ATLANTA — A December hearing in a joint committee of the Georgia House of Representatives brought to light a multi-million dollar deficit in one of the state’s critical social service programs.
Sitting in a meeting on Dec. 18, 2025 with members of the Georgia House Judiciary Juvenile Subcommittee, Department of Human Services Secretary Candice Broce answered questions from lawmakers about the Out-of-Home Care Program.
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According to a memo shared with Channel 2 Action News by committee chair State Rep. Katie Dempsey, the OHC program, which provides temporary housing for children who are unsafe in their own homes due to abuse, neglect or family issues, faces a potentially $85.7 million deficit.
In the memo shared by Dempsey, the deficit was predicted at being more than $85 million in September, though a projected deficit from the Dec. 18, 2025 meeting was lower at just under $50 million instead.
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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.
The AP reported that inflation, decreases in federal funding and delayed grants due to the most recent federal government shutdown have added to the funding issue.
Speaking with Channel 2 Action News on Tuesday, Dempsey said lawmakers would be working on the appropriations for DHS and its programs during the current legislative session, which started Monday.
Requests for additional information from DHS have yet to be fulfilled.
However, at the hearing in December, Broce told lawmakers that the deficit came from a combination of factors, such as changes to federal funding programs, a shortage of state funds over the past three fiscal years and delays in federal grants due to the longest shutdown in national history in 2025.
According to the memo from the December meeting, the Department of Family and Children Services was $7 million short in fiscal year 2023, $18 million short in FY2024 and $27 million short in FY2025.
“While we were able to utilize unobligated TANF funds to end those years in budgetary compliance, our unobligated TANF balance cannot absorb a deficit of this magnitude,“ the memo said. ”As such, DHS-DFCS is implementing the following contract cancellations, process changes, and rate reductions to reduce our projected deficit.”
More specifically, DHS plans to lower fund usage in the following areas to lower their projected deficit for the coming year:
- Decrease state office contracts by $5,009,204
- Decrease delivered services process change by $31,077,372
- Decrease mileage and transportation rates by $716,402
As planned, that would reduce the shortfall to $48.89 million, rather than the initially expected $85.7 million.
The Associated Press reported that the reductions mean the termination or suspension of contracts with private providers and lowering spending for supplemental aid that was previously available to help foster families in need.
The Department of Human Services told Channel 2 Action News that the budget deficit had been a topic of conversation throughout 2025 and during the more recent previous legislative session.
The department said that throughout January, February and March 2025, Broce made several funding and appropriations requests to the legislature for structural support funding and increased cost projects for foster care services.
On multiple occasions, Broce requested $44 million in additional funding for DHS to cover those needs, including a structural federal funding need for the 2026 fiscal year.
Heading into the next round of appropriations hearings for the 2026 legislative session, Broce is expected to appear before lawmakers present the agency’s budget proposal amid changes to federal program funding policies.
Scheduling from the Georgia General Assembly shows a Joint Appropriations committee hearing is set for 8 a.m. on Jan. 21 at the State Capitol.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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