The deadlines that bite
Every clock below is verified against the cited policy or statute — but policy revisions move dates, so the PAMMS link is the authority the day you're reading this. Print this section and tape it up; re-check anything mission-critical against the live section.
| Clock | What must happen | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| 72 hours | Preliminary protective hearing after a child is placed in foster care (next business day if it lands on a weekend/holiday); dependency petition within 5 days after the hearing if the child isn't released | §15-11-145(a), (g) (search the Georgia Code) |
| 1 business day | CCFA referral out after the PPH; provider accepts/declines within 48 hours; family notified within 24 hours of acceptance; completed CCFA due within 25 calendar days of referral | PAMMS 10.10 |
| 10 calendar days | Health Check (medical) and dental exam for a child entering care; Children 1st referral for children under five | PAMMS 10.11 |
| 14 calendar days | Placement change proceeds after DFCS receives a placement-change request from the placement resource; the court and parties get written notice ≥5 days before a change | PAMMS 10.3 |
| 120 days | Kinship foster home evaluation (SAFE model) completed after a child in custody is placed with kin; non-safety standards waiver-able case-by-case under 22.6 | PAMMS 22.4 |
| 60 days | Newly approved caregivers initiate Continued Parent Development; 15 hrs/year due by December 31 (≥5 in person) | PAMMS 14.9 |
| 15 of 22 months | DFCS must file (or join) a TPR petition for a child in care 15 of the most recent 22 months — unless a statutory exception applies (relative placement under a court-approved permanency plan, a compelling reason documented in the case plan, or services not provided to the family) | §15-11-233 (search the Georgia Code) |
| 90 / 30 days | TPR hearing within 90 days of the petition; order within 30 days after the hearing ends (both bend only on just cause) | §15-11-301 (search the Georgia Code) |
| 4 / 15 days | DFCS policy: notify foster parents within 4 calendar days of a TPR filing or accepted surrender; foster-parent adoption consideration staffing within 15 calendar days of SSAU notification | PAMMS 11.6 |
| 10 days / FY | Respite ceiling per fiscal year at the child's per diem, prior approval required; the county can request a state-office waiver beyond 10 | DHS 2301.5 |
The three statute rows (§15-11-145, -233, -301) were re-verified October 18, 2026 against the official code text; the rest were verified July 2–3, 2026 against the cited sections (via the fact-check evidence in this site's repo). Timeframes marked "DFCS policy" are manual policy, not statute — they move more often.
PAMMS, mapped in plain English
The policy manual is organized better than it feels at 4:50 p.m. on a Friday. The chapters you'll live in:
Maintenance payments & clothing allowance (9.1) · placement (10.1–10.4) · CCFA (10.10) · health (10.11–10.12) · education (10.13) · normalcy & travel (10.14)
Adoption process & foster-parent consideration (11.6) · adoption assistance (12.1, 12.5)
Approval standards (14.1) · NTDC pre-service (14.8) · CPD hours (14.9 — caregivers can earn free hours at Foster411 Training) · re-evaluations (14.13) · Bill of Rights & grievances (14.17) · supervision/babysitting (14.18) · agency transfers (14.24)
ICPC (15.2) · RBWO designations, referrals & per diem (16.1–16.5)
Hearing timelines & DFCS responsibilities (17.1) · CASA/GAL (17.10) · TPR (17.11) · surrenders (17.12)
Assessment (22.3) · home evaluation (22.4) · non-safety waivers (22.6) · post-permanency subsidies (22.8–22.9)
Bookmark the manual root at pamms.dhs.ga.gov/dfcs — and when a section number in a training handout doesn't match the manual, trust the manual; handouts age.
SHINES survival
Locked out, case record won't save, portal acting haunted: the SHINES Help Desk is 1-800-764-1017. One caveat we owe you: that number verified against older, third-party-hosted documentation — if it fails, any supervisor will have the current one, and tell us so we fix this page. Checked July 2, 2026.
The habit that saves SHINES pain is boring: draft long narratives outside the system, then paste — a timeout mid-entry is the most-reported way new workers lose an afternoon. (Advice, not policy.)
Hand this to new families
The highest-leverage five minutes with a new foster or kinship family is handing them the right paper. These pages were built to be printed:
The first-72-hours checklist — whose clock each early task is on, Medicaid intake line included. Free gear by county — for the placement that arrived with nothing. The Georgia Families 360° survival guide — with the 24/7 member intake line (1-855-661-2021). Kinship: start here — for the grandmother who said yes at 2 a.m. And for their inevitable money questions, the per diem guide answers what you'd rather not answer from memory.
Families who feel equipped in week one call less in week six — the caseworker hub keeps the full referral directory by county.
And one for you
Secondary trauma is an occupational reality of this work, not a personal failing. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network keeps a solid, free introduction to recognizing and addressing secondary traumatic stress — worth ten minutes before you think you need it. A Georgia-specific supports guide is on our roadmap; if your agency has an EAP or peer program worth listing, tell us about it.
Sources & verification
- PAMMS — DFCS Child Welfare Policy Manual (all chapter/section cites above link directly to the live sections)pamms.dhs.ga.gov Jul 3, 2026
- O.C.G.A. §15-11-145, §15-11-233, §15-11-301 — hearing, TPR-filing, and TPR-timeline statutes (Official Code of Georgia Annotated, current through the 2026 Special Session; search the section number)advance.lexis.com Oct 18, 2026
- DHS financial manual §2301.5 — respite payment rulesffs.dhs.ga.gov Jul 2, 2026
- Foster411 fact-check evidence — the verification trail behind every number on this pagehow we vet Jul 3, 2026
We're not attorneys
This page summarizes statutes and policy for quick recall. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, ask the child's attorney or your agency's counsel.
Built by a community resource, not by DFCS — this page summarizes policy for quick recall and links the authority; the live PAMMS section always wins. Spot something stale? Report it — workers keep this site honest.