COLUMBUS, Ga. - Georgia's foster care spending on direct services increased by $155.4 million in three years, rising from $366.1 million in fiscal year 2022 to $521.5 million in fiscal year 2025. During that period, the number of children whose annual care costs exceeded $100,000 jumped from 177 to 729, an increase of about 4.1 times. State auditors found that the rising expenses reflected children needing more intensive services, fewer available placement options, higher provider rates and changes in how the state approved payments.

The findings come from a September 2026 special examination by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, requested by the House Appropriations Committee. The report examined the Division of Family & Children Services, or DFCS, which operates the state's foster care system through its Out-of-Home Care program. Although the review covers Georgia statewide, its findings affect how public money supports foster children, including those served in Columbus and surrounding communities.

Where the Additional $155 Million Went

State auditors identified four spending categories responsible for nearly all the increase between fiscal years 2022 and 2025. Together, those categories grew by $160.4 million, more than the program's overall increase because spending in other categories declined. The largest dollar increase involved daily payments to foster care providers, while behavioral aides recorded the largest percentage increase.

A per diem is the daily amount paid to a foster parent or placement provider to cover a child's care and living expenses. Transportation spending includes trips for medical appointments, court appearances and family visits, while behavioral aides are trained workers who help supervise and support children with additional needs. Written waivers are special approvals from DFCS headquarters for payments or services beyond standard arrangements, including higher daily rates for difficult placements.

Transportation costs grew by 195%, with the average annual expense per child increasing from approximately $1,800 to $3,800. Behavioral aide costs increased by 643%, although auditors said part of that increase reflected expenses being moved from another accounting category. Written waiver spending rose 124%, with average annual expenses increasing from approximately $7,700 to $13,300 per child receiving those payments.

More Children Required Over $100,000 in Annual Care

The most expensive 20% of children accounted for approximately 72% of the increase in spending on children in DFCS custody. Average annual spending for this group grew from $57,600 in fiscal year 2022 to $84,900 in fiscal year 2025. Among the costliest 10%, average spending increased from approximately $75,400 to $116,600.

The report found that 177 children had annual care expenditures exceeding $100,000 in fiscal year 2022, compared with 729 in fiscal year 2025. That represents an increase of 552 children, with the 2025 figure more than four times the earlier total. Three children had annual expenditures exceeding $900,000 in fiscal year 2025.

Auditors linked much of the spending growth to children requiring more extensive medical, behavioral or developmental support. Medicaid records showed that the number of foster children diagnosed with autism increased from 836 in 2022 to 1,414 in 2025. In a review of 60 high-cost children, auditors also found that average placement changes increased from 2.4 to 3.2 per child.

Why Foster Care Costs Increased

The report identified a decline in DFCS-supervised foster homes as one factor contributing to higher placement costs. When those homes are unavailable, the state may rely on private child placing agencies, which recruit and supervise foster parents and receive payments that include administrative expenses. Auditors gave an example in which a three-year-old child's daily care rate was $28.63 in a DFCS foster home, compared with $54.66 through a private agency.

Children requiring specialized residential treatment also face limited placement options. The report identified only six psychiatric residential treatment facilities in Georgia serving children from Georgia or other states, with beds also used by patients covered through different insurance arrangements. When an appropriate treatment bed is unavailable, DFCS may have to use expensive alternatives that do not provide the specialized treatment a child needs.

Georgia lawmakers also approved daily provider rate increases of 10% in fiscal year 2023 and 3% in fiscal year 2025. Auditors calculated that those changes added $27.4 million in expenditures, representing approximately 58% of the overall increase in daily care payments. Additional spending came from more children receiving higher-cost placement designations and supplemental rates.

Fewer Hotel Stays, but Higher Costs for Children Affected

One of the report's findings involves a practice known as "hoteling," when children temporarily stay in hotels or DFCS offices while waiting for appropriate placements. Auditors said the practice is unsuitable because children may not receive needed services until they enter stable housing. The report estimated that a hotel stay with two behavioral aides providing supervision could cost more than $2,000 for a single 24-hour period.

Georgia reduced the number of children experiencing hoteling from a peak of 989 in fiscal year 2023 to 301 in 2024 and 329 in 2025. The number increased again to 504 in fiscal year 2026, although it remained below the 2023 peak. Auditors found that the median length of hotel stays decreased from about 12 days to seven days between 2023 and 2026.

However, reducing hotel stays required more financial support for other placements. Average annual spending on children who experienced hoteling increased 62%, from approximately $47,800 in fiscal year 2022 to $77,600 in 2025. Auditors attributed the increase to higher daily placement rates, enhanced payments to providers and additional behavioral aide services.

DFCS leadership acknowledged that efforts to avoid hotel placements resulted in more service requests and approvals than may have been necessary. Auditors said these practices may also have increased spending on children who never experienced hoteling. The findings show how an effort to reduce one expensive and unsuitable arrangement could increase costs elsewhere in the foster care system.

A Payment System Increased Approvals and Spending

In fiscal year 2022, DFCS implemented an electronic service authorization and payment system called ARGO. The system allowed case managers to request services electronically and notify potential providers after approvals. Its goal was to improve how quickly services could be arranged and providers could receive payment.

According to the audit, approved service authorizations increased 67%, from 202,665 in fiscal year 2022 to 337,553 in fiscal year 2025. Spending associated with services requiring those approvals rose 112%, from $63.3 million to $134.4 million. Auditors identified behavioral aides, transportation and mileage payments among the major contributors.

DFCS reduced ARGO's role in November 2025, returning most service approvals to county and regional directors. Spending in service authorization categories subsequently declined by $28.7 million, or 21%, in fiscal year 2026. However, case managers reported that the changes made some needed services harder to obtain and required them to spend more time arranging transportation and finding other providers.

The report did not establish that every additional authorization represented unnecessary spending. Auditors said they did not test the system's controls, but noted that more authorizations raise the risk of approving unnecessary services or making improper payments. DFCS acknowledged that some services could have been delivered through other means, while saying the system also revealed actual, ongoing needs.

Federal Funding Rules Leave Georgia Paying More

Georgia uses federal Title IV-E funds and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, money to help cover allowable foster care expenses. However, auditors found that federal eligibility restrictions limit how much of the program can be supported through those sources. State funds therefore cover a substantial portion of the costs.

Title IV-E eligibility depends partly on income standards that have not changed in Georgia since 1994. The report found that approximately 35% of children qualified in recent years, with court documentation requirements and restrictions on group home placements creating additional limits. Federal rules also generally restrict Title IV-E maintenance payments for most group home placements to 14 days.

TANF funding operates under a fixed federal grant and requires states to maintain certain spending levels. Its foster care maintenance payments are limited to the first six months after a child enters care. Medicaid covers healthcare for most foster children, but restrictions involving behavioral aides, psychiatric treatment placements and medical transportation can leave DFCS responsible for additional expenses.

What Changed in Fiscal Year 2026

Following a projected $86 million program deficit, DFCS changed its service approval procedures, reversed selected rate increases and ended certain provider contracts. Total Out-of-Home Care expenditures declined to approximately $497 million in fiscal year 2026, compared with $526.2 million in 2025. Auditors reported that spending was $63.7 million below available funding, although DFCS cautioned that some provider invoices for services delivered in 2026 might not appear until the following fiscal year.

Direct-service spending fell by approximately $27 million to $494 million in fiscal year 2026. Transportation expenses decreased by $14 million, behavioral aide spending by $2.8 million and written waiver payments by $2.2 million. Despite the reductions, average per-child spending increased by approximately $1,000 for daily care payments and $550 for behavioral aides.

What Georgia Officials Said

The Georgia Department of Human Services agreed with the audit's findings but provided additional explanations about factors affecting costs. The agency pointed to court orders, medical expenses not covered by Medicaid and challenges obtaining appropriate services as additional concerns. It also emphasized the importance of maintaining enough qualified placement providers to meet children's needs.

DHS said some payment system changes helped reveal ongoing service needs that earlier practices had not fully reflected. The agency also maintained that timely provider payments are necessary to preserve placement options. The Department of Community Health agreed with the audit finding addressing Medicaid.

Nearly 10,000 Children Remained in Foster Care

The report recorded 9,930 children in Georgia foster care in early August 2026. DFCS noted that the number of children in custody typically falls during the summer and increases after schools reopen. The agency attributed that pattern partly to mandatory reporting of suspected abuse and neglect.

Auditors also found that Georgia's foster care population had remained relatively stable between 2022 and 2025, despite substantially higher spending. That distinction matters because the $155.4 million increase cannot be explained simply by a comparable rise in the number of children receiving care. The report instead points to the growing expense of individual placements and the services needed to support them.

How to Become a Foster Parent in Georgia

Residents interested in becoming foster parents can begin through Foster Georgia at fostergeorgia.com, the official DFCS website for prospective foster and adoptive parents. The program also provides information by telephone at 877-210-KIDS. Information sessions for prospective caregivers are held most weeks.

Prospective foster parents must complete required pre-service training known as NTDC Pre-Service Training. The information sessions provide a starting point for people considering a caregiving role. For Columbus-area residents who want to help children needing temporary homes, Foster Georgia provides the official starting point for learning about the process.

How We Did This

Columbus Times reviewed the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts' September 2026 report, "DFCS Out-of-Home Care Spending," Special Examination Report No. 26-08, prepared at the request of the House Appropriations Committee. The spending figures, program trends, agency explanations and findings in this article come from that report, while the foster parent contact information comes from the supplied Foster Georgia details. Dollar comparisons were calculated from the figures published in the audit, and statewide findings were not presented as separate Columbus-area statistics.