DFCS FAQ

SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program still referred to as the Food Stamp Program in Georgia.

Apply on-line for Food Stamps and Childcare at www.compass.ga.gov or contact your local DFCS office. Medicaid applications must be submitted to your local office.

Check My Benefits module is available for Food Stamps, Medicaid, TANF and Childcare at www.compass.ga.gov. You must have you client ID to create a benefits account to access this module. The DFCS Customer Contact Center is also available for inquiries at 1-877-423-4746.

When you are interviewed, if verification is needed, the worker should provide you with their fax number. Verification can also be faxed to 1-888-740-9355, the fax for the constituent services section.

No, you only have the option of one. However, Relative Care/Enhance Care Subsidy tends to be more than TANF.

Different periods of eligibility from three to six months are assigned to cases based on who is in a household. For example households consisting of mothers and children receive a certification of six months and households where all members are elderly or disabled receive a certification of 12 months. Review letters are normally mailed out by the 25th of the month previous to the month the review is due.

Please contact your local DFCS office and inform them of the delay in mail. Once this has been done, request that your review appointment be rescheduled.

At application, if you have never had a case, it takes 5-7 days to receive an EBT card.
At review, unless your case has been closed, you will receive benefits on your normal issuance cycle.
At review, if your case has been closed and you are being recertified after your normal issuance cycle, it takes 2 days for benefits to post to your EBT card.

You may request a new case worker by contacting your local County DFCS Director. The request may or may not be approved.

Yes. You may request a fair hearing and request that you continue to receive benefits while the hearing is pending. The request to continue to receive benefits must be made within 12 days of receiving notice of the closure. You may be required to repay the benefits if the hearing decision is not made in your favor.

You may contact your local DFCS office or contact the OFI Customer Contact Center at 1-877-423-4746.

You may contact your local DFCS office or contact the OFI Customer Contact Center at 1-877-423-4746.

Contact their supervisor, which is typically your local DFCS Administrator.

Benefits for Food Stamps can be expedited if you meet any of the following criteria in the month of the application:

• has less than $150 in monthly gross countable income and liquid resources of $100 or less

• OR

• Is a destitute migrant or seasonal farm worker whose liquid resources do not exceed $100. Only migrant or seasonal farm worker may be considered destitute. Special rules apply to the treatment of income, resources and deductions for destitute migrant or non-migrant seasonal farm workers for an entitled to expedited application processing.

If not expedited, it takes a Food Stamp application up to 30 days to be completed, while Family Medicaid takes up to 45 days to be completed. Applications for Aged, Blind or Disabled Medicaid takes up to 60 days to be completed.

There are different categories of Medicaid for adults and children as well as income qualifications. In many cases, the adult may not be eligible based on the income limit and the children are.

Currently, Food Stamps can be applied for on-line at www.compass.ga.gov.

Contact the local DFCS office in your county or the local police department.
After hours (between 5 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.) call 1-855-GACHILD

Relative Care Subsidy (RCS) is a when a child’s income/benefits are diverted to the relative caregiver once the child is transferred from the legal custody of DFCS, by the courts, to the permanent legal custody of an approved relative caregiver.

This is a written agreement that defines those actions that will allow a family to achieve a level of functioning, ensures protection and safety of children and eliminates, or significantly decreases, the risk of maltreatment. It includes developing measurable and specific outcomes directly related to the maltreatment and to risk reduction. Outcomes/goals are broken down into specific steps with time frames for accomplishment and review.

This is the department’s most intensive family preservation service. It is a contracted service. It is a family focused, crisis-oriented, short-term (180 days), intensive in-home counseling program for families with children at risk of foster care placement. Homestead services may also be provided to families who are ready for reunification.

This is a person required to report known or suspected child abuse, neglect or exploitation under penalty of law for failure to report.

An investigation disposition by a CPS investigator concludes, based on a preponderance of evidence collected, that the allegation of maltreatment as defined by state law and CPS procedure requirements is true.

An investigation lasts from 30 to 60 days and is dependent on the circumstances of the case.

A safety resource placement is a temporary out of the home placement for a child until CPS completes an investigation or until further notice.

This is the first hearing held after a child is placed in the custody of DFCS, this hearing is usually held within 3 business days.

In the case of a complaint, first contact the case manager, then the supervisor, followed by the administrator, and lastly the county director.

A Special Assistant to the Attorney General (SAAG), is the attorney who represents DFCS office.

Deprivation is classified as when a child is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for his physical, mental, or emotional health or morals; has been placed for care or adoption in violation of the law; has been abandoned by his parents or other legal custodian; or is without a parent, guardian, or custodian.

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) states that the juvenile court system only has authority to place a child in institutional or foster care within the confines of our state. A juvenile court should not order a child to be placed outside of the State of Georgia without the cooperation and approval of the state where the child will reside.

An order terminating parental rights ends all rights and obligations of the parent with respect to the child and/or the child to the parent, including the right of inheritance. The parent will have no right to object or not-object to the future adoption of that child into another home. The termination of one parent's rights with respect to the child has no effect on the rights of another legal parent to the care and control of that child.

The Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) is a trained professional appointed by the court to cases of minor children in disputed custody cases or DFCS cases.

A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) is a trained community volunteer appointed by a judge to speak up for the best interests of an abused, neglected or abandoned child involved in a juvenile court deprivation proceeding. Bringing urgency to a child's needs, both in and out of a courtroom, CASA volunteers advocate for safety, permanence and well-being for children through independent recommendations.

You must go through your local court office. DFCS has no authority in this matter. Contact the court or the Georgia BAR association for issues concerning your court appointed attorney.

Contact the Judicial Qualification Commission at:

	State of Georgia
	8206 Hazelbrand Road Suite C
	Covington, GA 30014
	Work (770) 784-3189
	Fax (770) 784-2454

A safety plan is a response to each factor, identified on a safety assessment, which affects a child's immediate safety. It identifies the controls that are being put in place to ensure a child's immediate protection and safety. It also expands on the available resources, by identifying persons or agencies that will take responsibility for a child’s safety. Lastly, it provides a detailed description of the specific steps that everyone participating in the plan has agreed to for keeping a child safe. A safety plan is completed for every substantiated report and for any unsubstantiated case that is required to remain open (e.g. court-ordered supervision).

A plan can be completed at any time during an investigation once a safety assessment suggests a child might not be safe. There must be a plan in place by the time the investigation is completed.

Contact the fraud hotline at 1-877-423-4746.