#1 Advice | How do I contact DFCS Georgia?

Americans often contact us asking, “How do I contact DFCS Georgia or Ga DFCS”?

First and foremost; What IS DFCS Georgia?

DFCS stands for the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. It is a part of the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) and is responsible for administering various assistance programs and services to “support” families and children in the state of Georgia. DFCS says they work to “protect” children and vulnerable adults from abuse and neglect, provide foster care and adoption services, and offer economic assistance programs.

The division is involved in a range of activities, including child “welfare services”, child “protective” services, “family support services”, and foster care and adoption services. DFCS claims to aim to strengthen and support families while ensuring the safety and well-being of children and vulnerable adults. The specific programs and services offered by DFCS may include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), among others.

However, this comes with a GIANT CAVEAT.

Countless families have reached out to us seeking help, because they sought help from DFCS to only find out this is a TRAP. The minute a family seeks any kind of welfare help, when they have children, their children become a target for the taking because a poor child from a poor family is worth more to the state when put into foster care. This is made possible via TITLE IV-E FOR YOUTH.

What is TITLE IV-E?

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act provides federal matching funds to help
states pay for foster care placements for children who meet federal eligibility
criteria. 42 U.S.C. §§ 670, et seq.

The federal share called “federal financial participation” (FFP) pays part of the
cost of foster care maintenance payments made by the state for the support of
eligible children living in foster family homes or child care institutions. FFP is
based on each state’s Medicaid matching rate and ranges from 50% to 83% of
the foster care maintenance payments.42 U.S.C. § 674(a)(1). Medicaid FFP rates are published in the Federal Register. For FFP rates effective October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006, see 69 Fed. Reg. 68370 (November 24,2004), and for FFP rates effective October 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007, see 70 Fed. Reg.
71856 (November 30, 2005). Links to current and past rates are available at:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/fmap.htm.

In addition, the federal government pays 50% of the cost of administering the
Title IV-E program (such as salaries of caseworkers and administrators, office
space, etc.) and 75% of the training costs associated with the program. 42 U.S.C. § 674(a)(3).

Federal Eligibility Criteria for Title IV-E is NOT as innocent as it sounds

Children are eligible for IV-E foster care benefits if:
(1) the youth is removed from home pursuant to:
(a) a voluntary placement agreement or
(b) a judicial determination to the effect that:
(i) continuation in the home would be contrary to the welfare
               of the child, and

(ii) reasonable efforts have been made to prevent removal,

(2) the state child welfare agency, or a local public agency that has an
agreement with the state child welfare agency, is responsible for
the youth’s care,
(3) the youth has been placed in a foster family home or child-care
institution as defined by federal law, and
(4) the youth meets AFDC eligibility criteria (42 U.S.C. § 672.)

Based on federal law, children are not eligible for Title IV-E unless there is voluntary placement by the parents, or if continuation in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child. What does this mean? This means public and private agencies which are tasking themselves with the welfare of children must decide if it is contrary to the welfare of the child if the parent is not willfully handing over their children. How is this decided? 

As it stands, HHS does not have any requirement for any particular order in which a “contrary to the welfare of the child” determination is made. Furthermore, The “contrary to the welfare determination is a critical statutory protection and a criterion for establishing Title IV-E eligibility. Without that exact wording on paperwork (no particular paperwork required) eligibility for Title IV-E is not there. Once a child is removed from their home (no specific requirements as to how and why) the Title IV-E agency CANNOT go back and “fix” an inappropriate removal. This results in the LOSS of funds since the time of the removal of the child. This is why many people come to Rescue The Fosters  in a panic because once they have become a target for any reason, and their children are removed it is almost impossible to get them out, because the agencies are not willing to lose all of the money they are receiving, and it is guaranteed they will lose the money when they return the child to the family.

What does this mean?

They have very limited criteria for the reasoning to remove children from the home. There are no specific, clear, concise, valid procedures other than the vague wording such as “reasonable efforts” that they may or may not put in paperwork. According to HHS policies, there is no required document to remove a child from a home, BEFORE removing the child from the home. Furthermore, they appear to go by the “don’t ask permission, just do and maybe ask for forgiveness later” policy. Via HHS policies and procedures, once a child is deemed to have been removed without cause they lose those funds associated with that child. There is no fix. Therefore, this becomes incentive to not only remove the child from the home with very little oversight FOR Title IV-E funds, but then for the agency to be able to keep those funds, the child in care tied to those funds MUST stay in care at all costs even CONTRARY to their wellbeing and the innocence of the family of which the child was taken from. This has become a gestapo, guilty until proven innocent system that is ripe with force, fraud and coercion. 

The Federal Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-386)2
defines human trafficking in terms of “involuntary servitude,” which includes a condition of servitude induced by means of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that, if the person did not enter into or continue in such condition, that person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint.

Human Trafficking is further defined by the federal government as:

The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services
through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

“Reasonable Efforts” to keep families together is what is REQUIRED. This means the agency involved in the removal of the child should be providing services (only when absolutely necessary otherwise FORCED services is another form of trafficking). Services typically include parenting classes, counseling, drug rehab, etc…Not everyone needs these services and many are finding that these agencies providing the services are creating the problems for parents to attempt to force them into the services they never needed to begin with, while their children are removed from their care. Forced services is a form of human trafficking.  This is via force, fraud and coercion. In order for parents to be ordered by a judge to comply with services (force and coercion), reports from the agency involved in the removal of the child are oftentimes falsified (fraud) in order to justify the initial removal of the child. (Take now, ask for forgiveness later OR just keep finding new ways to justify their actions against the family). However, due to the Title IV-E requirements, once a child is deemed removed inappropriately, the funds are LOST and then the agency and everyone involved is susceptible to large lawsuits for the potential violations of law they had committed against the family.

Title IV-E is incentivizing the removal of children by force, fraud and coercion and furthermore incentivizing the keeping of the child to the point of the system forcing social workers to lie on paperwork to justify the initial forced taking of the child. When the social worker lies on paperwork and that paperwork is filed into the court system as FACT, it is then brought in front of a judge who blindly accepts the presented lies as facts and therefore they make rulings against families that are based on nothing other than falsities that are merely just reasons to keep the child in care as to not lose the funds they have already received FOR the removal of the child.

Do you still desire to call DFCS?

If so, since we are often asked how, you can follow these steps to contact the DFCS Georgia Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Remember that contact information may change, so it’s always a good idea to check the official website or contact information for the most up-to-date details; however, Rescue The Fosters advises against contacting DFCS unless absolutely necessary. Many families are never reunited after a first call to DFCS. So, please be mindful before you make the first call. It is best practice when a child is truly in danger to call 911 first. The only reason a child should ever be taken from any family member is if there is factual, provable real physical abuse which would then be followed up with an actual criminal charge by a valid law enforcement agency and court of law of which the innocent are proven guilty by a jury trial with your peers and allowed due process. Otherwise, it is all conjecture that destroys families for nothing more than profit which is a form of human trafficking on both the parents and the child. You may also call us at Rescue the Fosters and we can be a source for the family who is struggling through hard times.  That is why we are here.

AT YOUR OWN RISK: How To Contact DFCS Georgia | DFCS Ga | Ga DFCS | Georgia DFCS

1. DFCS Website: Visit the official website of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services. Before contacting DFCS, please consider the main reason you are calling. Look for a “Contact Us” or “Locations” page. The website should have information on various ways to reach out to them. Again, please consider contacting Rescue The Fosters to see if we can help prevent a child from going into the Foster system. We can often guide parents without removing children from their biological families.
2. Phone Contact:
   • Central Office: You can try calling the main office of DFCS. Look for a general contact number on their website.
   • Local Offices: DFCS has regional offices in different counties. You can find the contact information for your specific county on the DFCS website.
3. Online Contact Form: Some government agencies provide online contact forms on their websites. Check if DFCS has an online form to submit your questions or concerns.
4. Email: Look for an official email address on the DFCS website. They may have specific email addresses for different departments or concerns.
5. Visit in Person:
   • You can visit a local Ga DFCS office if you prefer face-to-face communication. The website should provide office addresses and working hours.
6. Mail:
   • If you prefer traditional mail, you can send a letter to the Ga DFCS central or local office. Again, you can find the mailing address on their website.
7. Social Media: Some government agencies use social media platforms to communicate with the public. Check if Georgia DFCS has official social media accounts where you can send messages or find updates.
8. Community Resources: If you are having trouble reaching DFCS Ga or need urgent assistance, you can also consider contacting local community resources, or advocacy can be able to guide you or provide support.

Many families are never reunited after a first call to DFCS. So, please be mindful before you make the first call. You may contact Rescue The Fosters for further information and assistance.