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FILE NO., COURT, AND DATE FILED
02-CV-1686 (N.D. Ga., June 6, 2002)
CITATIONS
218 F.R.D. 277 (N.D. Ga. 2003); 356 F. Supp. 2d 1353 (N.D. Ga. 2005)
CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW NO.
None
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS
Ira P. Lustbader
Marcia Lowry
Children's Rights'404 Park Avenue South, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
(212) 683-2210
Fax: (212) 683-4015
ilustbader(at)childrensrights.org
Corey Fleming Hirokawa
Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP
1201 West Peachtree Street NW, Suite 3900
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 881-4100
Fax (404) 881-4111
ISSUES
This lawsuit against Georgia's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in Fulton and DeKalb Counties sought to end statutory and constitutional violations of the rights of approximately 3,000 children and to ensure that DCFS provides proper protection and care for these children.
HISTORY AND STATUS
The conditions in the counties' foster care shelters were so harmful that, on July 1, 2002, the court ordered expedited fact-finding for the DeKalb and Fulton County shelters. On September 9, 2002, plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction requesting the closure of DeKalb and Fulton County shelters. Discovery began that month on claims concerning the entire system.
At a mid-November 2002 hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction, defendants promised to close both shelters by March 2003. As a result, on December 12, 2002, the court denied plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction without prejudice to allow plaintiffs to return to Court if defendants did not close the shelters as promised. The Fulton and DeKalb County shelters closed on December 27, 2002, and February 14, 2003, respectively.
In addition, defendants instituted a pilot initiative that substantially increases the reimbursement rates for private foster care providers with intentions to expand the project statewide. DeKalb County has also increased the number of attorneys hired to represent foster children by 150%.
On February 8, 2005, the court denied the defendants' motions for summary judgment on plaintiffs' claims of inadequate legal representation in juvenile court proceedings. Significantly, the court ruled that abused children have a constitutional and statutory right to an attorney and to adequate legal representation at every major stage while in state custody.
On July 5, 2005, the parties announced that they had reached a settlement. On October 28 2005, the court approved the settlement following a public fairness hearing. Components of the settlement include: caseload limits, increasing payments to foster parents, guaranteeing ongoing planning processes to meet foster children's needs, finding new homes and other places for foster children to live, preventing overcrowding and warehousing of children, and reducing the amount of time children spend in foster care. Defendants must also meet 31 outcome measures in areas such as timely and thorough investigations of reports of abuse, ensuring frequent visits of foster children by their case workers, ensuring that children are kept in safe and stable foster homes, and ensuring that children are either returned safely to their parents or moved quickly into another permanent home. Under the parties' agreement, two independent joint monitors will provide public reports on defendants' performance every six months. Plaintiffs continue to monitor defendants' compliance with the terms of the settlement agreement.
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