Barton Clinic Legislative and Advocacy Activities

2008 ^. 2007 ^. 2006 ^. 2005 ^. 2004 ^. 2003 ^. 2002 ^. 2001 ^. 2000

Use the form below to find your state and federal elected officials: (Courtesy of http://vote-smart.org/) Enter your zip+4 (xxxxx-xxxx):

2008 Session

• Suspending Reason: An Analysis of Georgia's Off-Campus Suspension Statute (70-page PDF) - The article discusses the policy and legal implications of a Georgia statute permitting the suspension and expulsion of students for behavior that occurs away from school grounds. Despite legislative intent that the statute be used only in extraordinary circumstances, in the four years since the statute has been enacted more than 1,300 of Georgia's children have been removed from school under this provision. The article concludes that such removals fail to ensure school safety, have long-term negative consequences for our children, and disproportionately impact youth of color and students with disabilities. Accordingly, the article recommends that the statute be repealed in its entirety or, in the alternative, that the statute be amended to provide clearer parameters for enforcement.
• House Bill 525 Summary and Analysis - HB 525 would require the electronic recordation of all custodial interrogations of juveniles, with certain exceptions. The bill would also require the preservation of such electronic records, as well as the specific training of law enforcement in methods of electronic recordation.
• House Bill 832 Summary and Analysis - HB 832 would require courts to notify superintendents or designees if any child in their school district is charged with or adjudicated delinquent for an act that would be considered a felony or misdemeanor if committed by an adult. The bill would require the same notification if any person under the age of 21 and attending a secondary school is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.
• House Bill 1213 Summary and Analysis - HB 1213 would modify the incest statute, Chapter 6 of Title 16 of the O.C.G.A., to neutralize all references to gender and to expand the set of sex acts defined as "incest."
• Senate Bill 37 Summary and Post Humphrey v. Wilson Analysis - SB 37 would permit the modification of sentences of teenagers who received mandatory minimum sentences upon being convicted of sex offenses based on mutual sexual activity. The permitted modifications would reflect the sentencing such teenagers would receive today, after the introduction of the "Romeo & Juliet" exceptions in 2006.
• Senate Bill 119 Summary and Analysis - SB 119 would add language to Titles 17 and 24 of the O.C.G.A. in order to provide a victim of a crime and members of the victim's immediate family the right to be present in the courtroom during the trial process.
• Senate Bill 481 Summary and Analysis - SB 481 would amend Chapter 12 of Title 16 and Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the O.C.G.A. in order to restrict access to certain evidence pertaining to the offenses of sexual exploitation of children, electronic furnishing of obscene materials to minors, and electronic or computer pornography. The restrictions of SB 481 would apply to any evidence depicting a minor or a portion of a minor's body engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
• Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Georgia: Service Delivery and Legislative Recommendations for State and Local Policy Makers - The exploitation of children through prostitution is big business in Atlanta, and changing this situation has been a priority for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin throughout her time in office. In 2005, the Mayor’s office published a paper titled Hidden In Plain View which explained the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of young girls in Atlanta, brought the importance of addressing the issue home by providing stories of real victims, and identified Atlanta’s strengths and areas of need related to this problem. Our paper builds on that foundation, but expands the scope to include all child victims, including boys, across Georgia. It examines approaches taken by other jurisdictions to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children, and makes legislative and policy recommendations for addressing the problem in Georgia.
• Secure Detention of Status Offenders: Legislative recommendations to ensure Georgia's compliance with federal law and to better serve Georgia's children - This paper outlines simple legislative approaches that would ensure Georgia's compliance with the federal mandate of reducing the secure detention of status offenders. These recommended changes would better serve Georgia's children by improving practices in the juvenile justice system and moving children out of locked facilities and into the treatment and rehabilitation services they need. In addition, the changes would help Georgia avoid potential federal penalties for non-compliance with the JJDPA's deinstitutionalization mandate.

2007 Session

• Senate Bill 37 Summary and Analysis - SB 37 would permit the correction and modification of sentences of some teenagers who were convicted of sex offenses after engaging in mutual sexual activity and subsequently received mandatory minimum sentences prior to a 2006 change in the law.
• Senate Bill 88 Summary and Analysis - SB 88 would provide for the creation, authorization, procedure, revocation and termination of a power of attorney from a parent to a grandparent for the care of a grandchild. The bill also provides for the creation of a program to provide a subsidy to certain grandparents raising grandchildren under certain circumstances.
• House Bill 155 Summary and Analysis - HB 155 would require criminal background checks for DHR providers who operate a personal care home, private home care, child welfare agencies, child care institutions, child-placing agencies, and maternity homes.  This background check would be conducted as part of the licensure process.
• HB 303 Summary and Analysis - HB 303 would amend Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A. as it relates to the extension of the duration of a court custody order when a motion for custody extension is filed by DFCS.  HB 303 would extend the duration of the temporary custody order to one or more periods of twelve months with no stated maximum.
• HB 50 Summary and Analysis - HB 50 would amend Chapter 3 of Title 39 of the O.C.G.A. regarding the Interstate Compact on Juveniles.  Specifically, the compact would facilitate cooperative supervision of delinquent juveniles on probation and parole and would ease the return from one state to another of delinquent children who have escaped or children who have run away.
• The Full FY2008 Georgia Governor's Budget Report - We have pulled out the table of contents and broken up this 369 page, 16MB, document into bitesize pieces for easier access.

2006 Session

• HB 1500: Summary and Proposed Modifications - HB 1500 adds new crimes to the existing designated felony statute, lowers the age under which children can be prosecuted under the act, lowers the age at which children can be held in secure confinement for crimes committed under the act, adds certain procedural protections for children charged with designated felonies, and modifies current laws regarding confidentiality.
• Open or Closed: An overview of the current opinions and realities of opening juvenile court deprivation proceedings - Georgia currently maintains closed dependency proceedings and records. Both sides of the open court debate have legitimate concerns, but, while all agree that the system needs to be mended, the data is insufficient to judge the effectiveness of open courts. Thus, it is essential that open court pilot programs be operated long enough to assess the effectiveness of open courts on the system and the children.
• HB 1145 Summary and Analysis - HB 1145 would clarify juvenile court proceedings relating to the mental health of accused juvenile offenders. Current law requires juvenile courts to order an evaluation of a child¿s mental health, if at any time following the filing of a petition, there is a question concerning the child¿s competence to stand trial. A qualified examiner must conduct an evaluation and determine whether the child is mentally competent and make a report to the court.
• HB 1059 - Suggested Changes to Sex Offender Legislation - As a child advocacy organization that focuses on abused and neglected children and children involved with the juvenile justice system, the Barton Clinic unequivocally supports efforts to punish adult sexual offenders who prey on children. We are concerned, however, that the proposed legislation unintentionally impacts children who offend. Child offenders are different from adult offenders in that they are amenable to treatment and are likely not to re-offend once treated. Research suggests that increased sentences for children may not deter child offenders or enhance public safety.
• Kenny A v. Perdue Class Action - We are tracking the progress of the Kenny A lawsuit as it moves from settlement to implementation.
• The Full FY2007 Georgia Governor's Budget Report - We have pulled out the table of contents and broken up this 374 page, 20MB, document into bitesize pieces for easier access.
• Department of Human Resources SFY07 Draft Budget Proposal - $2 million for prevention through home visitation, $22 million for SACWIS, $16 million cut to child placement services, $8.5 million for relative placements, $6 million for 175 specialized case managers, and much more.
• HB 847 - Clarifying Emancipation of Minors - Comprehensively addresses emancipation of minors, including the processes of emancipation as well as the rights and duties emancipation confers on minors, parents, and guardians. Full Recommendation

2005 Session

• Comparison of DFCS SFY06 Budget Request to Governor's Proposal
• The Full FY2006 Georgia Governor's Budget Report - We have pulled out the table of contents and broken up this 354 page, 20MB, document into bitesize pieces for your browsing pleasure.
• DFCS SFY06 Proposed Budget Presented at October 27, 2004 DHR Board Meeting

2004 Session

• The Full FY2005 Georgia Governor's Budget Report - We have pulled out the table of contents and broken up this 241 page, 2MB, document into bitesize pieces for your browsing pleasure.

2003 Session

• FAQ Sheet: Frequently Asked Questions: Foster Parenting and SB 236 - SB 236 clarifies for foster parents in Georgia the rights to receive notice and be heard in cases involving the children in their care in an attempt to encourage consistency in the exercise of these rights. This single-page sheet answers some frequenty asked questions about the provisions of SB 236 and its meaning and application for caregivers.
• Article: Expanding the Child Protection Team: The Promise of SB 236 - The Governor's 2003 legislative leadership was demonstrated through his introduction and passage of SB 236, which in many ways improves the procedures and placement opportunities for foster care children moving through the court and bureaucratic machinery of the state. Perhaps most important, SB 236 for the first time specifically addresses the rights of foster care parents to appear and give testimony in the juvenile court for children in their care. This clearly identified right expands the children's protection team to include foster care parents in a more inclusive and substantive manner.
• Paper: Definition of "Relative" Under Georgia and Federal Law - This paper has particular relevance to HB 41, introduced this session.
  A precise definition of who is a relative, a consistent timeline within which a search for a particular relative shall be made, and a hierarchy as to which relatives are to be preferred for placement have not been clearly established by either federal or state statutes or by the cases that have followed seeking a correct statutory interpretation. The purpose of this paper is to trace the use of the term "relative" through the federal and state statutes relating to abused and/or neglected children, and to outline what questions must be resolved to clarify the policies relating to preferred relative placements for children taken into state custody.
• Paper: The Rights of Georgia State Employees to Participate in Political Activity - The purpose of this article is to examine the First Amendment constitutional protection of freedom of speech that is enjoyed by all citizens and to outline the state and federal laws that attempt to limit this constitutional protection based on an individual's status as a government employee.
• The 3^rd Annual Child Advocacy Forum - Despite the weather, the 2003 forum and the rally across the street in the Capitol Rotunda were a great success. A giant postcard signed by the child advocates was our way of thanking Governor and Mrs. Perdue for their strong commitment to Georgia's neediest children.
• The Full FY2004 Georgia Governor's Budget Report - We have pulled out the table of contents and broken up this 724 page, 5MB, document into bitesize pieces for your browsing pleasure.
• DHR Child Protection Budget Request Adds $60.1 Million New State Dollars - Including 388 new positions, a per diem increase, money to close the Metro shelters and recruit foster parents, radios, and even new money for Child Fatality Review, CASA, Healthy Families, and SAAGs!
• Election 2002: The Year Child Welfare Became a Campaign Issue - Excerpts and links to Georgia GOP positions on child welfare.
• Candidate Survey - This candidate survey was designed by a coalition of child advocacy organizations as to create an opportunity for candidates to inform the electorate about their views on issues critical to the children of Georgia.
• DHR FY04 Proposed Budget Request for Protection of Children - A request for $60 million in additional state funds for protecting children was sent by Georgia's Department of Human Resources to the Governor on September 18, 2002. This budget request must now make it into the Governor's budget. After that, it will be voted on by the legistlature. If it makes it through that process (some time in early 2003), and is then signed by the Governor, it will provide funds to improve the child protection system in state fiscal year 2004.

2002 Session

• Barton Clinic 2002 Working Paper: Workplace Supports to Improve Georgia's Child Protective Services
  This 31-page paper provides an overview of some of the many programs and workplace supports implemented elsewhere to enhance longevity and job satisfaction for child welfare workers. It also provides research-based recommendations for improving the recruitment and retention of child welfare case managers in Georgia.
  Table of Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. Recommendations
  1. Strong Promotion of Education and Training
  2. Technology as a Tool
  3. Workforce Morale
  3. Conclusion
  4. Appendices
  Posted February 20, 2002.
• The Full FY2003 Georgia Governor's Budget Report - We have pulled out the table of contents and broken up this 728 page, 37MB, document into bitesize pieces for your browsing pleasure. At the Barton Clinic, our focus is mainly on the Governor's Special Child Welfare Initiative and the summary of the Department of Human Resources budget.
• Survey of Child Endangerment Statutes Nationally and Analysis of Georgia Legislative Opportunity - Authored by Mary Margaret Oliver and Will Crossley. Published in the December 2001 Georgia Bar Journal.
  Georgia is the only state in the country with no specific criminal child endangerment statute, and presently before the 2002 Georgia General Assembly is House Bill 453, drafted to create such an offense. This article analyzes the issues surrounding the possible enactment of this proposed legislation.
• Legislative Bill Tracker - A single-page summary of the bills tracked by the Clinic over this legislative session. Updates are made automatically from information on the Georgia Net website every 2 hours (during the legislative session). Bills acted on recently are marked with a *.
• The 2^nd Annual Child Welfare Advocacy Forum - We had a tremendous turnout for this event -- over 200 child advocates! Speakers included Commissioner Jim Martin, Commissioner Orlando Martinez, Child Advocate Dee Simms, Shawn Huff, and, of course, Governor Roy Barnes.
• Summary of Child Protective Services Items in Governor's FY2003 Budget Report
• Foster Child Education Grants Are Announced - January 11, 2002: The Foster Child Education Grant will allow all foster children who are in state custody at age 18 to get tuition, room and board expenses covered as long as they are in foster care.
• Advocates' Letter to Governor Barnes - An open letter from 37 participants of the Child Advocacy Planning Retreat to Governor Roy Barnes in support of critical items in the DHR FY2002 budget. November 30, 2001.
• Department of Human Resources FY 2002 Approved Budget Reductions

2001 Session

• 2001 Legislative Wrap-Up: DHR Budget Items - A summary list of the 5 major budget items we advocated for followed by our preliminary estimates of the DHR allocations that the legislature passed. We requested increases totaling $35 million and received approximately $30 million from the legislature.
• Comparison of Pending Legislation Addressing Pimping and Pandering of Minors - Senate Bills 33, 34, 35 and House Bill 343 were introduced by the Georgia Legislature to address the problem of pimping/pandering of minors. Each bill contains slightly different language and offers different solutions to the problem.
  • Section One of this paper offers the language of the current code (O.C.G.A.) regarding pimping and pandering.
  • Section Two compares the original legislation proposed and considers the differences between each original piece of legislation.
  • Finally, in Section Three, we offer additional questions to consider as these bills are discussed.
• The Full FY2002 Georgia Governor's Budget Report - We have pulled out the table of contents and broken up this 670 page, 5.7MB, document into bitesize pieces for your browsing pleasure.
• Barton Clinic 2001 Policy Paper
  The Barton Clinic was the lead organization during the 2001 legislative session for the Georgia Children's Agenda in the area of Safety. Our agenda item was: Strengthen Georgia's Child Protective Services' Capacity to Protect Children From Abuse and Neglect. This 28-page policy paper details the problems as we see them and our recommendations for first steps toward lasting solutions.
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  1. Introduction
  2. Recommendations
     1. Stop the exodus of workers and fill all vacancies by raising the starting salary of caseworkers to a reasonable level using a pay structure that rewards workers with advanced degrees
     2. Save children's lives and reduce turnover by adding enough caseworkers to comply with national caseload standards
     3. Establish an integrated statewide information system for the confidential tracking of children who have been the subject of abuse or neglect allegations
     4. Provide workers with needed tools and resources, including appropriate representation in court and appropriate placement resources
  3. Tools for Systemic Change
  4. Conclusion
  February 6, 2001.

• 2001 Child Welfare Forum and Rally - The Barton Clinic was a host of a rally in the capitol rotunda where we presented Governor Roy Barnes with an oversized postcard saying "Thank You For Your Support!". The governor proposed the most generous child welfare package in this states' recent history. The rally followed an impassioned child welfare advocacy forum at which more than 100 child advocates signed the postcard to the governor. January 18, 2001.
• 2001 Georgia Children's Agenda Item Summary - A summary and fact sheet encapsulating our agenda for the 2001 legislative session. We seek to strengthen Georgia's Child Protective Services' capacity to protect children from abuse and neglect by:
  1. increasing worker salary levels to recruit and retain qualified staff and fill all vacancies;
  2. lowering workers' caseloads and reducing turnover by hiring additional staff;
  3. creating a statewide confidential information system to monitor children alleged to have been abused or neglected;
  4. providing workers with appropriate resources, including legal representation and placement options.
  December 20, 2000.
• Advocates' Letter to Governor Barnes - An open letter from 38 participants of the Child Advocacy Planning Retreat to Governor Roy Barnes in support of critical items in the DHR FY2002 budget. December 1, 2000.
• Department of Human Resources FY 2002 Proposed Budget Request

2000 Session

The Barton Clinic was heavily involved in shaping the following bills:

• HB1422 - The Child Advocate Act - Originally HB1081, later evolving into HB 1422, the 'Georgia Child Advocate for the Protection of Children Act'. The bill establishes the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children in the office of the Governor. The office's primary mandate is to investigate complaints brought on behalf of children under the care of the State of Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services and Child Protective Services. HB1422 was adopted by the Georgia House and Senate and signed into law by Governor Barnes on April 6, 2000. The first Child Advocate, Ms. DeAlvah Simms, was appointed by Governor Barnes on September 15, 2000. The office will have a first year budget of $300,000.
• HB182 - Juvenile Court Judges Funding Bill - HB 182 provides for state funded grants toward the salary of juvenile court judges on a per circuit basis. HB182 was adopted by the Georgia House and Senate and signed into law by Governor Barnes on April 28, 2000.

The Barton Clinic was peripherally involved with the following bills:

• SB315 - The Terrell Peterson Act - SB315 empowers physicians to retain temporary protective custody of a child. SB315 was adopted by the Georgia House and Senate and signed into law by Governor Barnes on April 6, 2000.

---

Home ^. About ^. News ^. Activities ^. Resources
The Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic, info@ChildWelfare.net
Emory University School of Law, Gambrell Hall, Atlanta, GA 30322, (404) 727-6664.