Let’s demonstrate how we can rally to help a sister agency serve their small customers!
This year, the Division of Family and Children Services, in partnership with Clark Howard’s Christmas Kids, needs our help to make Christmas special for 6,800 foster children throughout Georgia. Currently, Santa will be short on his visit to 3,000 children by Christmas morning.
How can you help?
Please encourage your networks, friends, coworkers and family members to help our foster children have a little happier holiday by donating to the Georgia DFCS Secret Santa Program. You can make a child’s wish come true by clicking this link and clicking the “Donate Now” button. If you do not have a PayPal account, simply select the Credit Card option near the bottom of the page. Any amount helps!
Thank you and Happy Holidays!
Let’s demonstrate how we can rally to help a sister agency serve their small customers!
The Division of Family and Children Services needs our help to make Christmas special for foster children throughout Georgia. Currently, Santa will be short on his visits to over 6,700 children in 124 counties by Christmas morning. There are currently 11,656 children, ages 0-21, in foster care. The goal is to fill as many wish lists as possible.
How can you help? There are a few ways:
- Contact DFCS to sponsor children: Based on the number of children that you would like to shop for, they will supply a list containing their first name, age, sex, race and county of residence.
- Agency Toy Drive: Collect toys from staff. DFCS will match toys with the children’s wish lists.
- Monetary Donation (by check or website): Check can be mailed to the DFCS office (2 Peachtree Street, Suite 19-472, Atlanta, 30303) made payable to: DHS Secret Santa, or you can go online and donate via PayPal.
You can click on Secret Santa Program for more information! That’s it! Someone will wrap and deliver the toy on your behalf on Christmas morning.
Thank you for helping to make the holiday season bright for kids in foster care!
Governor Nathan Deal has announced that Bobby Cagle will become the interim director of the Division of Family and Children Services, leaving his position as commissioner of the Department of Early Care and Learning. Cagle will replace Director Sharon Hill, who is leaving to serve at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget. Amy Jacobs, senior policy adviser for the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, will replace Cagle as interim commissioner of the Department of Early Care and Learning.
“We have no greater responsibility than caring for our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” Deal said. “It is clear there is a need for a more deliberate reform process of the child welfare system, and we are taking action on several fronts. We must work to ensure that our children are safe and that they get their best shot at a good life. Commissioner Cagle has been a longtime champion of child care and early education, playing a vital role in administering our nationally recognized Pre-K program alongside a number of other responsibilities. I have no doubt that Commissioner Cagle will serve our state well in his new role.”
In March of this year, Deal created the Child Welfare Reform Council and council members have met twice to discuss possible executive agency reforms and legislative fixes to improve our state’s child welfare system. Reform recommendations from the council will be presented to the governor this fall. To streamline the review process and efficiently evaluate recommendations, the Division of Family and Children Services will report directly to the Governor’s Office.
The governor also tapped Katie Jo Ballard to serve as the deputy interim director of the Division of Family and Children Services, leaving her role as executive director of the Governor’s Office for Children and Families.
These appointments take effect Monday, and individuals will serve on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is named.
Bobby Cagle
Cagle serves as commissioner of Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. Previously, he served as the director of legislative and external affairs for the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. He also served as the family services director for DFCS and was responsible for statewide policy and program development in the areas of child welfare, domestic violence, sexual assault and provider contracting. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Child Care Administrators (NASCCA) and the National Advisory Board of the Center on Enhancing Learning Outcomes. Cagle earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Sociology and a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Amy Jacobs
Jacobs is the senior policy adviser for the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget. She began her career at OPB in 2001 in the planning, research and evaluation division where her work focused on strategic planning and program evaluation. Also while at OPB, she served as director of the Education Division and the General Government Division. Prior to that, she worked for two years in the Georgia Court of Appeals. She is a member of the Governor’s Innovation Fund Advisory Board. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia. She and her husband, John, are members of Northside United Methodist Church. They have two children and reside in Mableton.
Katie Jo Ballard
Ballard currently serves as executive director of the Governor’s Office for Children and Families. She is co-chairman of the Georgia Children’s Cabinet along with First Lady Sandra Deal and co-founder and current board chair of Georgia Cares. She also serves on the Agency Leadership Team, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Crime Victim’s Compensation Board, Ready by 21 Leadership Council, the Supreme Court’s Justice for Children Committee and the Criminal Justice Reform Council. Ballard earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Georgia. She and her husband, Dylan, are members of Buckhead Church and reside in Atlanta.
