E.P.A.C. Services

Educational Programming, Assessment and Consultation (EPAC) services are the official statewide educational support services provided to youth in the custody of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. EPAC provides the following services to youth in foster care:

Diagnostic Educational Assessments - Each youth who is referred for EPAC services receives a diagnostic educational assessment. This assessment is provided by a certified teacher or EPAC staff member and is in the academic subjects of math and reading. The assessment provides a comprehensive review of the math and reading performance of the youth.

Educational Consultation to Case Managers - After a youth has received an initial diagnostic educational assessment, the Education Support Monitor (ESM) assigned to the youth’s respective DFCS region will consult with the youth’s Case Manager to develop an Education Action Plan based on the results and summary provided from the assessment.

Tutorial Services - Youth who exhibit a need for remediation or support within their academics may receive additional tutoring services provided by an EPAC Education Specialist who is a certified teacher. For more information on how a certified teacher can become an EPAC Education Specialist, click here: http://dfcs.dhs.georgia.gov/how-apply-epac.

School System Partnership and Support to Youth – EPAC partners closely with the Georgia Department of Education and Local Education Agencies/school systems throughout the state of Georgia to ensure the appropriate academic services are provided to youth in foster care. Additionally, EPAC Education Support Monitors advocate on the youth’s behalf to ensure quality services and academic monitoring is provided. This advocacy can range from youth who have multiple foster care placements and need coordination of their school academic records to youth who have identified special needs and are in need of additional academic supports (i.e. IEP) that allow for increased school and learning engagement.

Educational Service Monitoring of Child Caring Institutions - EPAC provides additional monitoring of academic support services provided by Child Caring Institutions (CCIs) and group homes. Due to the vulnerability of youth who reside in these settings and the varying academic needs of each youth, EPAC will be an additional support for these institutions.