Family Connection Partnership News

Gov. Perdue congratulates keynote speakers (from left to right) Daphne Burden, Alexa Sheets, and Christopher Jackson on encouraging youth involvement in their communities.

Celebrating Progress: 15 Years of Improving Results for Georgia's Children, Families, and Communities

Nearly 300 Family Connection supporters and collaboratives representing 120 Georgia counties attended the annual Family Connection Winter Training Event and Family Connection Day in Atlanta, Feb. 20 -21. This year's event celebrated the 15th anniversary of Family Connection and its progress in improving results for Georgia's children, families and communities.

Read testimonials from the Family Connection Winter Training Event and Family Connection Day

Winter Training Event

The Winter Training Event at the Wyndham Atlanta Downtown hotel captured and shared the work of partners in supporting the Family Connection network of collaboratives.

Gaye Smith, executive director of Family Connection Partnership, kicked off the opening session by highlighting innovative responses to collaboratives' needs:

• CIMS (Collaborative Information Management System), a statewide electronic reporting system, streamlines collaborative reporting. FCP completed statewide training in February, and CIMS went live on Feb. 15.
• Collaborative Webs, a free Web site and content management system, help collaboratives promote their work, share information, and communicate with their supporters via the Internet.
• Sub-county data analysis piloted in metro and rural communities studies and reports on the impact of Family Connection.
  
• Results-based facilitation training helps collaboratives build local-decision making and encourage successful outcomes.
  
• Collaborative standards set criteria and measurements for quality performances throughout the Family Connection network.

Mavis Moore, director of Terrell County Department of Family and Children Services, delivered a keynote speech about the acronym CHOICE.

"We all have the choice to make this the best day of our lives," she said. "What choice will you make?"

Mavis used acronym CHOICE to help illustrate her message.

Communication skills are different for men and women. Men communicate directly while women intertwine emotions and other thoughts.

Honor the people who step up to the table and lift up each other up every day.

Oneness helps us all stay on the same page. We can't succeed if everyone is pulling in different directions.

Inside-out development means change must start from within your self.

Change gives us opportunity to grow. It's not what happens to you that matters; it's what you do with what happens to you that matters.

Enthusiasm is essential for good leadership. Ask yourself if you are the kind of leader you would want to follow.

Taifa Butler, director of Public Affairs for Family Connection Partnership, introduced Collaborative Webs, a free service that includes:

• A unique Web site for each collaborative
  
• Web site hosting on the Family Connection Partnership server
  
• Standard Web site address
  
• A simple content management system

Family Connection Partnership will host regional trainings for Collaborative Webs in April and May. Collaboratives can register at:www.regonline.com/90150.
For more information visit www.gafcp.org/CollabWebs/websoverview.htm.

The event continued with 12 workshops led by partners sharing their latest initiatives, work, and resources available to Family Connection collaboratives:

• Get in the Know with the GO (Education GO Get It)
  
• Communities In Schools and Family Connection: A Partnership that Works (Communities In Schools)
  
• Linking Up for Leadership (University of Georgia Fanning Institute and Georgia 4-H Youth)
  
• Leadership Development: A Key to Community Success (University of Georgia Fanning Institute)
  
• Collaborative Webs: Build Yours Now (Family Connection Partnership)
  
• Resource Center: Best Practices in Building Partnerships (Family Connection collaboratives)
  
• Connecting with Youth (Georgia Partnership for Youth Investment)
  
• Partnering to Eradicate School Failure (Truancy Intervention Project)

Family Connection Day

Many legislators and state partners attended Family Connection Day at the Georgia Freight Depot in downtown Atlanta to show their support. Gov. Sonny Perdue greeted participants, and Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox thanked the collaboratives and partners for their 15 years of service to Georgia's children, families and communities.

The Family Connection Day theme was “Celebrating communities in progress.” Building on the theme from the 2005 Family Connection Conference—Framing the Future—three youth keynote speakers shared their visions for what they want their communities to look like in the future and what they are doing to make that vision a reality.

Alexa Sheets, 9, of McDonough, said she likes her community because it is “kid friendly” filled with parks and recreation.

“In the future, I'd like my community to have a large youth center with a library, art room, movie room, and lounge open to children after school and on the weekends,” she said.

Alexa said she challenges her generation to help public areas by planting flowers, placing trash cans, forming recycling plans, and repainting buildings with bright colors. She encourages youth to get involved and write to city officials, go to town hall meetings, and “go straight to the mayor.”

“I always remind everyone to always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ because that's just common courtesy,” she said.

Alexa is a member of Chosen Heirs, a faith-based organization that promotes leadership and life skills in girls ages 9 - 17. She plans to launch a home-based business this month.

Read Alexa's speech

Christopher Jackson, 18, of Cumming, is a high school senior in Forsyth County. He said he sees his community as an extended family where everyone is connected in some way while still having their own unique sense of individuality.

“In the future, I'd like to see my community keep its small town appeal, even though it is transitioning from a farming community to a bedroom suburb of Atlanta,” he said. “I challenge youth and adults to work together to solve transportation and pollution problems-two areas that impact the environment.”

Christopher said he encourages youth to vote once they turn 18.

“Voting not only puts people in office,” he said, “it affects decisions on how the community works.”

Christopher serves on the Forsyth County Community Connection board. He is active in Youth Leadership Forsyth and has helped research county transportation, road expansion, and growth rate.

Read Christopher's speech

Daphne Burden, 17, of Barnesville said she began participating in her community as a young child in programs such as litter campaigns and holiday meal distribution.

“Now that I'm older and have worked in my community for many years, I see a lack of youth involvement in my community, and I want to do something about it,” she said.

She challenges adults to bring youth to the table to discuss concerns related to the community. She challenges youth to “go beyond the status quo and aim high for excellence.”

Working together, she said, youth and adults will accomplish even greater things in her community.

Daphne is a high school senior with dual enrollment at Gordon College, where she studies mass communications. She produces and directs her high school broadcast team. She is a graduate of Lamar County Youth Leadership, where she now volunteers and teaches classes to other youth leaders.

Read Daphne's speech