an overview georgia program improvement plan - Department of ...

8 th Quarter Report: Prior to the beginning of the PIP, the state had no way to evaluate whether delays were occurring between filing
for adoption and finalization. Law at that time required a 60-day period between filing and finalization of the adoption petition. As a
result of the PIP, the state has achieved enhancement of the A file system to enable us to measure the length of time between filing of
and finalization of the adoption petition. The state has also achieved a change in the law effective July 1, 2003 (reported under action
step E-9), which removes the mandatory 60-day period, thus allowing for immediate hearings. Evaluation of the data shows a
decrease from the beginning of the PIP (+2 months) to the current state average of 1.63 months for FFY2004. The average time for
cases finalized in Fulton County is .76 or ¾ of one month. (Refer to attached report: Average time to Final Disposition of Adoption
from Filing date by Adoption Date between 10-1-03 to 9-30-04 for Fulton County).
Due to the change in law, which allows immediate timely hearings, a recommendation for statewide implementation of this pilot is not
appropriate.
8 th Quarter DOCUMENTATION: Attached is a copy of the CIP Qualitative Survey Report submitted in the 5 th quarter.
BARRIERS TO ACHIEVEMENT:
5 th Quarter: The superior court judges have told CIP staff that adoptions are a favorite task and they do not wish to delegate this
work.
Goal: Inform foster parents of service options available to them if they adopt.
E26 ACTION STEPS: Provide Adoption Assistance Handbook and information regarding accessing Post Adoption Services to all
foster care and adoption MAPP participants.
START
DATE
COMPLETION
DATE
RESPONSIBLE
PERSON(S)
MEASURABLE
BENCHMARKS
Mar. 2002 June 2003 Gail Greer, Adoption Support and Resource
Center
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
All prospective adoptive parents will have information
regarding post adoption services available to them.
Achieved. See below
4 th Quarter Federal Response: How many families received this packet and how will the State continue to ensure that informational
packets are provided?
Safe Futures – A Plan for Program Improvement
Georgia Department of Human Resources
November, 2004 Quarter 8 - Work Plan E Page 20