Georgia lawmaker wants more financial transparency from DFACS

Georgia’s child welfare agency spends billions of dollars caring for some of the state’s most vulnerable children — but state lawmakers say they often can’t get straight answers about where that money goes. A new bill aims to change that.

What’s Happening: State Rep. Beth Camp, a Republican from Concord, is drafting legislation that would force the Georgia Department of Human Services and its child welfare division, known as DFACS, to give the legislature detailed, consistent reports on how state and federal money is spent. Camp chairs the House Committee on Judiciary Juvenile and plans to introduce the bill during the 2027 legislative session.

The Problem: When lawmakers have asked DFACS how it spends money during committee hearings, they say they’ve often been given vague or incomplete answers. That makes it hard to know whether programs are actually working or whether taxpayer dollars are being used wisely. Camp says the legislature has a responsibility to do more than just write checks — it needs to be able to verify the results.

How We Got Here: The transparency problem has come up repeatedly in recent years. A 2025 joint committee on juvenile justice flagged gaps in how DFACS reports its finances. A follow-up committee in 2026 focused specifically on why costs in Georgia’s foster care system have been rising — and that work is still ongoing. A separate state audit of DFACS is also underway, with results not yet released.

What Comes Next: The bill’s final shape will likely depend on what the audit and the study committee find. Camp says the goal isn’t to punish DFACS — it’s to build a better system for sharing information so that both the agency and the legislature can make smarter decisions about how to help Georgia’s children and families.