---
title: O.C.G.A. § 15-11-135. Placement in eligible foster care.
collection: code
id: 15-11-135
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 15-11-135 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/15-11-135
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/15-11-135.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/15-11-135/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t15-ch1-11a-(v13)-2020-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=d8a8826c_0#page=835
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
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current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: COURTS / JUVENILE CODE / DEPENDENCY PROCEEDINGS / TAKING INTO CARE
---

# O.C.G.A. § 15-11-135. Placement in eligible foster care.

(a) A child taken into custody shall not be placed in foster care prior to the hearing on a petition for dependency unless:

(1) Foster care is required to protect the child;

(2) The child has no parent, guardian, or legal custodian or other person able to provide supervision and care and return him or her to the court when required; or

(3) An order for the child’s foster care has been made by the court.

(b) No child alleged to be or adjudicated as a dependent child shall be detained in any jail, adult lockup, or adult detention facility, nor shall a child be detained in a secure residential facility or nonsecure residential facility unless a child is also alleged to have committed a delinquent act or adjudicated to be a delinquent child and the court determines that the requirements for detention under Article 6 of this chapter are met.

(c) An alleged dependent child may be placed in foster care only in:

(1) A licensed or approved foster home or a home approved by the court which may be a public or private home;

(2) The home of the child’s noncustodial parent;

(3) The home of a relative;

(4) The home of fictive kin;

(5) A facility operated by a licensed child welfare agency; or

(6) A licensed shelter care facility approved by the court.

(d) The actual physical placement of a child pursuant to this Code section shall require the approval of the judge of the juvenile court or his or her designee.

(e) In any case in which a child is taken into protective custody of DFCS:

(1) DFCS shall give preference for placement to an adult who is a relative or fictive kin over a nonrelated caregiver, provided that such relative or fictive kin has met all requirements for a DFCS relative or fictive kin placement and such placement is in the best interests of the child; and

(2) Such child shall be placed together with his or her siblings who are also in protective custody or DFCS shall include a statement in its report and case plan of continuing efforts to place the siblings together or document why such joint placement would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings. If siblings are not placed together, DFCS shall provide for frequent visitation or other ongoing interaction between siblings, unless DFCS documents that such frequent visitation or other ongoing interaction would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings.

## History

Code 1981, § 15-11-135, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242; Ga. L. 2014, p. 780, § 1-9/SB 364; Ga. L. 2016, p. 134, § 1-1/HB 887; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1112, § 15/SB 365.

The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation in the first and second sentences of paragraph (e)(2).

## Code Commission Notes

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2016, ‘‘that such relative’’ was substituted for ‘‘that the such relative’’ in paragraph (e)(1).

## Law Reviews

For note criticizing jurisdiction of juvenile justice system over runaways and advocating alternative legal approaches, see 24 Emory L. J. 1075 (1975).