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Foster kids housed in hotels? DFCS says no more

Dec. 17, 2015 - Atlanta - DFCS Director Bobby Cagle received high praise in an independent report released this week on DFCS’s handling of foster care in Fulton and DeKalb counties. On Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, DFCS announced it will stop the practice of temporarily housing foster children in hotels BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM

Credit: Bob Andres

Credit: Bob Andres

Dec. 17, 2015 - Atlanta - DFCS Director Bobby Cagle received high praise in an independent report released this week on DFCS’s handling of foster care in Fulton and DeKalb counties. On Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, DFCS announced it will stop the practice of temporarily housing foster children in hotels BOB ANDRES / BANDRES@AJC.COM
By Craig Schneider
Sept 14, 2016

Need a meal? Call room service. The pool is down the hall, and you're never far from a Coke or a candy bar.

Living in a hotel may sound nice, but it's no place for a foster child. Still, the state has temporarily housed a total of a few hundred foster kids in hotels in recent years.

Now officials said they will stop the practice.

Faced with a shortage of foster homes across the state, the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) has periodically placed children brought into care in hotels accompanied by a trained worker to watch over them. The placements typically last only a few days until a suitable foster home is found for the child, officials said.

Read the full story at MyAJC at http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local/foster-kids-housed-in-hotels-no-more-dfcs-decides/nsXmZ/

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Craig Schneider
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