About Us
The Partnership for Families, Children and Youth is a collaborative partnership of more that 250 organizations working with families to research the needs of children and families in our community, and to work together to address those needs.
Assessing the Needs of Walton County
We pursue that goal by addressing the root causes of problems, building on cultural and other strengths, pooling resources, engaging an extraordinary diversity of community members, and committing to a long-term process of planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Using a family-centered approach, schools, health and human service agencies, business, the faith community, law enforcement, nonprofit organizations, civic clubs, and others work together with families, focusing on academics, physical and mental health, nurturing parenting, economic success, and community service. We tap existing resources, streamline systems to be more efficient and effective, and initiate new projects like those listed below.
Our Goals
- Reduce Number of Families and Children Living in Poverty
- Reduce Risky Behaviors of Youth
Our Partners
Department of Family & Children Services, Path Project, American Legion Post 233, Walton County Chamber of Commerce, Student Success Alliance, Care Source, Piedmont Walton, Ridgeview Institute, Athens Technical College; Monroe Campus, Action, Inc. , Development Authority of Walton County, Walton Youth Project, Inc., Georgia Legal Services, A Child’s Voice Advocacy Center, Walton County Parks and Recreation, Walton County DA’s Office, Project Renewal, City of Monroe Fire Department, City of Monroe, Faith in Serving Humanity (FISH), Walton County Board of Commissioners, Walton County Public Schools, Social Circle City Schools, 21st Century, Public Health, Department of Juvenile Justice, Individual Businesses, Juvenile Court, Police Departments, Multiple Choices, Georgia Dept. of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Department of Community Supervision, Project Renewal, Med Link, Behavioral Health Link and GA Crisis and Access Line, Devereux, Mind Family & Social Services, Inc., Easter Seals North Georgia, Good Will of North Georgia, Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, Unbridled Joy, Amerigroup, Department of Labor, Boys & Girls Club, Advantage Behavioral Health, Local Churches, Council on Aging, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Uncle Remus Library, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, and MANY others.
Our most important partners are the families whose children we are serving.
Some projects that have been initiated through this process:
- Homeless Education program
- Nutrition outreach
- Summer Youth Programs
- Walton Teen Advocacy Board
- Adolescent Substance Abuse Education Program
- Online Resource Directory
- Walton County Collaborative Meetings
- Poverty Simulation
- Sweet Sobriety Campaign
- Positive Messages Campaign
- Poverty Conversations
Our Results
Working in partnership with families, we have tackled intractable problems like teen pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, school dropout, and physical and mental health disparities, with implementation by the partners (School District, Health Department, DFCS, Advantage, etc.).
Working together, our partners have achieved remarkable results. Just a few for example:
- With the leadership of Public Health in collaboration with other partners, STD rates have improved
- Students reporting alcohol use has improved
- Children living in poverty decreased
- DFCS is seeing an increase in reports of abuse and neglect since COVID-19
- We were instrumental in saving Department of Labor in Walton County.
The Future
Our success is our partners’ success – we bring them together, they develop and implement the strategies. Our most important partners are the families whose children are being served.
Please join with us through financial support and/or active participation to achieve our goal: All children will grow to realize their full potential.
About Georgia Family Connection
Georgia Family Connection is the only statewide network of its kind in the country with partners in all 159 counties working toward measurably better outcomes for our children, families, and communities. This gives us a unique vantage point—not only to see the big picture—but also to operate effectively at a local level.
We disentangle the mess of barriers, service gaps, and inefficiencies obscuring progress for our most vulnerable families. We do that by connecting our partners to resources, helping coordinate and manage efforts, and empowering our communities to craft local solutions based on local decisions.
Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP) represents and promotes Georgia Family Connection’s work, provides expertise in planning and governance, administers the state-appropriated funds for the local Collaboratives, sets standards of excellence, and helps Collaboratives evaluate their progress.
The state’s designated KIDS COUNT grantee, GaFCP also provides state agencies and policymakers with current, reliable data they need to inform decisions about improving conditions for the communities they serve.
Our Work
At Georgia Family Connection, we work to ensure that all children are healthy, primed for school, and succeed when they get there; families are stable, self-sufficient, and productive; and communities are vibrant, robust, and thriving.
None of these result areas stand in isolation. They overlap. By collaborating across sectors to address them, we nurture children and families who thrive in vibrant communities—everywhere. Because we work toward measurably better outcomes for everyone.
