Heads up: the GF360 contract is changing hands
Health care for children in DFCS custody runs through Georgia Families 360°, and as of our verification date the plan is still operated by Amerigroup Community Care. The state has announced a transition to a new care management company, and that transition has been delayed — which means the phone numbers and websites on this page work today but may change. Verified Jul 3, 2026 If this page's verified date is getting old, re-check numbers at medicaid.georgia.gov before you dial — and tell us if something's moved.
Start with the GF360 intake line — it's their job to find you a provider
Nearly every child in DFCS custody gets health coverage through Georgia Families 360° — one managed-care plan (currently Amerigroup) covering roughly 27,000 children in foster care, adoption assistance, and some DJJ placements. That plan comes with two things most caregivers don't know they have. Verified Jul 3, 2026
First, the GF360 Member Intake Line: 1-855-661-2021. It's available 24/7 (staffed business hours Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. ET, with after-hours coverage for urgent issues), and helping you schedule appointments and find providers is literally what it's for. Verified Jul 3, 2026
Second, every GF360 member is assigned a Care Coordination Team within one business day of enrollment. Care coordinators are the plan's designated partner for identifying services and making referrals — if you don't know who your child's care coordinator is, the intake line can tell you. Verified Jul 3, 2026 For the full picture of how this plan works, see our GF360 guide.
You can self-refer — no PCP referral needed for behavioral health
Here's the rule that saves weeks: under GF360, your child does not need to see their primary care doctor first, and you do not need the plan's permission, to see an in-network behavioral health provider for mental health or substance use services. Self-referral is allowed. Verified Jul 3, 2026
So you can go straight to the source: use the Amerigroup Find a Doctor tool at myamerigroup.com/ga (choose Georgia, filter for behavioral health), or call Member Services at 1-800-600-4441 (TTY 711) and ask them to run the search with you. Verified Jul 3, 2026 Call more than one office from the list — availability varies a lot more than the directory suggests.
Ask the case manager what the CCFA recommended
Every child entering care gets a Comprehensive Child and Family Assessment (CCFA) — the workup that identifies the child's medical, emotional, social, educational, and placement-related needs and turns them into recommendations for the case plan. Whether the child needs wraparound services (intensive, team-based support) is decided as part of the CCFA, and placement providers are notified within 24 hours of the CCFA provider accepting the referral. Verified Jul 3, 2026 Our practical suggestion, grounded in that policy: ask the case manager directly, "What did the CCFA recommend for counseling, and was wraparound on the list?" — the recommendation may already exist, with a provider attached, before you make a single cold call.
Who says yes to counseling? (It's probably not you — and that's okay)
When a child is in DFCS custody, DFCS — not the caregiver — holds the legal authority to consent to routine medical and behavioral health care, and birth parents (before any termination of parental rights) keep rights around major non-emergency decisions. In practice you'll do what caregivers always do: arrange the appointments, drive to them, sit in the waiting room. But starting counseling should be coordinated through the case manager, not launched solo. Verified Jul 3, 2026 A quick "I'd like to get her in with a counselor — can you get consent moving?" keeps everything clean.
Check whether the child's school has Apex
The Georgia Apex Program (run by DBHDD) puts community mental health clinicians inside schools, Pre-K through 12th grade, statewide — assessment, individual, group, and family counseling, crisis intervention, medication management, and psychiatric treatment, delivered where the child already spends the day. More than 35 provider organizations participate, and Apex providers serve students regardless of ability to pay — Apex funds can cover uninsured students, with sliding-scale fees. Verified Jul 3, 2026
The catch: not every school participates, and there's no clean public list of which do. Ask the school counselor or front office, "Does this school have an Apex clinician?" — or ask your DBHDD regional field office. Verified Jul 3, 2026 A school-based therapist also sidesteps the transportation problem entirely. (While you're talking to the school, our school rights guide covers what else a child in care is entitled to there.)
The fallback that covers every county: your CSB, or GCAL
If the in-network directory came up dry, Georgia's public safety net is behind it. The state has 22 Community Service Boards (CSBs) — public behavioral health agencies created by law (O.C.G.A. § 37-2-6) that together cover all 159 counties and serve children with Medicaid as well as the uninsured. Find yours at dbhdd.georgia.gov/locations/community-service-board. Verified Jul 3, 2026
And keep this number loose in your pocket: GCAL, 1-800-715-4225. Most people know the Georgia Crisis & Access Line as the crisis number — but the name says access too. Georgia Medicaid's own behavioral health page directs people to GCAL to get connected to community behavioral health providers. You do not need an emergency to call it; "I can't find a counselor for my child" is a valid reason. Verified Jul 3, 2026
If you specifically need trauma therapy
Many children in care benefit most from therapy built for trauma — the best-known evidence-based model for kids is TF-CBT (Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). The TF-CBT National Certification Program keeps a searchable directory of formally certified therapists at tfcbt.org/therapists — search by state, then cross-check your matches against the GF360 network (move 2) so the plan pays. Verified Jul 3, 2026
Georgia-specific supplement: the Georgia System of Care provider hub at gasystemofcare.org/find-a-provider, searchable by service, age, and ZIP code (a DBHDD partnership; 404-413-0075). Verified Jul 3, 2026 If a therapist raises medication as part of the plan, read our psychotropic medication guide first — there are extra rules for kids in care.
When every list is a waitlist
Honest part: even with all six doors, you may still hear "we can see her in October." There is no official waitlist-skipping trick, and we won't pretend there is. But two verified channels shorten the practical distance:
- Telehealth. Georgia Medicaid covers telehealth, and many in-network GF360 therapists offer it — confirm with Member Services (1-800-600-4441). A therapist two hours away with openings next week beats one nearby with openings next quarter. Verified Jul 3, 2026
- The 24/7 Nurse HelpLine. Amerigroup runs a free 24-hour Nurse HelpLine (170+ languages), reached through Member Services at 1-800-600-4441. It isn't therapy — but while you wait for an intake date, it's a clinician at 2 a.m. for the "is this normal or is this urgent?" questions. Verified Jul 3, 2026
And keep working the sequence in parallel, not one door at a time: an intake-line request, a self-referral call, and a question to the school counselor can all happen in the same week. If the child's mood or safety can't wait for any list, call GCAL at 1-800-715-4225 — that's the crisis half of its job, 24/7. Verified Jul 3, 2026
Sources & verification
- Georgia Medicaid — Georgia Families 360° program page (coverage, Amerigroup as the care management organization, intake line)medicaid.georgia.gov Jul 3, 2026
- Amerigroup GF360 member pages — Member Services 1-800-600-4441, intake line 1-855-661-2021, Find a Doctor tool, behavioral health self-referral, Nurse HelpLinemyamerigroup.com/ga Jul 3, 2026
- DFCS policy manual (PAMMS) §10.10 — the CCFA: needs assessment, wraparound determination, 24-hour caregiver notification; §10.12 governs behavioral health servicespamms.dhs.ga.gov Jul 3, 2026
- DHS Foster Parent Manual — DFCS holds consent authority for routine medical and behavioral health caredhs.georgia.gov Jul 3, 2026
- DBHDD — Georgia Apex Program (school-based mental health) and the Community Service Board directorydbhdd.georgia.gov Jul 3, 2026
- Georgia Medicaid — behavioral health services page (GCAL 1-800-715-4225 as an access line, CSB network)medicaid.georgia.gov Jul 3, 2026
- TF-CBT National Certification Program — certified therapist directorytfcbt.org Jul 3, 2026
- Georgia System of Care — provider hub, searchable by service, age, and ZIPgasystemofcare.org Jul 3, 2026
This page is a map, not medical advice, and the GF360 contract transition means its phone numbers are more perishable than most. If today is past our verified date, confirm numbers with the case manager or at medicaid.georgia.gov before relying on them — and if something here is out of date, tell us.