---
title: SR 622. Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia's Foster Care System; create
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sr622
cite_as: SR 622, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr622
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr622.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr622/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72472
date: 2026-03-25
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr623.md
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 791
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr622.md?full=1
bill_number: SR 622
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2026-03-25
last_action: House Passed/Adopted
sponsors:
  - Kay Kirkpatrick
  - Bo Hatchett
  - Elena Parent
  - Chuck Payne
  - Matt Brass
  - Blake Tillery
  - Beth Camp
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR622/2025
upstream_id: 2095096
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - foster care
  - child welfare
  - state budget
  - DFCS
  - legislative study committee
---

# SR 622. Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia's Foster Care System; create

## Text

Senate Resolution 622
By: Senators Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Hatchett of the 50th, Parent of the 44th, Payne of the
54th, Brass of the 6th and others
ADOPTED
A RESOLUTION
Creating the Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia's Foster Care
System; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, the Georgia Department of Human Services, through its Division of Family and
Children Services (DFCS), is the state agency designated to care for Georgia's foster children
and child welfare services populations; and
WHEREAS, DFCS has custody of nearly 10,000 foster children; and
WHEREAS, out of home care services provided by DFCS include transportation and
behavioral aides for foster children; and
WHEREAS, out of home care services totaled $141,309,251 in FY25 and are projected to
exceed $164,728,091 in FY26, having increased 159 percent since 2022; and
WHEREAS, the rapid escalation of costs jeopardizes the sustainability of existing programs
from a state funding perspective; and
WHEREAS, the cost of out of home services is impacted by many variables, including
judicial orders and the needs of each individual child; and
WHEREAS, the functioning of Georgia's foster care system in the best interests of foster
children requires an appropriate use of all available provider networks and available funding
sources; and
WHEREAS, a study committee would be beneficial to examine the existing framework of
the delivery of out of home care services, wrap-around services, and all related costs to
determine future availability of resources and leverage efficiencies to achieve the best
possible outcomes for foster children.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
GEORGIA:
(1) Creation of joint study committee. There is created the Joint Study Committee on
Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia's Foster Care System.
(2) Members and officers.
(A) The committee shall be composed of 20 members.
(B) The Governor shall appoint one member who has served as a special assistant
attorney general and represented the state in dependency proceedings within the last six
months;
(C) The President of the Senate shall appoint six members of the Senate as members
of the committee, one of whom shall be a representative of a Georgia licensed child
placing agency serving as a statewide service provider. The President of the Senate
shall designate one of such members as cochairperson;
(D) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint six members of the
House of Representatives as members of the committee, one of whom shall be a
representative of a Georgia licensed child caring institution serving as a statewide
service provider. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate one of
such members as cochairperson; and
(E) The committee shall include additional members as follows:
(i) The Commissioner of the Department of Human Services or his or her designee;
(ii) The Commissioner of the Department of Community Health or his or her
designee;
(iii) The Commissioner of the Department of Juvenile Justice or his or her designee;
(iv) The Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental
Disabilities or his or her designee;
(v) The President of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges or his or her designee;
(vi) The President of the Council of Superior Court Judges or his or her designee; and
(vii) The Executive Director of Together Georgia or his or her designee from among
its alliance of children and family services providers.
(3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,
issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or
legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.
(4) Meetings. The cochairpersons shall call all meetings of the committee. The
committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem
necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform
its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.
(5) Allowances, expenses, and funding.
(A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided
for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
(B) Members of the committee who are state officials, other than legislative members,
or state employees shall receive no compensation for their services on the committee,
but they may be reimbursed for expenses incurred by them in the performance of their
duties as members of the committee in the same manner as they are reimbursed for
expenses in their capacities as state officials or employees.
(C) Members of the committee who are not legislators, state officials, or state
employees shall receive a daily expense allowance in an amount the same as that
specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, as well as the mileage or transportation allowance authorized for state
employees.
(D) The allowances and expenses authorized by this resolution shall not be received
by any member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are
authorized. Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come
from funds appropriated to the Senate and the House of Representatives; except that
funds for the reimbursement of the expenses of state officials, other than legislative
members, and state employees shall come from funds appropriated to or otherwise
available to their respective agencies.
(6) Report.
(A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that
include suggestions for proposed legislation, the cochairpersons shall file a report of the
same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to
subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
(B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for
proposed legislation, the cochairpersons shall file the report, subject to
subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
(C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of
abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.
A report so approved shall be signed by the cochairpersons of the committee and filed
with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
(D) In the absence of an approved report, the cochairpersons may file with the
Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives copies of the
minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof.
(7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia Senate resolution creates a 20-member joint study committee to examine why the cost of out-of-home foster care services has surged and to recommend legislative fixes before the committee disbands in December 2026.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), which has custody of nearly 10,000 foster children, has seen the cost of out-of-home care services like transportation and behavioral aides climb sharply, from $141.3 million in FY25 to a projected $164.7 million in FY26, a 159 percent increase since 2022. This resolution responds by creating the Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia's Foster Care System.
The committee would have 20 members, including six senators, six House members, a governor's appointee with dependency-case legal experience, several state agency commissioners or their designees, judicial council presidents, and a representative from Together Georgia, a child welfare provider alliance. The committee can hold meetings, study the cost drivers and service delivery framework, and issue a report with legislative recommendations. It must file any approved report before the committee is abolished on December 1, 2026.

### What it does

- Creates the Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia's Foster Care System, made up of 20 members.
- Directs the committee to study the causes of rising out-of-home foster care costs and the delivery of wrap-around services.
- Sets appointment rules, giving the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker specific appointees, including provider representatives and cochairpersons.
- Authorizes the committee to recommend legislation or other action based on its findings.
- Sets per diem and expense reimbursement rules for legislative, state official, and other committee members, capped at five days unless extended.
- Abolishes the committee automatically on December 1, 2026, unless it files a report or meeting minutes beforehand.

### Who it affects

Foster children in DFCS custody, the Department of Human Services and DFCS staff, licensed child placing agencies and child caring institutions, juvenile and superior court judges, and state legislators and agency commissioners who will serve on or interact with the new study committee.

### Why it matters

Out-of-home foster care costs have nearly doubled since 2022, raising concerns about whether the state can keep funding current service levels. This committee gives lawmakers, judges, and providers a formal venue to study the cost drivers and propose changes before the next budget cycle.

### Key provisions

- Paragraph (2) sets committee membership at 20, detailing appointments by the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker, including required provider representatives.
- Paragraph (2)(E) adds ex officio members from four state agencies, two judicial councils, and Together Georgia, a statewide child welfare provider alliance.
- Paragraph (3) charges the committee with studying the conditions and problems behind rising costs and recommending action or legislation.
- Paragraph (5) sets reimbursement rules, capping allowances at five days of meetings unless additional days are authorized, funded through legislative appropriations.
- Paragraph (6) requires any approved report or, absent one, meeting minutes to be filed with the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House before abolishment.
- Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-03-25)
- Last action: House Passed/Adopted (2026-03-25)
- Sponsors: Kay Kirkpatrick, Bo Hatchett, Elena Parent, Chuck Payne, Matt Brass, Blake Tillery, Beth Camp
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72472

> The history, votes, and amendments (791 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr622.md?full=1