Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is being accused by Georgias top child welfare official of using vulnerable children and the state’s embattled foster care system for campaign credit after releasing a new ad touting his work on the states troubled system.
Georgia Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) Director Candice Broce criticized the new foster care-focused ad released last week as the Georgia Democrat seeks re-election in one of the nations most closely watched races. In the ad, titled “Our Kids,” Ossoff highlights “a scathing report” and “yearlong bipartisan investigation” alongside Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., into the Georgia foster care system.Â
Ossoff presents his probe and new legislation as part of his record protecting children and holding the system accountable. However, Broce says the Democrat is overstating his role and turning a serious child welfare issue into a political victory lap.
“For five years, Ive been in the trenches fighting for vulnerable children and alongside thousands of DFCS workers. Trust us when we say Jon Ossoff is nowhere to be found,” Broce said in a post on X. “Ossoff didnt get more funding for DFCS after calling us incompetent and resource-strapped. He didnt secure more federal support for child advocacy centers despite the States requests.”
“He didnt fix federal law putting group homes out of business,” she continued. “He hasnt streamlined adoptions for kids placed with loving families. Jons ad sounds great, but his words are meaningless to the men and women in the arena.”
Ossoff’s team fired back, however, calling Broce an “unqualified partisan political hack” and accusing her of “dangerous incompetence.” They pointed to Ossoff’s oversight work highlighted in the advertisement that Broce criticizes, which the spokesperson said found children in Georgias foster care system were likely while in state care, among other issues.Â
“The Office of the Child Advocate, juvenile court judges, former foster children, nonpartisan advocates, investigative reporting, and Senator Ossoffs yearlong investigation have laid bare the deep and dangerous dysfunction at DFCS,” an Ossoff campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The campaign also cited testimony from juvenile court judges who accused Broce of suggesting that be held in juvenile detention while DFCS searched for placements. Broce has denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated and arguing they distort a broader discussion about how to keep foster youth with complex behavioral issues, runaway histories and trafficking risks safe amid placement shortages.
“Candice Broce is a partisan political hack irresponsibly placed in charge of care for the states most vulnerable kids,” the Ossoff spokesperson said. “Instead of whining that her dangerous incompetence was made public, she should fix her broken agency.”
Broce rejected the attacks on her qualifications, pointing to her background as a health care attorney, former chief deputy executive counsel and chief operating officer to Gov. Brian Kemp and saying roughly 40 state agencies, including DFCS, reported to her in that role.Â
At the same time, she did not dispute that Georgias foster care system has faced serious challenges, but argued used those problems for hearings, reports and campaign messaging without delivering meaningful help to fix them.
“If youre going to beat us down, show up with something to make it better,” Broce said. “He didnt do that.”Â
Broce said Ossoff could have used his federal role to pursue resources on behavioral health access and placement capacity, rather than simply spotlighting DFCS failures.
“Whats actually bipartisan is the over $100 million in state funds weve gotten from Republican and Democrat legislators who support the issues were ta
