ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Human Services purchased a new SUV from a dealership in Dallas, Georgia, with an initial vehicle price of $40,800 before additional equipment and services.
The Georgia Department of Administrative Services approved the purchase by DHS for the Division of Family and Children Services to use in April.
In March, state lawmakers approved additional funding to address a projected shortfall of more than $85 million in Georgia’s foster care system.
As Channel 2 Action News reported previously, a number of financial decisions within DHS and DFCS had been a source of major concern among state lawmakers and community advocates, to the point of a state committee from both chambers of the General Assembly being drawn together to examine how to move forward.
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In April, DHS approved the purchase of a Chevrolet Traverse with an initial vehicle price of $40,800.
Purchase records also list a cellular communications package costing more than $890,000 and approximately $25,000 in equipment installation, including a wireless router, equipment racks, system and software installations, a high-capacity marine battery and removal of the vehicle’s third-row seat.
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The communication system was a Nyxcell system, similar to the “Stingray” device, which intercepts cellular and other wireless signals by mimicking a service tower.
The Nyxcell is a device built by Canada-based Octasic, which describes itself as a company that delivers “mission-ready solution[s] for homeland security and law enforcement.”
When asked, DHS and DFCS did not tell Channel 2 Action News why they needed the technology.
The dealership also gave DHS a discount of about $6,300, bringing down the overall cost of the purchase.
In September, Channel 2 Action News reported when a presentation to lawmakers on that committee told them “the math does not work.”
During a presentation to lawmakers in mid-September, DHS officials highlighted financial challenges facing the department in a slide titled “The Math Doesn’t Work.”
As reported by the Associated Press, the Georgia Department of Human Services has said the cost of care rose nearly 50% in the last three years due to a combination of factors, made more complicated by inflation.
DHS provided purchase records to Channel 2 Action News but did not address questions about the justification for the purchase in its response.
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