In 1996, the US Congress amended the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) requiring states to establish Citizen Review Panels to examine the policies, procedures and practices of the state's child welfare system and the extent to which it effectively discharges its child protection responsibilities in accordance with its state CAPTA plan. These panels help to promote transparency in the child welfare system and provide opportunities for community involvement to ensure that states are meeting their goals to protect children from abuse and neglect. CAPTA, through its state eligibility requirements, has influenced law, policy and practice changes in state child protective services.
As the recipient of a CAPTA state grant, Georgia, was required to establish and maintain a minimum of three citizen review panels. To fulfill this mandate, three existing, statewide committees were designated to serve as Georgia's CAPTA Panels: Child Protective Services Advisory Committee (CPSAC), Children's Justice Act Task Force (CJATF), and Child Fatality Review Panel (CFRP). Each year, they publish a report on their activities and recommendations for the improvement of Georgia's child protection system.