GEORGIA LAW TRACKER
Georgia Foster Care Laws
Every Georgia law and bill we track for foster youth and former foster youth. Only laws marked "Signed" are real rights today — always check the official link.
View every state’s law trackerRights Not Being Followed?See how to file a foster care complaint and find a verified state office.- SIGNED INTO LAWO.C.G.A. §§ 20-3-66, 20-3-660
State of Georgia Post-Secondary Tuition Waiver Program for Foster/Adopted Youth
Check the official source for the start date
If you are in foster care, were formerly in foster care, or were adopted from Georgia DFCS custody and are under 28, you can get tuition, fees, and sometimes on-campus housing waived at any Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) school. You apply through DFCS after completing the FAFSA, and the waiver follows you as long as you stay in good academic standing.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWHB 424 (2022); expanded by HB 136 (2025)
Fostering Success Act
Check the official source for the start date
Signed May 1, 2022
This law gives Georgia taxpayers a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit for donating to approved Qualified Foster Child Support Organizations. Those organizations use the money to pay for tuition, mentorship, housing, and other support for foster youth ages 16-18 and former foster youth up to age 25, helping fund scholarships and wraparound services for youth aging out of care.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWSB 85 (2025)
Georgia Foster Care Scholarship / Postsecondary Education Grants
Check the official source for the start date
Signed May 12, 2025
This law creates a new state grant program (alongside the existing tuition waiver) that can provide money to former foster youth who meet eligibility requirements to help pay for postsecondary education, subject to the funding the legislature appropriates each year.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWHB 242 (2013); O.C.G.A. §§ 15-11-12, 15-11-340
Extended Foster Care to Age 21 (Juvenile Code Rewrite)
Check the official source for the start date
Signed May 2, 2013
Georgia law allows you to voluntarily stay in foster care (as an extended care youth) from age 18 up to age 21 if you are finishing high school, in college or vocational training, working toward employment, employed a minimum number of hours, or unable to do these due to a medical condition. You sign a voluntary placement agreement with DFCS to stay in extended care, and you can re-enter if you leave and come back before turning 21.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWO.C.G.A. § 49-5-3
Youth Rights in Foster Care (Rights and Responsibilities)
Check the official source for the start date
Every youth in Georgia foster care who is at least 14 has a set of legal rights, including fair treatment, safety from abuse, information about their heritage, having their educational and health needs met, participating in their own case plan, and maintaining family and community connections. DFCS must honor these rights for all teens in its custody.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWSB 387 (2024)
Fee-Waived State ID Cards for Youth in DFCS Custody
Check the official source for the start date
Signed April 23, 2024
If you are 14-17 years old and in DFCS legal custody (or homeless), you no longer need a parent or guardian signature to get a Georgia personal ID card, and DFCS must waive the fee for that ID card. The law also lets the Department of Human Services set up programs to give foster youth a photo and help them get identification when they enter care.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWO.C.G.A. § 15-11-135(e)
Relative and Fictive Kin Placement Preference
Check the official source for the start date
When DFCS takes a child into protective custody, Georgia law requires the agency to give preference to placing the child with a relative or fictive kin (a family friend who acts like family) over a non-related foster caregiver, as long as that placement meets safety requirements and is in the child best interest. The law also requires that siblings in custody be placed together when possible.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWO.C.G.A. §§ 49-5-42, 49-5-43, 10-1-913, 10-1-914
Free Annual Credit Reports and Credit-Protection Assistance for Foster Youth
Check the official source for the start date
Once you turn 16 in Georgia foster care, DFCS must get you a free copy of your credit report every year until you leave state custody, and must help you review it, dispute errors, and understand your rights if you are a victim of identity theft. Georgia security freeze law also lets a representative place a free credit freeze to protect a minor or other protected consumer from identity theft.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWHB 855 (2020)
Special Education Screening for Foster Care Students
Check the official source for the start date
Signed July 29, 2020
This law requires Georgia State Board of Education to set eligibility criteria for foster care students to get special education and related services, and requires local school systems to promptly screen newly enrolled foster youth to decide whether they need an evaluation. It is meant to catch trauma-related or other educational needs quickly when a foster student changes schools.
READ THE LAW
Federal Laws — These Apply in Every State
These are United States laws, so they protect foster youth in Georgia and everywhere else in the country.
- SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 93-247
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
Check the official source for the start date
Signed January 31, 1974
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law was the first major federal effort to require states to set up systems for reporting and investigating child abuse and neglect, which is often the first step that can lead a child into foster care.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 95-608
Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
Check the official source for the start date
Signed November 8, 1978
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law sets special rules to keep Native American children connected to their families and tribes when child welfare agencies consider foster care or adoption placements.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 96-272
Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980
Check the official source for the start date
Signed June 17, 1980
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law created federal funding for adoption assistance and foster care, and required states to make reasonable efforts to keep families together before removing a child.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 103-382
Howard M. Metzenbaum Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994
Check the official source for the start date
Signed October 20, 1994
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law says that agencies cannot deny or delay a child's foster or adoptive placement just because of the child's or family's race, color, or national origin, while also requiring efforts to recruit diverse foster and adoptive families.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 105-89
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997
Check the official source for the start date
Signed November 19, 1997
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law pushed states to move children more quickly toward safe, permanent homes (like adoption) instead of staying in foster care for years, and gave states financial bonuses for finalized adoptions.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 106-169
Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (Chafee Program)
Check the official source for the start date
Signed December 14, 1999
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law created the John H. Chafee program, giving states more money and flexibility to help teens in foster care learn the life skills they need to live on their own after they age out of the system.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 110-351
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
Check the official source for the start date
Signed October 7, 2008
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law let states use federal funds to support relatives who become foster parents, allowed young people to stay in foster care until age 21 with federal support, and improved help for Native American children in tribal foster care.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 113-183
Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
Check the official source for the start date
Signed September 29, 2014
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law requires states to identify and protect foster youth at risk of sex trafficking, encourages normal teenage activities for kids in foster care, and makes sure youth leaving care have key documents like a birth certificate and ID.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 115-123
Family First Prevention Services Act
Check the official source for the start date
Signed February 9, 2018
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law lets states use federal foster care money to pay for services like counseling and parenting classes that can help keep at-risk children safely with their families instead of entering foster care, while also limiting funding for large group homes.
READ THE LAW - SIGNED INTO LAWP.L. 116-260
Supporting Foster Youth and Families through the Pandemic Act
Check the official source for the start date
Signed December 27, 2020
Sponsored by U.S. Congress
This law gave extra emergency funding and flexibility during COVID-19 so that older foster youth would not be forced to leave foster care and lose support during the pandemic.
READ THE LAW - PROPOSED — NOT LAW YETS. 4556
Informed Foster Youth Act of 2026
No start date unless it becomes law
Sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley & Sen. Ben Ray Luján
Proposed federal bill. It would require youth in foster care ages 14 and older to be told about available services at caseworker visits and court hearings, get free copies of their health and education records, ID documents and proof of foster care status, and have transition plans covering housing, education, jobs, mentoring and Medicaid.
READ THE LAW
General information, not legal advice. Questions or corrections? Email policy@helpfosteryouth.org.