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Human Trafficking, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse Found in Family & Children Services Investigation

FILE - Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., arrives before a subcommittee hearing, Sept. 13, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. During a subcommittee hearing on Monday, Oct. 30, chaired by Ossoff in Atlanta, two Georgia juvenile court judges said the head of the state's child welfare agency asked judges in an August meeting to illegally jail foster children while officials looked for other places to house them. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)
Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP
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FR171810 AP
FILE - Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., arrives before a subcommittee hearing, Sept. 13, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. During a subcommittee hearing on Monday, Oct. 30, chaired by Ossoff in Atlanta, two Georgia juvenile court judges said the head of the state's child welfare agency asked judges in an August meeting to illegally jail foster children while officials looked for other places to house them. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

The report finds the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services failed to protect children from physical and sexual abuse, resulting in death and serious injuries. The report also says that officials kept children in juvenile detention longer than necessary, and that the department failed to follow their own policy in administering psychotropic drugs to children under their care.

The subcommittee said that hundreds of children were likely sex trafficked in five years, and nearly 2,000 have been reported missing according to a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assessment.

The 64-page case study, released today, identifies seven key findings from interviewing more than 100 witnesses and sources, and reviewing thousands of documents.

This case study began in February when Ossoff launched an inquiry to assess the safety of the foster care system in Georgia.

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