Editorial

From Gaye Morris Smith, Executive Director
Family Connection Partnership, Inc.

Welcome to this issue of Connected. As we move rapidly through the 2003 Session of the Georgia General Assembly, many things are changing. With all these changes come opportunities. Leaders want to be educated on issues that are important to your community as they tackle tough problems related to our state's budget.

The theme of this issue is education and advocacy. Inside you'll find a wrap-up of our recent Family Connection Day, with Georgia's First Lady Mary Perdue commending Family Connection on more than a decade of results improving the lives of children, families and communities in Georgia.

We also talk about the differences between educating and lobbying, showing how you can provide policymakers pertinent information about the potential effects of their most difficult decisions. Advocacy and lobbying are terms that get used interchangeably but you should understand the legal difference. Our Best Practices and Results section features a piece on how advocates better collaborate their efforts.

One of the unique aspects about Family Connection is that our county collaboratives work with and know their local leaders. We fully acknowledge the state's decrease in revenue sources. We know tough decisions will be made. Our concern is that those decisions are made strategically, with a minimal impact on children and families.

This time of change presents further opportunities to partner in that decision-making process and to promote the core concepts of Family Connection that we so strongly believe in.