In Georgia, "the General Assembly finds that foster parents providing care for children who are in the custody of the Department of Human Services play an integral, indispensable, and vital role in the state's effort to care for dependent children displaced from their homes," and has granted a foster parent "the right to continue with his or her own family values and beliefs." OCGA 49-5-281 (a) (3). The General Assembly has also declared it public policy to give a foster parent "the right to be considered, where appropriate, as the first choice as a permanent parent" for a foster child she has kept for more than 12 months. OCGA 49-5-281 (a) (20). The legislature has directed DFACS to consider the Foster Parents Bill of Rights when developing policies regarding foster care and adoption. OCGA 49-5-281 (b).