This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Children and Youth Act.” History. Ga. L. 1963, p. 81, § 1; Ga. L. 2013, p. 141, § 49/HB 79. The 2013 amendment, effective April 24, 2013, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “This article shall be known […]
As used in this Code section, the term “child welfare agency” means any child-caring institution, child-placing agency, children’s transition care center, or maternity home. All child welfare agencies shall be licensed or commissioned annually by the department in accordance with procedures, standards, rules, and regulations to be established by the board. The board shall develop […]
Unless otherwise provided in subsection (r) of Code Section 49-5-12, any person who violates the provisions of Code Section 49-5-12 or who hinders, obstructs, or otherwise interferes with any representative of the department in the discharge of that person’s official duties in making inspections as provided in Code Section 49-5-12 or in investigating complaints as […]
Any caregiver or other entity under contract with the department shall be immune from civil liability as a result of a caregiver’s approval of the participation of a child, who is in the custody of the department, in an age or developmentally appropriate activity, so long as such caregiver or other entity under contract with […]
As used in this Code section, the term: “Affected agency” means any state agency, department, division, or office which requires a license or commission from the department for child welfare agencies, including, but not limited to, the Division of Family and Children Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental […]
Nothing in this article or any rules and regulations adopted hereunder shall be construed to require that private child care learning centers maintain a ratio of adults to children under care that is commensurate with any federal requirement concerning such adult to child ratio. History. Ga. L. 1970, p. 720, § 1; Ga. L. 2013, […]
No person shall bring or send into the state any child for the purpose of placing him or procuring his adoption without first filing notice with the department. He shall file with the department a bond payable to the state for each child he intends to send or bring, approved by the department, in the […]
The department shall have the power and is authorized: To enter into contracts with federal, state, county, and municipal governments and their agencies and departments; public and private institutions and agencies of this and other states; and individuals, as may be necessary or desirable in effectuating the purposes of this article; To enter into contracts […]
The department is authorized and empowered to receive, accept, hold, and use, on behalf of the state and for purposes provided for in this article, gifts, grants, donations, devises, and bequests of real, personal, and mixed property of every kind and description. History. Ga. L. 1963, p. 81, § 18.
The commissioner is authorized to institute or to intervene in any legal proceedings necessary to the performance of duties and responsibilities of the department and to the enforcement of this article and provisions of policies, standards, rules, and regulations established by the board in conformity with this article as may be commensurate with the legal […]
The commissioner shall prepare and publish in print or electronically an annual report on the operations of the department and of county departments of family and children services under this article and submit it to the Governor, the board, and all interested persons, officials, agencies, and groups, public or private. The report shall contain, in […]
The purpose of this article is to promote, safeguard, and protect the well-being and general welfare of children and youth of this state through a comprehensive and coordinated program of public child welfare and youth services, providing for: Social services and facilities for children and youths who require care, control, protection, treatment, or rehabilitation and […]
Nothing in this article shall be deemed to revoke any charter of incorporation of any orphans’ home or charitable or benevolent institution incorporated and established under the Act of the General Assembly approved December 18, 1894 (Ga. L. 1894, p. 80), as amended by the Act of the General Assembly approved December 16, 1898 (Ga. […]
Any person who shall knowingly aid, assist, or encourage any child or youth under the lawful control or custody of the department or of any licensed child welfare agency or home or facility used by such agency, public or private, to escape or to attempt to escape its control or custody shall be guilty of […]
The General Assembly finds that just as gender separated toileting among nonrelatives is the norm among adults, children should be allowed the same opportunity to practice modesty when independent toileting behavior is well established among the majority of their age group. Standardized adherence to this policy would provide privacy, injury control, and sanitation. Each public […]
Any agency, department, or office that regulates child welfare agencies shall make available to such child welfare agencies at the time of application for initial or renewal certification or licensure information concerning contacting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to obtain recall notices on unsafe child and infant products. Child welfare agencies shall post the […]
In an effort to improve the availability and quality of programs and services for the protection of children and youth, the General Assembly supports interagency efforts to gather comprehensive data and to actively share and disseminate data among those agencies responsible for making informed decisions regarding the treatment, care, security, and protection of children within […]
On and after July 1, 2022, all maternity supportive housing residences shall register in accordance with this Code section by submitting an application to the department upon forms furnished by the department. The form furnished by the department shall require the name, address, and telephone number of the maternity supportive housing residence and emergency contact […]
As used in this article, the term: “Age or developmentally appropriate” means activities or items that are generally accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally-appropriate for a child, based on the development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that are […]
It shall be the duty of all other state departments, agencies, officers, and employees to assure the most effective coordination and use of state resources, personnel, and facilities for the benefit of children and youths and to assist the Department of Human Services in effectuating the purposes of this article by making available to the […]
