About Us
Who We Are
Family Connection began as a pilot program in 1991 by Governor Zell Miller to coordinate services for the educational, social, economic, and physical well-being of Georgia’s children. Fifteen communities volunteered to participate in the two year pilot program. In 1993, the state legislature provided funds to establish a technical assistance system for the original communities. During the years of 1996-2001, Georgia Family Connection helped Georgia to improve 8 out of 10 measures of child well-being. By 2002, all 159 counties were part of the Georgia Family Connection network. Today, these counties continue working with families to be successful.
In our county, Family Connection is fortunate to be housed in the school system, where we can work closely with students and families. The Union County Board of Education serves as our fiscal agent. We have been in existence since 1998 and have developed relationships with numerous agencies and organizations in order to research the needs of children and families in our community, and to work together to address those needs.
The focus of our work: Every child in Union County will grow up to become a successful, productive and contributing adult.
We pursue that goal by determining the areas of need, building on community and family strengths, pooling resources, working with a variety 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 school success, appropriate decision making, physical and mental health and reducing drug and alcohol use.
Some of the projects that have been initiated through this process:
- Union County Mentor Program
- Family Outreach
- Union County Niyelo Program
- Attendance Support Team
- Backpack 2 School Bash
- Purposity
- Holiday Assistance
- Family Support Redesign
- Goodies From the Heart
- Panther Pantries
- Food Resources
- Budgeting 101
- Job Seekers
- Enotah Juvenile Family Therapy Program
- Positive Social Norms Campaign
- Union County Community Prevention Alliance Workgroup (UC CPAW)
The Future
We will continue working with our partners to determine need, as well as, develop, implement and evaluate programs.
Please join with us through financial support, and/or active participation as a volunteer or collaborative member to achieve our goal: Every child in Union County will grow up to become a successful, productive and contributing adult.
About Georgia Family Connection
Georgia Family Connection, a statewide infrastructure for aligning efforts across sectors, comes together through two distinct but connected change-makers: a statewide network of Collaboratives in all 159 counties and Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP). Each strengthens the other—and together, they form Georgia Family Connection.
We work toward measurably better outcomes across five key result areas:
The Georgia Family Connection statewide network—the only one of its kind in the country—works alongside children, families, and communities to help them thrive by crafting local solutions that maximize resources and make systems more effective and efficient. This network cultivates collaboration among community service providers, reducing duplication of efforts and allowing everyone to do more with the resources available.
Collaboratives equip local service agencies and organizations with the tools and methods they need to be more effective, helping them develop and work together on integrated strategies to improve child, family, and community well-being. We fill in service gaps in our communities by functioning as an incubator for direct services to families and children when a need isn’t being met. We also respond to urgent situations by maintaining strong relationships and the infrastructure necessary to deliver timely support.
GaFCP unites the statewide network in a shared framework that promotes consistent, ongoing collaboration and peer learning—equipping Collaboratives to draw on communities’ collective wisdom and experience across the state. GaFCP develops effective partnerships with state leaders, private enterprises, and other stakeholders to link the network with public and private funding, resources, talent, and innovation. GaFCP also empowers leaders across Georgia by making data accessible and providing practical tools, training, and technical assistance to support informed decision-making.
