U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is up for re-election and is a prime target for Republicans seeking to replace him. So Ossof wasted no time in launching his campaign with a six-figure ad buy that will air on broadcast television and social media platforms. He doesn’t mention his GOP opponent U.S. Rep. Mike Collins. Instead, the advertising touts a controversial 13-month probe he conducted in 2023 into alleged systematic abuse in Georgia’s foster care system.
However, Candace Broce– the state’s Human Services Commissioner who oversees the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS)– has pushed back hard in a social media post about Ossoff’s final investigative report which alleged everything from “child endangerment” to “overuse of medication.”
“DFCS fully cooperated with Sen. Ossoff’s investigation for over a year—producing 11,000+ pages, 35+ hours of interviews, and extensive responses. But much of that context never made the final report,” Broce says. “The report criticized Georgia’s child welfare system while omitting major improvements already underway, including eliminating routine hotel placements for foster children, investing $110M+ in reforms, improving child safety outcomes and strengthening protections for missing and trafficked youth.”
“Child welfare deserves accountability,” she continues, “but it also deserves complete facts, not selective ones. Georgia’s children are better served by honest oversight and real solutions than by one-sided political narratives.”
While the Ossoff campaign ad seeks to portray him as a defender of children (it ends with him playing with his kids), Broce, Collins and others familiar with the issue say they are seeking to set the record straight.
It is also significant that at the time Ossoff’s final report (written by his Democrat staffers) was released, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones sought to put the whole probe into perspective. “I, along with many of my Senate colleagues, have worked tirelessly to turn DFCS around. It’s not perfect and there’s still a long way to go,” he said, “but Commissioner Broce and many dedicated public servants at the department have made real progress to improve the lives of kids in our state. They deserve our support, not partisan political attacks.”
