Ossoff’s Georgia DFCS Probe: When Foster Kids Go Missing, Traffickers Find Them
A U.S. Senate investigation led by Sen. Jon Ossoff, with Sen. Marsha Blackburn serving as ranking member in the bipartisan probe, exposed numbers that should be politically impossible to ignore.
Between 2018 and 2022:
1,790 children in Georgia DFCS care were reported missing to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
410 of those cases — more than 20% — were identified as likely victims of child sex trafficking.
Let that sink in.
This isn’t “kids who ran away.”
This is a systemic vulnerability.
When the state loses children, predators don’t.
“If They’re Running From Care… What Are They Running From?”
During Senate testimony, experts described a grim dynamic: many foster youth enter the system already carrying deep trauma. When placements lack the training, stability, and trauma-informed support necessary to address that reality, youth may run.
And traffickers are skilled at exploiting that gap.
A Fulton County prosecutor asked the question plainly:
If youth are running away from care, what are they running from?
That question forces accountability.
“Missing” is not a clerical category.
It’s a safety failure.
The Oversight Context: Safety Failures and Missing Children Are Linked
The Senate hearing raised broader concerns about whether Georgia’s Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) is consistently meeting its safety obligations.
One widely cited finding connected to this probe involved a previously undisclosed statewide audit referenced in Ossoff’s materials. That audit found the agency failed in 84% of reviewed cases to make concerted efforts to properly assess and address risk and safety concerns.
When an agency struggles to consistently evaluate danger, children fall through cracks — especially the most vulnerable and hardest to place.
Missing children do not happen in isolation.
They emerge from patterns.
DFCS Response: “This Investigation Is Political”
DFCS attorneys pushed back in an open letter, alleging misstatements and omissions and suggesting the Senate probe created a political impression. They pointed to internal policies, a dedicated missing children unit, and comparisons to other states.
Two things can be true at once:
A system can have policies on paper and still fail in real-world execution.
Even one missing child who ends up trafficked is already too many — and the numbers here are not small.
When 410 foster youth are flagged as likely trafficking victims, this is not a partisan talking point. It is a public safety issue.
What This Reveals About the Foster Care Pipeline
When you zoom out, a pattern becomes clear.
1) Placement Instability Becomes a Trafficking Vulnerability
Youth who feel unsafe, unheard, or unmanaged under trauma don’t simply “disappear.” Many move into predictable high-risk environments: streets, exploiters, older “boyfriends,” couch-hopping networks, and trafficker-controlled situations.
Instability increases exposure.
2) Systems Measure Compliance — Predators Measure Access
A spreadsheet may say “case closed.”
A file may say “efforts made.”
But a child can still be missing.
A trafficking situation can still be unfolding.
Systems often track paperwork. Traffickers track opportunity.
3) The State’s Most Vulnerable Children Are the Easiest Targets
If a child is already traumatized, already displaced, and already disconnected from stable adults, the barrier to exploitation is significantly lower.
That is why “missing” is never neutral.
It is a red-alert condition.
What Accountability Should Look Like (Not Performative Reform)
If Georgia — or any state — wants to demonstrate seriousness about reform, accountability must be measurable and public-facing.
Baseline expectations should include:
Public reporting of missing foster youth numbers, including recovery timelines
Independent audits of placement quality and runaway prevention practices
Immediate trafficking-risk screening protocols when a child is reported missing
Transparent funding disclosures for missing-children units and oversight programs
Clear consequences when safety obligations are repeatedly not met
And critically:
Survivor testimony must be treated as evidence — not inconvenience.
Why Father’s Advocacy Network Cares About This
At Father’s Advocacy Network, we pay attention to patterns most institutions prefer to blur:
Systems that protect reputation before children
Procedures that exist on paper but fail in lived reality
Oversight that becomes a news cycle instead of structural change
When children go missing from government care — and a significant share are identified as likely trafficking victims — this is not a niche issue.
It is a public crisis.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many children were reported missing from Georgia DFCS care?
NCMEC testimony described 1,790 children reported missing from Georgia DFCS care between 2018 and 2022.
How many were identified as likely trafficking victims?
NCMEC identified 410 cases — over 20% — as likely child sex trafficking victims.
Who led the Senate investigation?
The probe was led by Sen. Jon Ossoff through the Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, with Sen. Marsha Blackburn participating in the bipartisan effort.
What does the “84%” figure refer to?
It refers to a statewide audit cited in Senate materials finding DFCS failed in 84% of reviewed cases to make concerted efforts to properly assess and address risk and safety concerns.
