Georgia
What Georgia reported to the federal government about the children in its custody and the children it investigated. Where a year says not reported, that is the record.
The funnel, FFY 2024
Georgia vs. national
What happened to reports of child maltreatment in Georgia in federal fiscal year 2024, at each decision point. Rates are what make states comparable; raw counts mostly measure population.
| Stage | Georgia | Rate | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals to CPSCounts: referrals | 114,708 | 45.1per 1,000 children | 59.3 |
| Screened in (became reports)Counts: referrals | 55,44748.3% of referrals | — | 47.1% |
| Screened outCounts: referrals | 59,26151.7% of referrals | — | 52.9% |
| Children investigated or given an alternative responseCounts: children | 109,236 | 43per 1,000 children | 40.6 |
| Child victims (substantiated or indicated)Counts: children | 12,803 | 5per 1,000 children | 7.2 |
| Child fatalitiesCounts: children | 104 | 4.09per 100,000 children | 2.41 |
Referrals, reports, children, and victims are four different denominators and are not interchangeable. A referral may concern more than one child; a child may appear in more than one referral; a victim is a child with a substantiated or indicated disposition. National figures are the Children's Bureau's own estimates, not sums of the state rows.
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS), Tables 2-3, 3-1, 3-3, 4-1
What Georgia does not report
For the measures on this page, Georgia reported a figure in every year covered. That is not the same as the figures being complete or comparable — see the methodology for what the federal record does not measure at all.
Maltreatment and fatalities over time (NCANDS)
Child fatalities reported to NCANDS, Georgia, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child fatalities
Child maltreatment victims, Georgia, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child victims (substantiated or indicated)
Foster care (AFCARS)
| Measure | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adopted with public agency involvement | 1,031 | 887 | 912 | 1,121 | 1,401 | 1,469 | 1,668 | 1,585 | 1,395 | 1,291 |
| Entered foster care | 6,005 | 7,519 | 8,581 | 8,551 | 7,821 | 8,082 | 6,468 | 4,812 | 4,718 | 5,321 |
| Exited foster care | 5,935 | 6,006 | 6,512 | 6,931 | 6,891 | 7,257 | 7,309 | 6,248 | 5,539 | 4,953 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 7,607 | 9,005 | 10,935 | 12,381 | 13,146 | 13,793 | 12,867 | 11,370 | 10,504 | 10,838 |
| Children served in foster care | 13,526 | 15,011 | 17,447 | 19,312 | 20,037 | 21,050 | 20,176 | 17,618 | 16,043 | 15,791 |
| Termination of parental rights | 813 | 1,171 | 1,056 | 1,001 | 1,876 | 1,900 | 2,028 | 1,665 | 1,688 | 1,796 |
| Waiting for adoption | 1,799 | 1,983 | 2,544 | 2,998 | 3,404 | 3,633 | 3,456 | 3,012 | 2,907 | 2,928 |
Source: AFCARS state tables, FY2013 to FY2022
AFCARS 2020 rule, FFY2023 to FFY2025 (preliminary)
Collected under the AFCARS 2020 final rule, first effective FFY 2023. Counts include ages 0 to 23. Figures are preliminary estimates from submissions received by February 27, 2026, and states may still revise them. This series is not comparable with the FY 2013 to FY 2022 series, which was collected under the 1993 rule and counted a narrower population; this site does not join the two. Wyoming first submitted under the new rule for FFY 2024 and Washington for FFY 2025; earlier years for those states are shown as not reported.
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entered foster care | 4,821 | 5,186 | 4,950 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 10,970 | 10,903 | 10,877 |
| Exited foster care | 5,140 | 5,156 | 4,875 |
Counts: children (ages 0 to 23)
Source: AFCARS Dashboard, preliminary FFY2025 estimates (No. 33)
Georgia in the archive
What the numbers above cost, in KARA's own reporting.
- Child Abuse Prevention In America (videos & articles)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJune 26, 2026
KARA reports on the issues of at risk children by curating a wide lens on child abuse and child protection. This post pulls together recent coverage from newspapers, universities, public health departments, UNICEF, the White House, and fron...
- Best and Worst Hospitals For U.S. Children (Beckers Hospital Review)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenApril 8, 2026
Which states give kids the best chance at a healthy life? This review ranks all 50 states and D.C. on children’s healthcare, nutrition, and oral health—and the gaps are stark.
- Child Abuse Sad Stories & Statistics (1ST 45 days in 2026))
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMarch 4, 2026
Child abuse doesn’t stop for holidays or election years. In just the first 45 days of 2026, sad stories and new statistics are already piling up. This post tracks those cases and numbers to show how many invisible children still need our pr...
- Dissecting President Trump's Child Protection Executive Order (share this widely)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJanuary 11, 2026
Trump's recent Presidential Order appears in its entirety below in the Read More section of this post. Added to the order today, is conflicted and confusing language that will have a terrible impact on the quality of life for millions of Am...
- Egregious Child Death in America Today
KARA reportingMike TikkanenOctober 19, 2025
There are few states that report out egregious harm or death of children at the hands of their parents. Minnesota Nonprofit Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota has recently compiled this report on 88 of the 200 children dying at the hand...
- Child Abuse Sad Stories (4 days in October)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenOctober 9, 2025
37% of children overall and 44% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17) 7.8 million children a year are reported to child protection services.
- Domestic Violence to a Five Year Old (living in a house of terror)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenSeptember 18, 2025
Watching mom beaten or raped is terror. Homeless mothers and children are many times more likely to be assaulted and molested. Children of addicted and alcoholic moms and dads are beaten and raped more often too. Trauma is *torture. Watchin...
- The Assault on Child Protection - Part 2
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJuly 14, 2025
The combined cuts to child friendly programs will impact some states more than other. This article presents a snapshot of what different states will be experiencing. Send KARA information concerning what's happening in your state (send to i...