Began in 1991, by Governor Zell Miller, Family Connection began as a pilot program 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 are 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. We pursue our mission 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 working together with families, we focus on school success, appropriate decision making, physical and mental health and reducing drug and alcohol use.
