At the time the complaint was filed, there were nine named plaintiffs, including Kara B., Sabrina and Korrina E., and Maya C.
Kara B., a 14-year-old girl, had up to 15 different placements before ending up in a residential treatment facility where she was sexually abused by a staff member.
Sabrina E. and Korrina E., African-American sisters (3 years old and 1 year old), were deprived of speedy adoptions because the couple who wanted to adopt them was not African American.
Maya C., a spirited 17-year-old former honor student, became hopeless and abandoned her education after being placed in an emergency shelter.
Learn more about this case in the fact sheet here.
Senior U.S. District Judge Marvin H. Shoob, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia
STATUS OF CASE AGAINST STATE OFFICIALS: Monitoring
FILED: June 6, 2002
SETTLEMENT REACHED: July 2005
STATUS OF “RIGHT TO COUNSEL” CASES WITH COUNTY OFFICIALS: Closed
FILED: June 6, 2002
SETTLEMENTS REACHED: 2006
DEKALB COUNTY CASE CLOSED: 2008
FULTON COUNTY CASE CLOSED: 2010
Children’s Rights, along with co-counsel Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP in Atlanta, filed this case against the governor of Georgia and state and county officials on behalf of a class of all children in Fulton and DeKalb County foster care (metropolitan Atlanta), and a class of African-American children in foster care, alleging violations of their federal and state rights to adequate protection and services while in state custody. The Complaint alleged unlawful policies and practices of the Defendants, including: burdening caseworkers with dangerously high caseloads that prevented workers from visiting children and compromised safety oversight; placing children in deplorable emergency shelters and other unsafe facilities and homes; shuffling children in foster care among many placements; and denying basic health care. The Complaint also included claims against county officials for violating children’s right to counsel in all juvenile court proceedings — attorneys assigned to children had caseloads of up to 500 children per attorney, making adequate and zealous representation impossible.
STATE CONSENT DECREE
Thanks to the state Consent Decree, and the efforts of Children’s Rights and the court-appointed monitors, we have has succeeded in bringing about substantial reforms in Georgia. According to the most recent monitoring report:
- Dangerous emergency shelters have been permanently shut down in Fulton and DeKalb Counties, and family homes are now used for emergency or temporary placements.
- Children experience fewer moves while in foster care (90% compliant with standards).
- Children on a reunification track are visiting with parents regularly (92% compliant with standards).
- DFCS has made significant improvements in keeping children assigned to the same case manager (97% compliant with standards).
However, the most recent report flags a number of areas of inadequate performance:
- Only 84 percent of abuse or neglect investigations of children in foster care were initiated on time, a drop in performance that is short of the 95 percent benchmark.
- After a positive move to a statewide abuse hotline in late 2013, an increase in reports of child abuse or neglect caused a spike in the caseloads of child protective services (CPS) investigators, compromising the quality of investigations and creating an urgent need to stabilize staffing.
- Performance suffered when it came to conducting timely interviews with alleged victims of maltreatment in care (84% compliant, with a requirement of 99%).
- Only 78 percent of abuse investigations contained evidence that a complete Child Protective Services (CPS) history had been reviewed by the investigator, a critical safety component.
Defendants will exit monitoring once they have complied with the required improvements in the Consent Decree and have held that performance for three consecutive six-month reporting periods.
RIGHT TO COUNSEL CONSENT DECREES
As a result of the right-to-counsel consent decrees with Fulton and DeKalb Counties, spurred by a landmark decision by the federal court recognizing children’s due process right to counsel, the counties have transformed their delivery of legal representation for children:
- In DeKalb County, improvements included a dramatic sustained reduction in the caseloads of attorneys who represent children in foster care, from just two lawyers representing 500 children each in 2002, to 11 full-time attorneys representing fewer than 100 children by the time the county successfully exited from the lawsuit in 2008.
- In Fulton County, the largest metro-Atlanta county, improvements included reduced caseloads for attorneys representing foster children, from an average of 400 cases in 2002 to 63 children per lawyer by the time the county successfully exited from the lawsuit in 2010. Attorney staffing increased from 4 to 18 full time lawyers (even as the population of children in foster care decreased by 40%), and the county hired trained investigators, social workers and an education advocate, all to better advocate for the needs of children.
Amended Complaint
Full text of the complaint filed by Children’s Rights and co-counsel against the state of Georgia seeking comprehensive reform of the child welfare system in metropolitan Atlanta.
State Reform Lawsuit
State Consent Decree
Full text of the settlement agreement between Children’s Rights and Georgia, mandating reform of the child welfare system in Atlanta.
State First Period Monitoring Report
Court monitors’ report covering the period October 27, 2005 to June 30, 2006.
State Second Period Monitoring Report
Court monitors’ report covering the period July 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006.
State Third Period Monitoring Report
Court monitors’ report covering the period January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2007.
State Fourth Period Monitoring Report
Court monitors’ report covering the period July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007.
State Fifth Period Monitoring Report
Court monitors’ report covering the period January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008.
Stipulated Court Order Regarding Motion for Contempt
Agreement requiring state to contract national child welfare experts to assist in intensive efforts to move children languishing in foster care into permanent homes.
State Sixth Period Monitoring Report
Court monitors’ report covering the period from July 1 to December 31, 2008.
State Seventh Period Monitoring Report
Court monitors’ report covering the period from January 1 to June 30, 2009.
State Eighth Period Monitoring Report
Court monitors’ report covering the period from July 1 to December 31, 2009.
State Ninth Period Monitoring Report (December 22, 2010)
Court monitors’ report covering the period from January 1 to June 30, 2010.
State Tenth Period Monitoring Report (June 6, 2011)
Court monitors’ report covering the period from July 1 to December 31, 2010.
State Eleventh Period Monitoring Report (December 22, 2011)
Court monitors’ report covering the period from January 1 to June 30, 2011.
State Twelfth Period Monitoring Report (June 15, 2012)
Court monitors’ report covering the period from July 1 to December 31, 2011.
State Thirteenth Period Monitoring Report (December 17, 2012)
Court monitors’ report covering the period from January 1 to June 30, 2012.
State Fourteenth Period Monitoring Report (August 6, 2013)
Court monitors’ report covering the period from July 1 to December 31, 2012.
State Fifteenth Period Monitoring Report (February 1, 2014)
Court monitors’ report covering the period from January 1 to June 30, 2013.
State Sixteenth Period Monitoring Report (July 21, 2014)
Court monitors’ report covering the period from July 1 to December 31, 2013.
State Seventeenth Period Monitoring Report (January 12, 2015)
Court monitors’ report covering the period from January 1 to June 30, 2014.
State Eighteenth Period Monitoring Report (August 10, 2015)
Court monitors’ report covering the period July 1 to December 31, 2014.
State Nineteenth Period Monitoring Report (February 16, 2016)
Court monitors’ report covering the period January 1 to June 30, 2015.
State Twentieth Period Monitoring Report (August 12, 2016)
Court monitors’ report covering the period July 1 to December 31, 2015.
Modified Consent Decree and Exit Plan ( November 9, 2016)
Joint Motion For Entry Of Modified Consent Decree And Exit Plan (November 9, 2016)
2016.11.09 #745 Exhibit A – Modified Consent Decree and Exit Plan (November 9, 2016)
2016.11.09 #745 Exhibit B – Consent Order Entering Modified Consent Decree and Exit Plan (November 9, 2016)
Period 21 Final Data Report (December 22, 2016)
Court monitors’ report covering the period January 1 to June 30, 2016
Period 22 Final Data Report (May 31, 2017)
Court monitors’ report covering the period July 1 to December 31, 2016
Period 23 Monitoring Report (February 2, 2018)
Period 24 Monitoring Report (June 25, 2018)
Period 25 Monitoring Report (December 1, 2018)
First Brief on the Infrastructure Standards (March 19, 2019)
Period 26 Monitoring Report (June 28, 2019)
Fulton County Right-to-Counsel Lawsuit
Fulton County Consent Decree
Full text of the settlement agreement between Children’s Rights and Fulton County, Georgia, mandating effective legal representation for every child in foster care.
Fulton County Staffing Report
Official correspondence verifying the establishment of an independent Office of the Child Advocate Attorney in Fulton County, as mandated by the consent decree with Children’s Rights.
Fulton County Workload Study
Court-ordered report on caseloads for child advocate attorneys in Fulton County.
Fulton County Interim Monitoring Report
Court monitor’s interim report issued on June 22, 2007.
Fulton County First Period Monitoring Report
Court monitor’s report covering the period July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007.
Fulton County Second Period Monitoring Report
Court monitor’s report covering the period January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008.
Fulton County Interim Third Period Monitoring Report (PDF, March 27, 2009)
Court monitor’s report covering caseload performance from June 30 to December 31, 2008.
Modified Consent Decree (PDF, May 19, 2009)
Modifies the 2006 consent decree to reflect a shift to a client-directed model of legal representation.
Fulton County Third Period Monitoring Report (PDF, November 2, 2009)
Court monitor’s report covering caseloads and quality of legal representation for the 12 months ending June 30, 2009.
Fulton County Fourth Period Monitoring Report (PDF, November 12, 2010)
Court monitor’s report covering caseloads and quality of legal representation for the 12 months ending June 30, 2010.
DeKalb County Right-to-Counsel Lawsuit
DeKalb County Consent Decree
Full text of the settlement agreement between Children’s Rights and DeKalb County, Georgia, mandating effective legal representation for every child in foster care.
DeKalb County Staffing Report
Official correspondence verifying DeKalb County’s compliance with court-ordered caseload standards for child advocate attorneys.
DeKalb County First Period Compliance Report
Court monitor’s report covering the period September 13, 2006 to March 13, 2007.
DeKalb County Second Period Monitoring Report
Court monitor’s report covering the period March 14, 2007 to September 14, 2007.
DeKalb County Third Period Monitoring Report
Court monitor’s report covering the period September 15, 2007 to March 15, 2008.
Fulton and DeKalb Counties Needs Assessment
Court-ordered report on the needs of foster children in metropolitan Atlanta.
Final Order to Terminate Compliance Monitoring (10/15/2008)
Signed order granting the joint motion by Children’s Rights, co-counsel, and defendants to end federal court oversight following successful reform of legal representation for children in foster care in DeKalb County (metro Atlanta).
Third Brief on Infrastructure Standards — October 19, 2020