Atlanta, Ga. — Georgia’s foster care costs have climbed 159% since 2022, state auditors can’t fully explain $34 million of the spending, and lawmakers say the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) still isn’t handing over the data they ask for. Those were the headlines from a Sept. 17 hearing of the Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia’s Foster Care System, where a new state audit of the DFCS budget crisis was presented.
The committee meets again Oct. 15 to finalize recommendations for the 2027 legislative session.
Georgia DFCS Audit: $155 Million More on Out-of-Home Care
The 42-page audit by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts was requested by the House Appropriations Committee to explain DFCS’s projected $86 million shortfall, The Imprint reported. Auditors pointed to “a significant rise in out-of-home care expenditures.”
Direct services spending rose about $155 million from 2022 to 2025. Auditors called the increase “almost entirely attributable” to transportation, behavioral aides, higher-level approvals or “written waivers,” and higher per diem payments to foster homes and child-placing agencies, according to The Imprint.
About 20% of children in care — those with complex needs such as autism — accounted for most of the increase. Medicaid data presented to the committee showed autism diagnoses among Georgia foster children rose roughly 70% from fiscal 2022 to 2025, Atlanta News First reported.
$34 Million in a ‘Catch-All’ Auditors Couldn’t Explain
Auditors flagged $34 million in a “catch-all” spending category they could not fully explain, according to Atlanta News First and WRDW.
Lawmakers on the committee say the problem goes beyond one line item. Rep. Beth Camp said information requested by lawmakers “has not always been provided with the level of detail needed” to evaluate programs and spending, and is drafting legislation to strengthen financial transparency at the Department of Human Services, The Imprint reported. Rep. Esther Panitch said the agency provided data that “doesn’t deal with what had been requested.”
Panitch also asked providers whether any contracts or services were restored after the General Assembly gave DFCS $81 million last spring. According to Together Georgia, a provider association, the answer was no. Provider billing fell from $103 million in 2022 to $14 million in 2024. Panitch said the discrepancy “really raises some issues,” WRDW reported.
The audit also left gaps of its own. It did not examine court-related costs, citing “the timeframe for this review,” and it did not explain why the number of high-need children rose so sharply, according to The Imprint. DFCS Director Candice Broce, who sits on the 20-member committee, has blamed judges’ orders for part of the cost. Panitch said the court orders she reviewed did not show judges overstepping, telling Broce, “I think you’re overstating the problem.” The Imprint noted Broce has not faced questions during recent public hearings.
Hotels Ended, Costs Didn’t
DFCS points to its own data showing children housed in hotels or DFCS offices dropped from 1,007 in fiscal 2022 to 235 in fiscal 2024. But auditors testified that ending hoteling did not save money; the costs shifted to higher placement rates that the state often pays for years afterward, WRDW reported.
Lawyers for Families Cut Time in Care
One number at the hearing pointed in a different direction from more spending on placements. Jerry Bruce, director of Georgia’s Office of the Child Advocate, cited a Chatham County legal representation pilot that cut the median time children spent in foster care by 10 months, according to WRDW and Atlanta News First. Bruce said weak legal representation in juvenile court lengthens cases and raises long-term costs.
That is the lesson FAN has pressed for years: when parents get real representation and real help, children go home sooner. Georgia’s own data now shows the money flowing to transportation, aides, waivers and per diems while lawmakers still can’t get straight answers about where tens of millions went. A separate audit of DFCS finances is expected in the coming weeks.
Key facts
- Agency: Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS)
- Hearing: Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia’s Foster Care System, Sept. 17, 2026
- Cost growth: foster care costs up 159% since 2022; direct services up about $155 million (2022–2025)
- Unexplained: $34 million in a “catch-all” category auditors could not fully explain
- Shortfall: projected DFCS shortfall of about $86 million
- Legal representation: Chatham County pilot cut median time in care by 10 months
- Next: committee meets Oct. 15; separate DFCS finance audit expected
Sources
- The Imprint — State Audit Probes Georgia Foster Care Budget Crisis, But Transparency Questions Linger (2026-09-17)
- Atlanta News First — Georgia spent more on foster care than ever. Why are providers reporting shortfalls, shutting down? (2026-09-17)
- WRDW — Despite some providers closing, Ga. foster care spending up 159% (2026-09-17)
- CBS News Atlanta — Georgia lawmakers study rising foster care costs amid $85 million shortfall (2026-08-13)
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