ATLANTA – State Representative Katie Dempsey (R-Rome) served as a guest speaker this week at the Georgia Mini Institute on Safely Reducing the Number of Children in Foster Care. This mini institute brings together state teams consisting of executive, judicial, and legislative representatives from seven states to Atlanta to learn about child welfare reform. The event runs from Wednesday, June 23 to Friday, June 25.
“It is a true measure of success to know that Georgia’s hard work to improve our child welfare system is not only working, but is actually getting noticed, endorsed, and copied by other states and national organizations,” said Rep. Dempsey. “I am honored to have played a part in improving Georgia’s foster care system. Now that these efforts are improving the lives of children in Georgia, I am eager to help other states use our proven tactics to improve the lives of their children.”
Rep. Dempsey was invited to speak at the “Legislative Initiatives Topic Table” portion of the mini institute on Wednesday, June 23, because of her work on House Bill 1085. This bill improves Georgia’s foster care system by easing transitions for children in foster care and by bringing the state into compliance with the federal Fostering Connections Act. Rep. Dempsey introduced HB 1085 during this year’s legislative session and worked closely with state House and Senate leaders to secure the bill’s passage. As a result of her efforts, HB 1085 was signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue on May 27, 2010.
As a leader of the legislative initiatives session, Rep. Dempsey helped legislators from Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and West Virginia understand how they, too, can improve their states’ foster care systems through legislation similar to HB 1085.
Rep. Dempsey also assisted with a group breakout session for legislators on Thursday, June 24. During this session, legislators from the seven states heard from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about the Adverse Childhood Experiences study, which examines the links between childhood maltreatment and later-life health and well-being outcomes.
The mini institute, also called a learning lab, is hosted by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), and Casey Family Programs. These organizations chose to hold this event in Atlanta because Georgia is a national leader in the safe reduction of children in foster care and has a great deal to share with other states.
Georgia has implemented a number of innovative approaches to reform the state’s child welfare system and has successfully and safely reduced the number of children in foster care by 42 percent. The mini institute enables state teams to meet with a wide array of state and local policy officials and stakeholders who are essential to the success of these reforms in Georgia. During the three day event, state leaders from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and West Virginia learned how these efforts evolved and even saw the work in action.
More information on Rep. Dempsey can be found by clicking here. A link to HB 1085 can be found by clicking here.
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Representative Katie Dempsey represents the citizens of District 13, which includes portions of Floyd County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2006, and currently serves as a Majority Deputy Whip. She is the Vice Chairman for the Higher Education Committee and also serves as a member of the Economic Development & Tourism; Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications; Health & Human Service; and Rules Committees.