In Georgia, a roof over one's head doesn't always mean a family under one's care. Findings signal that for low-income parents attempting to regain custody from foster care, being penalized over housing inadequacies is causing protracted separations, a situation spotlighted by WABE and ProPublica. One mother, identified only as K. for privacy concerns, shared her exasperation when she finally secured a studio apartment hoping to reunite with her children, only to be told it was insufficient by state standards because it lacked individual bedrooms for her sons and daughter.
K.'s ordeal sheds light on a broader issue in Georgia's child welfare system: cases cited for "inadequate housing" as a cause for removing a child take significantly longer to resolve, averaging an additional three months beyond the average of 11 months. This is according to an analysis by WABE and ProPublica, comparing cases between fiscal years 2018 and 2022. Ironically, K. knew families living long-term in single hotel rooms were not scrutinized to the extent she was, despite the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) itself housing foster kids in hotels due to a lack of available placements.
Despite overcoming substantial hurdles, such as completing a yearlong drug treatment program and securing employment, K. found herself stuck in a legal limbo. After her apartment failed to pass muster with DFCS, it would be another four years, until 2023 and a cumulative six years of separation, before her children would return to her care, "I did everything I was supposed to do," she told ProPublica, the emotional weight of her journey evident in her voice.
Legal professionals across Georgia corroborate K.'s experience, indicating many others face similar impediments. Melanie Dodson, a family law attorney in Cleveland, Georgia, remarked on the unattainable housing expectations held by DFCS for low-income individuals, "These kids just sit in foster care, because mom and dad are working at Subway and can’t afford a four-bedroom house." DFCS maintains that housing recommendations are tailored to family needs, yet critics argue this does not reflect the economic realities many parents face, and the stringent prerequisites are not explicitly outlined in any statewide policy. Nonetheless, a DFCS spokesperson, Kylie Winton, noted that the final decisions reside with the judges, as per WABE.
Attorneys and child welfare advocates have observed a pattern of DFCS leveraging similar restrictive housing requirements across various county courtrooms, often becoming a significant barrier for parents working to piece their lives back together. While stringent housing requirements aren't a peculiar feature of Georgia's system alone, they pose a distinct challenge in a state that offers minimal housing assistance to struggling families entangled in the foster care system.
