Drug Free Communities 

The Drug Free Communities Support Program is directed by The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

 This anti-drug program provides grants of up to $125,000 to community coalitions that mobilize their communities to prevent youth alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug, and inhalant abuse. The program operates under Cook County Family Connection and provides significant funding and support for school assembly programs, prevention programs, training opportunities for youth, parents and community leaders.

 The grants support coalitions of youth, parents, media, law enforcement, school officials; faith-based organizations, fraternal organizations, as well as state, local, and tribal government agencies, healthcare professionals, and other community representatives. The Drug Free Communities Support Program enables the coalitions to strengthen their coordination and prevention efforts, encourage citizen participation in substance abuse reduction efforts, and disseminate information about effective programs. Cook County Family Connection received an initial DFC five-year grant of $500,000 in 2004.  Because of our accomplishments and results, we were one of only eight Georgia organizations to receive a new five-year continuation grant of $625,000 beginning in 2010.

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, works to help Cook County reshape their environment to support healthy living and prevent childhood obesity.  Through projects such as community gardens, produce markets and playground revitalizations, the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities staff and volunteers are leading the way for policy and environmental changes that will give families of Cook County access to healthier foods and opportunities for more physical activity. 

For more information on the national Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative visit www.healthykidshealthycommunites.org.

System of Care

The mission of the Governor’s Office for Children and Families (GOCF) is to build capacity in communities to improve outcomes for Georgia’s children, youth, and families.  Through grants and technical assistance, they help communities implement “Caring Communities System of Care,” a systematic approach to coordinating child prevention and intervention programs.  The Caring Communities System of Care approach is a new way of thinking  about how we care for our children and youth by thinking “child first”…by imagining everything an individual child and family will need and then designing a complete system of care that can meet all of those needs.  The System of Care (SOC) approach utilizes important, guiding core values and principles for practice, service delivery, and community engagement which include:

• Strength-based, outcome-focused, and family centered approaches to serving children and families
• Coordination at both the governance and service delivery levels
• Individualized service  plans
• Involvement of family and youth as full partners in the SOC process
• Integrated service planning and delivery
• Emphasis on early identification and intervention

In 2009, Cook County Family Connection was one of ten organizations across the state to receive a three-year System of Care grant award, which provided $293,000 in 2010 to implement the initiative.  The Cook County System of Care targets 150 teens enrolled on the Graduation Coach caseload at Cook High School and works to improve health and social outcomes for these youth and their families. 

For more information on GOCF, visit their website at www.children.georgia.gov.