About Us
Wilkinson County Family Connection is a partnership of several organizations working with families to research the needs of children and families in our community, and to work together to address those needs.
Our Over-Arching Goal: All Children Will Succeed in School and in Life
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.
Learn more about some of our results and our plans for the future.
Our Partners
Our organizational partners include Department of Family & Children Services, Public Health, Athens Housing Authority, Department of Juvenile Justice, Chamber of Commerce, individual businesses, Juvenile Court, Police Department, Sheriff, Department of Leisure Services, Department of Labor, Catholic Social Services, YMCA, YWCO, Boys & Girls Club, Council on Aging, Child Abuse Prevention Council, Sexual Assault Center, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Department of Human & Economic Development, and many others.
Our most important partners are the families whose children we are serving.
Some of the projects that have been initiated through this process:
- Pre-K Program
- Even Start family literacy program
- Early Head Start
- Homeless Education program
- Anti-truancy initiative
- Nutrition and health insurance outreach
- Summer Youth Program
- Community Partnership for Protecting Children
- Various welfare-to-work strategies
- Community Education Summit
- Unified Government, and School District
Our History
The Georgia Family Connection County Collaborative Authority for Families and Children was created under the authority of Act 677, adopted March 27, 1998 and amended May 1, 2002 by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia.
Designated as the local decision making body for prioritizing the needs of families and children, the Georgia Collaborative brings community partners together to develop, implement, and evaluate plans that address the serious challenges facing Georgia County’s children and families.
The Collaborative has positioned itself as a non-profit focusing on networking and relationships; connecting both the general public to partners and partners to each other. While there is no one sentence to explain what Georgia Collaborative does, the tag line says it all, “Helping People Help Others.”
