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Local community programs recognized by state initiative
ATLANTA – A select group of local family-support programs from across Georgia were chosen to participate in the state child-welfare agency's State of Hope initiative, the Division of Family & Children Service (DFCS) announced Friday.
The State of Hope initiative is designed to activate public-private collaboration to safeguard children and support families.
DFCS, in partnership with Georgia State University's Center for Professional Excellence (a part of the School of Social Work) and Georgia Family Connection Partnership, announced that over 120 "big ideas" from all over the state were submitted for consideration. Of those applications, approximately 100 were selected to be designated as State of Hope sites.
Ten of the selected organizations will receive funding and specialized technical assistance for their projects. An additional few were selected to be designated as Emerging sites. All of these new State of Hope and Emerging sites have been invited to become part of a larger learning community – the Hope Ecosystem – where they can access technical assistance and opportunities for funding, build partnerships and connect with each other.
"Developing strong families and keeping children safe takes the combined resources of communities, extended families and public agencies like the Division, and it's gratifying to see so many local community organizations stepping up to serve," said Tom Rawlings, DFCS. DFCS launched the State of Hope initiative in 2018 to encourage nonprofits, philanthropies, government, businesses and other community members to collaborate in building local safety nets that will focus on four areas: education, trauma-informed service, quality caregiving, and economic self-sufficiency.
For questions or to be added to the State of Hope email distribution list, please email StateofHope@dhs.ga.gov.