HB256: HB256 Social services; foster parents bill of rights; revise provisions

Georgia law already gives foster parents a set of protections known as the Foster Parents Bill of Rights, covering things like being treated with respect, getting training, and having a way to file grievances. This bill broadens who counts as a covered caregiver, extending these rights to relative caregivers (like grandparents or aunts and uncles who informally raise a child) and to fictive kin (people who are not blood relatives but have a family-like bond with a child), grouping them all under the term foster placement. The rights bill of rights section is renamed the Foster Placements Bill of Rights. The bill also changes the juvenile code so that all juvenile court proceedings must be recorded by stenographic notes or an electronic or mechanical method, and both parties and the Department of Human Services get the right to a full and complete record of those proceedings without needing a court order. It updates deadlines for the Division of Family and Children Services to develop grievance and mediation procedures, moving them to July 1, 2026, and adds definitions for certified volunteer advocate, fictive kin, foster placement, and relative caregiver. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Requires all juvenile court proceedings to be recorded by stenographic notes or electronic, mechanical, or other reliable means capable of capturing a full and complete record.
• Gives parties and the Department of Human Services the right to obtain a full and complete record of juvenile court proceedings without needing a court order.
• Renames the 'Foster Parents Placements Bill of Rights' and extends its protections to relative caregivers and fictive kin, not just licensed foster parents.
• Adds definitions for 'certified volunteer advocate,' 'fictive kin,' 'foster placement,' and 'relative caregiver' to Georgia's foster care law (O.C.G.A. Section 49-5-281).
• Moves the deadline for the Division of Family and Children Services to develop grievance, mediation, and administrative procedures from 2005/2007 to July 1, 2026.
• Lets foster placements share nonidentifying case record information with a certified volunteer advocate they enlist to help with investigations and meetings.

Foster parents, relative caregivers such as grandparents and aunts or uncles, and fictive kin who informally care for children in state custody; the Department of Human Services and its Division of Family and Children Services; juvenile courts; certified volunteer advocates; and parties involved in juvenile court proceedings.

Relative caregivers and fictive kin, who previously were not explicitly covered, would gain formal rights such as notice before placement, access to case records, training, and a grievance process. Juvenile court proceedings would have to be recorded, giving parties and the state a documented record they can obtain without a judge's order.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. Section 15-11-17 to require that all juvenile court proceedings be recorded by stenographic notes or an equivalent electronic or mechanical method.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. Section 15-11-19 to give parties and the Department of Human Services the right to a full and complete record of proceedings without obtaining a court order.
• Section 3 renames the short title in O.C.G.A. Section 49-5-280 to the 'Foster Parents Placements Bill of Rights.'
• Section 4 adds a new subsection to O.C.G.A. Section 49-5-41 letting foster placements access nonidentifying case record information and share it with a certified volunteer advocate, with a 14 day response deadline for agencies.
• Section 5 rewrites O.C.G.A. Section 49-5-281 to define 'relative caregiver,' 'fictive kin,' and 'foster placement,' and extends the bill of rights (such as nondiscrimination, training, notice before placement, and grievance rights) to these groups.
• Section 5 also moves the deadlines for developing grievance, mediation, and administrative procedures for foster placements and private agency contracts to July 1, 2026.
• Section 6 makes the law effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-05-11
2. 2026-05-11Act 475
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-04-02House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-03-31Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)

• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)Primary sponsor
• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Rob Clifton (R, HD-131)
• James Hatchett (R, HD-155)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 17, 2026

   162 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 8 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #516

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   47 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #899

3. PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2026

   171 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #836

• foster care
• child welfare
• juvenile court records
• relative caregivers
• family services