Georgia's top child welfare official is publicly feuding with U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, ripping his new campaign ad for taking a victory lap on foster care oversight while, she says, skipping the grind of daily reform work. The clash erupted on X and arrives just as Ossoff barrels toward a high-stakes 2026 reelection fight.
What the ad says
In a June 30 press release, the Ossoff campaign said the television spot, titled "Our Kids," follows a yearlong probe into how Georgia treats children in foster care and spotlights a bipartisan bill the senator sponsored to combat child sex trafficking and online exploitation, according to the campaign's press release. The campaign said the ad will air on broadcast television and streaming platforms as part of a "high six-figure" first-week buy.
DFCS director fires back
DFCS Director Candice Broce hit back on July 1 on her personal X account, writing that "Trust us when we say Jon Ossoff is nowhere to be found" and accusing the senator of being absent from the day-to-day work of foster care reform, Atlanta News First reports. Her post escalated an already tense back-and-forth over who should get credit, and blame, for fixing problems inside DFCS.
Judges' testimony and missing-children figures
Ossoff's team has pointed to testimony from juvenile court judges at a 2023 hearing who said Broce asked judges to consider detaining certain foster youths while the state searched for placements, a claim AP News reported. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee's report and related data compiled from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children show roughly 1,790 Georgia children were reported missing from state custody between 2018 and 2022, with a 2020 peak of 431 reports. Those figures are central to Ossoff's argument for federal oversight and reform (Senate subcommittee report).
State response and Broce's record
State officials and lawyers for Broce have rejected that characterization, saying the judges' comments lacked key context and that DFCS has been working to cut down on hoteling and improve placements. The Department of Human Services notes that Candice Broce was sworn in as Georgia's DHS commissioner and DFCS director in 2021 and has defended recent agency reforms and staffing changes; see the Department of Human Services for background.
What this means for the campaign
The confrontation gives both sides fresh ammunition in what is expected to be a close statewide contest. Democrats can highlight Ossoff's foster care investigations and the new anti-trafficking law, while Republicans can argue that Democrats are politicizing a troubled state agency. Ossoff will face Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in November after Collins secured the GOP nomination in June, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
For now, both camps are sticking to their scripts. The Ossoff campaign says the senator exposed systemic failures and helped pass a law to protect children. DFCS and the governor's office say reforms are in motion and that some criticism ignores crucial context. Voters can expect the "Our Kids" ad and Broce's online rebuke to keep resurfacing as child welfare oversight becomes a central theme in the 2026 race.
