The Family Support Council, Inc.
P.O. Box 1707, Dalton, Georgia 30722-1707
Serving Whitfield and Murray Counties in Northwest Georgia
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The Family Support Council, Inc. P.O. Box 1707, Dalton, Georgia 30722-1707 Serving Whitfield and Murray Counties in Northwest Georgia |
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Programs at FSC First Steps--Trained volunteers visit new mothers at Hamilton Medical Center to offer support, educational materials, and community resource lists. The volunteers maintain contact by phone or letter for 3 months following the birth. Healthy Families--A voluntary program that enhances long-term positive childhood outcomes through intensive home visitation services. Educational and support services are provided to first-time parents and parents-to-be, up through their child's 4th birthday. Child Abuse Council--Prevention, education, and training programs are offered for the community that emphasize the prevention of child abuse. Parent Education Program--Being a good parent is a very tough job. This program trains parents in how to use positive discipline and helps them learn how to talk to their children about drugs, sex, and other issues. Classes, books, videos, and newsletters are absolutely free. Start having "fun" with your children. School Outreach--This program provides home and school-based support services for families with children in grades K-1. Also available: academic assistance, school mediation, community referrals, crisis intervention, parent education, social activities, and workshops. Success By Six--Also known as "Preschool Success," this initiative assists parents and teachers of preschool children (ages 0-5) in preparing children for school. It also helps identify children who may need additional assistance and provides intervention services as needed. Parent Talk--Do you ever feel you are about to "lose it" with too many pressures as a parent? Have no one to talk to? Parent Talk is a confidential support group that meets weekly in Dalton and Chatsworth. A trained specialist leads the group. Free child care is provided. Camp A.I.M.--A therapeutic two-week summer day camp for children ages 6-15 who are dealing with issues of abuse. Kids On The Block--A puppet program that helps students in grades 2 and 3 to know how to deal with potentially dangerous situations. "The Toy Box"--Come visit our toy-lending library! Educational toys, books, and videos can be checked out for your children to enjoy. Materials are available for children to help develop and express their creativity. The library is open daily. The Sandra Kirk Martin Family Resource Room--This resource room for parents and teachers contains a large collection of videos and books that may be borrowed free of charge. Topics include positive discipline, taking time for fun, dealing with divorce, talking about death, bedtime routines, and many more! Oak Haven Second Chance Home--A therapeutic home for teen mothers and their babies. Oak Haven provides a supportive, supervised living situation for teen mothers who have no other safe place to live. Emphasis is placed on no repeat pregnancies and furthering the education of the teen mother. Teen Able, the outreach program of Oak Haven, provides intensive, in-home support for teen mothers out in the community and also conducts weekly support groups in local high schools. Dads Matter--A program of information and support for young dads. This program uses the MELD for Young Dads model. Young dads share information in groups led by experienced fathers. They receive educational guidance, advice on how to be good fathers, legal information, and other information that is important to the fathering role. CASA--A CASA is a volunteer who advocates for children who have been removed from their homes. CASA volunteers are appointed by a juvenile court judge. They gather information about the child's case and attend all of the child's court proceedings. They give an independent report to the judge in the best interests of the child. Each volunteer handles only one or two cases at a time. The CASA's recommendations help the court to make a sound decision about the child's future. Research findings indicate that judges often accept the recommendations of CASA volunteers. In fiscal year 2004, over 1500 CASA volunteers in Georgia served over 7400 children, including in the Conasauga district of Whitfield and Murray Counties. CASA is the only national organization of volunteer advocates who have been trained to speak as an independent voice in court for children's best interests. The U.S. Department of Justice has recognized CASA as a model program and views CASA as a "safety net for abused and neglected children." In fact, the ultimate goal of the program is to ensure that every child has a safe, permanent, nurturing home as quickly as possible. This not only helps to end the cycle of abuse and neglect experienced by one particular child, but also breaks the cycle of violence and abuse that otherwise will continue throughout the child's life. If you are interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, please call Sandy Martin-Ales at the Family Support Council, 272-7919, for additional information. |