyes.
When the officer asked Broce about bumper damage on the truck, Broce said it was from an incident 16 months prior, according to the report. The officer asked Broce if he’d been in an accident that day, and Broce said he hadn’t.
The officer, who wrote that Broce’s speech was slurred, also asked how much alcohol he’d had that day, and Broce said none. After asking Broce to walk to his patrol car, the officer wrote that Broce was “unsteady on his feet and nearly fell over.’’ Broce ultimately failed a preliminary breath test with a blood alcohol level of .333 — four times the legal limit in Georgia. He also failed a field sobriety test. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a person with a blood alcohol level of .3 or more would “likely have alcohol poisoning, a potentially life-threatening condition, and experience loss of consciousness.”
A blood test was taken but results were still pending at the time of the report.
Broce — a former campaign policy advisor to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp — was taken to the Bartow County Jail and released later that night on a $3,800 bond.
Candice Broce was not riding with her husband and her children at the time he was stopped. But police reported that a sergeant waited for her to arrive at the arrest scene, where she picked up her children and the truck.
Larry Kohn, a criminal defense attorney who regularly handles DUI cases in metro Atlanta, called the details of the case as described in the police report “egregious.”
Reviewing Broce’s charges, Kohn said he could face up to six years in jail, $6,000 in fines and 40 hours of community service. Suspects in similar cases can also lose their driver’s licenses for up to five years, and be required to complete a DUI risk-reduction course and substance use treatment.
“Based on that fact pattern, unless he does substantial treatment, I think a lot of judges around the state would put him in jail,” Kohn said. “I think he’d be very fortunate if he didn’t get jail time.”
Parent attorneys describe similar cases
Family court attorneys who represent parents in civil proceedings told The Imprint what they’ve seen in the cases they’ve handled.
Heather Daly said in DUI-related child endangerment cases that she’s been involved in, officers typically contact Child Protective Services as a first step and sometimes, children are taken into foster care after an arrest.
If children remain at home, Walden said the accused parent can be ordered to remain out of the household until an open family court case is resolved. That can take up to a year and require clean substance abuse screenings for 12 consecutive months.
There are potential consequences in the civil courts for the non-offending parent as well, if they are accused of “failure to protect.” Walden said the child welfare agency and judges often question the other parent about where they were at the time of the incident, what they knew, and why they allowed an intoxicated parent to drive with the kids.
“It would have been like, ‘Where was the mother?’”she said. “Somebody would have had to give a really good reason as to why this happened. Judges and DFCS are just known for saying out of an abundance of caution, ‘We’re going to keep this case open.’”
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