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Bipartisan Senate holds hearing over Georgia foster care safety

FILE- Chairman Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., questions Michael Carvajal, the outgoing director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as the Senate Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations holds a hearing on charges of corruption and misconduct at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, at the Capitol in Washington, July 26, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) (J. Scott Applewhite, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Human Rights Subcommittee Chairman Jon Ossoff is continuing his bipartisan investigation into the safety of children in foster care.

Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET, Chairman Ossoff and Ranking Member Blackburn (R-TN) held a hearing to receive testimony from former foster kids, parents, and experts as part of his Subcommittee’s ongoing bipartisan investigation into the treatment of foster children in the United States.

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“Foster care is meant to provide sanctuary for our most vulnerable children,” Chairman Ossoff said. “On Wednesday, we will hear firsthand testimony from children and parents who have suffered grievously from systemic failures, and from expert witnesses to shed light on necessary reforms.”

In February, following reports that children in the care of Georgia’s Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) have been subjected to abuse and neglect, Chairman Ossoff and Ranking Member Blackburn launched a bipartisan inquiry to assess the safety of children in the system.

Please find more information below:

WITNESSES:

  • Rachel Aldridge, Georgia Parent
  • Mon’a Houston, Former Foster Child
  • Melissa Carter, Clinical Professor and Executive Director of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University School of Law
  • Emma Hetherington, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic at the University of Georgia School of Law