DFCS spends a minimum of $830 to $980 a month to house a child in foster care, according to the state’s published daily rates for foster parents. That’s roughly equivalent to the monthly fair market rate to rent a one-bedroom apartment in most of Georgia outside of metro Atlanta, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s estimates.
The cost for foster care can be significantly higher if a child has complex mental health or behavioral needs, as some of Wise’s kids do. Under the state’s current rates, specialized foster care for a single child in an institution or group home can reach $6,390 a month.
Josh Gupta-Kagan, who directs the Family Defense Clinic at Columbia Law School, said it’s baffling that DFCS would not provide housing assistance instead of removing children. “Why do we allow kids to be separated from their parents who we won’t help with housing — only to place them with strangers who we will help with housing?” he asked.
Because cruelty IS the point.
Came here to say this; The state’s actions show a disturbing pattern where they:
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Refused to help Brittany Wise with $10,000 in housing debt when she proactively asked for assistance to keep her family together
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Then spent at least $6,200 per month (likely much more given special needs) to separate her children and place them in foster care - far exceeding what it would have cost to simply help with housing
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Made her children’s situation actively worse by:
- Splitting up siblings who previously lived together
- Placing children with behavioral challenges in unstable situations
- Having some kids spend nights in DFCS offices due to lack of placements
- Traumatizing a 9-year-old who just wanted to celebrate his birthday with his mom
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Choice of policy priorities is telling: The state dedicates less than 0.5% of its $450 million family preservation budget to housing assistance, despite housing being the third most common reason for separating families
The math alone exposes the reality - this isn’t about costs or helping families. If it were, they would spend the smaller amount on housing assistance rather than the larger amount on foster care. The system seems designed to punish poverty by taking children from struggling parents rather than helping stabilize families in crisis.
When the state chooses to spend more money to break up a family than it would cost to keep them together, that reveals the true priority isn’t the wellbeing of children or fiscal responsibility - it’s exerting control and punishing parents for being poor.
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