During the record-breaking, 43-day federal government shutdown this month and last, Georgia’s child welfare agency took the extraordinary step on Nov. 7 of requiring state approval for new services that protect children from entering foster care and support family reunification.
Five days later, the shutdown finally came to a halt, with federal funds again flowing to safety net programs.
But instead of returning to prior practice, the restrictions have remained in place — and more cuts have been announced. The Imprint spoke with heads of several agencies serving foster youth and their caregivers who said their contracts to serve children with disabilities and behavioral health needs had been abruptly halted.
Then, in a Thursday email obtained by The Imprint, Candice Broce, who directs the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), informed local court officials of further financial constraints.
In her email, Broce lays out questions and answers about prior service restrictions, including: “If this was all done due to the government shutdown, are they being reinstated? If not, why not?
To that, she answered that the state is “still running fiscal projections.” But she blames “projected expenses,” the difficulty her state faces drawing down federal funding for foster care provided under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act and hardship caused by the state’s heavier-than-average reliance on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to fund its child welfare services — which she said was paused during the shutdown.
On Friday, the apparently dire financial situation became even more clear for providers.
Child welfare service providers attending a morning meeting with Audrey Brannen, a complex care coordinator for the Division of Family and Children Services, were told the state agency is facing a roughly $80 million deficit. That’s almost twice the $44 million shortfall Broce disclosed to lawmakers earlier this year.
Some contracts cut altogether
The impacts are already being felt.
Sally Buchanan, CEO of Creative Community Services, was informed on Nov. 10 by the Department of Human Services that it was terminating one of her agency’s long-standing contracts, which had been in place for 10 years.
As a result, support for 57 children will end on Dec. 10. Buchanan has been forced to lay off 12 of 16 staff serving them, all of whom are trained behavioral health specialists. These workers screen, train and support therapeutic foster parents who care for children with developmental delays, intellectual and physical disabilities, and intensive medical requirements.
“There was no communication about it, no conversation,” Buchanan said of the emailed notice she received. “It’s a shame. We’ve been well-known providers for years.”
Scrambling to find alternative solutions, Buchanan sent a letter to Broce seeking clarification, and requested an extra 30 days before the official termination of services. She has not received a response.
“The holiday season is already a challenging period for our children,” she wrote. “And it is also a difficult time for staff to secure new positions on such short notice.”
As a result, Creative Community Services will no longer be able to serve its highest-needs kids — including children coming out of psychiatric residential treatment, and those who are dual-diagnosed with behavioral needs and developmental disabilities.
Through the contract-funded intensive services, staff have worked with children and parents upwards of three times a week on social-emotional skills, communication and behavior management. They also worked with schools to reduce suspensions for behavioral issues.
In addition, the contract covered four days of respite and “difficulty-of-care” payments to help families cover high-cost services for children with disabilities — including those not covered by Medicaid.
“The holiday season is already a challenging period for our children. And it is also a difficult time for staff to secure new positions on such short notice.”
— Sally Buchanan, Creative Community Services
Now, Buchanan is calling parents individually to let them know the services will be ending. Without the comprehensive, wraparound support for foster families, she fears children may lose their existing home-based placements.
“That’s what worries me,” Buchanan said. “Where are the kids gonna go?”
‘No true suspensions’ state leader says
These and other cutbacks have unfolded since a Nov. 7 state directive to local child welfare agencies and providers. It stated that caseworkers cannot initiate new contracted services for child and family assessments, aides for parents, wraparound care, measures to prevent foster care, including “unnecessary out of home placement,” and “early intervention” services — unless a new level of review was met. Those services now require approval in writing from a state official.
According to the directive, Georgia also eliminated higher payment rates for caregivers and providers serving foster youth with greater needs than other foster children, such as severe behavioral challenges and disabilities.
The changes were announced as “effective immediately, due to the current federal government shutdown and the resulting interruption of funding.”
In her Thursday email Broce states that her division isn’t actually halting any services by requiring “state-level DFCS leadership involved in initial decision-making.”
“There are no true suspensions in terms of access,” Broce wrote. “These changes have simply revised the processes for getting certain service authorizations approved.” Rather, to control costs, the state decided to impose stricter oversight of new service authorizations and require “clearer documentation to demonstrate need.”
Broce also clarified that the measures are only in place for future, not past services. “No service authorizations in place prior to Nov. 7 should be affected, and if they are accidentally or due to confusion, we’re correcting them,” she stated.
But that characterization — and the confusion that has erupted in recent weeks following state missives — reads differently on the ground.
Effects of new restrictions are far-reaching
Scott Merritt, president and CEO of Murphy-Harpst Children’s Centers, said there have been immediate impacts from the new DFCS directives. Young people served by his Cedartown residential program have missed family visits and in-person court dates and are less likely to be receiving individualized help from behavioral aides.
The center’s 160-acre campus provides on-site schooling and group and individual therapy to foster youth aged 12 to 18. It maintains a staffing ratio of one staff member for every four children. Center staff care for youth with severe trauma histories, depression, anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder and other psychiatric diagnoses.
Often, they need behavioral aides in addition to staff, providing one-on-one supervision to prevent mental health crises from escalating and psychiatric hospitalizations. Merritt said that vital support has now been restricted.
He added that the state child welfare agency has also limited access to transportation services: workers who drive children to weekly court hearings and family visits, often hours away. One child recently missed his anticipated visit with his grandmother as a result, Merritt said.
“After being on campus and going to school every week, they look forward to visiting their families,” Merritt said. “It’s also therapeutic. These visits help them apply what they’ve learned in our program.”
What’s more, foster youth are facing new challenges to attending court hearings — important opportunities for children to speak directly to judges about their progress in residential treatment and prepare plans for transitioning into family homes. While foster youth can sometimes attend virtually, it is far from ideal, Merritt said. Recently, one child nearly missed his morning hearing when no transportation provider was available. Staff had to scramble to find someone who could help him log in online.
That type of appearance “definitely causes a problem with the judge, because they want to hear from the youth,” he said. “We can do it virtually, but it’s not the same.”
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