Federal Court in Atlanta Grants Class Action Status to Plaintiff Foster Children in Children's Right

The federal judge presiding over Children's Rights' foster care reform lawsuit in Georgia recently granted class action status to the case, allowing it to proceed to trial on behalf of approximately 3,000 foster children in the Atlanta area. The case, Kenny A. v. Perdue, seeks fundamental reform of the failing, overburdened and chaotic foster care system in Fulton and DeKalb counties, GA. The judge also flatly rejected the state's efforts to dismiss the case, and upheld the plaintiff foster children's right to bring a legal challenge to violations of their constitutional and statutory rights. Children's Rights attorneys have reviewed over 70,000 documents and have taken over 25 depositions in the case so far. The fact-finding stage and expert evaluations will be completed this year, and the case is expected to move towards trial in the summer or fall of 2004.