About Us
The Murray County Family Connection Collaborative is the bringing together of state and local agencies as well as community, county and business leaders, and individuals who have the well-being of families in mind.
Our History
Murray County Family Connection was incorporated in 1991 as one of the recipients of the PEW Charitable Grant that year and operates in the community under the name Murray County Family Connection. The county has long recognized the importance of focusing on the welfare of children and their families. Agencies who have historically participated in the development of the collaborative over the past 20 years include the Department of Family and Children Services, Department of Juvenile Justice, Murray County Schools, Head Start, Early Head Start, Red Cross, Murray County Sheriff’s Department Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), GA Legal Services, United Way, United Methodist Children’s Home, and various other agencies, industries, and business representatives.
Goals and Strategies
Economic Development and Employment
Provide Murray County residents with programs and support that promote safe, adequate and affordable housing and family stability through increased family income.
Types of programs, activities and support include: Housing Stability Coalition – addresses community housing issues. Dalton-Whitfield Community Development Corporation (DWCDC) – facilitates the ability of all Dalton and Whitfield County residents to acquire and maintain safe and decent housing. Financial education is an integral an integral component. GED/ESL classes – provide avenues to achieve educational goals and find better jobs.
Education
Provide Murray County students with an array of programs and activities that promote school success.
Programs and Activities include: Early intervention programs DARE After School Programs: tutoring, mentoring, support for graduating seniors Boys and Girls Clubs.
Risky Behaviors
Build protective factors in youth and create opportunities for activities that increase self-esteem and life skills for avoiding risky behaviors.
The Whitfield, Murray Drug Free Coalition is committed to addressing the issue of alcohol and substance abuse by teenagers, pre-teens and young adults and the related consequences in our two-county area. It will increase awareness, provide education, and give support to activities and events that involve local citizenry in a sustainable effort to address this escalating problem. For teen pregnancy prevention/support for parenting teens, The Family Support Council offers support groups for parenting teens. A group of concerned citizens is attempting to find an acceptable curriculum to reduce teen pregnancy that can be utilized in both school systems. Child abuse prevention education activities include such programs as Kids on the Block, Pinwheels for Prevention, Heroes Against Child Abuse, training for mandated reporters, Camp AIM, etc. Enrichment opportunities for youth are provided by such organizations as the Boys and Girls Clubs, which provides a safe place for young people to grow and develop their personal skills as well as Big Brothers/Big Sisters which provides both in-school and out of school mentoring.
GED/ESL classes – provide avenues to achieve educational goals and find better jobs.
About Georgia Family Connection
Georgia Family Connection, a statewide infrastructure for aligning efforts across sectors, comes together through two distinct but connected change-makers: a statewide network of Collaboratives in all 159 counties and Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP). Each strengthens the other—and together, they form Georgia Family Connection.
We work toward measurably better outcomes across five key result areas:
The Georgia Family Connection statewide network—the only one of its kind in the country—works alongside children, families, and communities to help them thrive by crafting local solutions that maximize resources and make systems more effective and efficient. This network cultivates collaboration among community service providers, reducing duplication of efforts and allowing everyone to do more with the resources available.
Collaboratives equip local service agencies and organizations with the tools and methods they need to be more effective, helping them develop and work together on integrated strategies to improve child, family, and community well-being. We fill in service gaps in our communities by functioning as an incubator for direct services to families and children when a need isn’t being met. We also respond to urgent situations by maintaining strong relationships and the infrastructure necessary to deliver timely support.
GaFCP unites the statewide network in a shared framework that promotes consistent, ongoing collaboration and peer learning—equipping Collaboratives to draw on communities’ collective wisdom and experience across the state. GaFCP develops effective partnerships with state leaders, private enterprises, and other stakeholders to link the network with public and private funding, resources, talent, and innovation. GaFCP also empowers leaders across Georgia by making data accessible and providing practical tools, training, and technical assistance to support informed decision-making.
