Healthy Children
At Georgia Family Connection, we want to see children born healthy—and stay healthy—so they can succeed in school and in life. We’re working across Georgia to keep children healthy through three statewide initiatives:
What’s Happening
The USDA’s Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a critical service for families with young children. WIC provides nutritional foods and nutrition education and health care referrals to low-income pregnant, breast-feeding, and postpartum women and children birth to 5 years old. Use of WIC services has been declining in Georgia and across the country over the past several years. In support of our Department of Public Health WIC partners, a group of nine Georgia Family Connection Collaboratives are working together with WIC to help ensure that all eligible women are informed about, enroll in, and actively use the program’s valuable resources.
Early, Emanuel, Butts, Fulton, Meriwether, Lamar, Liberty, Lowndes, and Rockdale counties are crafting creative approaches at the local level to increase knowledge and use of WIC fruit and vegetable vouchers, access to healthy fruit and vegetable choices, and nutrition education to help inform food choices. GaFCP works closely with WIC to ensure that all local projects adhere to state and federal WIC guidelines.
Partners
- Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
- Atlanta Community Food Bank
- Georgia Food Bank Association
- Division of Family & Children Services Prevention and Community Support Section
- Georgia Department of Public Health SHAPE Initiative
- Georgia Food Industry Association
- Georgia Organics
- Voices for Georgia’s Children
- Wholesome Wave
- WIC
Early Childhood Health and Education Cohort
What’s Happening
Early childhood experiences lay the foundation for future success in school, work, family, and community. Our Early Childhood Health and Education cohort counties are working together to implement county-specific strategies to address the needs of children birth to age 8 and their families. Twelve Georgia Family Connection county Collaboratives are developing and implementing Early Childhood Health and Education strategies that fit the needs of their communities to help children be healthy, ready to start school, and read on grade level by third grade.
Baldwin, Newton, Washington, Polk, Charlton, and Seminole counties, involved since 2013, have established a team of key partners who are working to implement their Early Childhood Health and Education strategies. Fulton, Crisp, Hancock, Terrell, Emanuel and Elbert counties began their strategy development work in 2015.
Partners
- Blank Family Foundation
- Annie E. Casey Foundation
GaFCP Publications
Building the Path to Reading Proficiency: Addressing Early Childhood in Georgia
Resources & Best Practices
Stay Informed
- “Helping Healthy Choices Become Easy Choices in Baldwin County”
- “Polk County Takes on Grade-Level Reading Challenge with Multi-Faceted Strategy”
- “Charlton County Strives to Get More Books in the Hands of Parents and Children”
- “Newton Focuses on Overall Health of Its Residents—and Local Economy”
- “Washington County Helping Its Residents Shape Up”
- “Early Intervention in Seminole County Helps Struggling Students Become Better Readers”
Low Birthweight Prevention Cohort
What’s Happening
The rate of low-birthweight (LBW) infants born in Georgia climbed to 9.6 percent in 2006—the highest level in 30 years—and peaked at 9.8 percent in 2010. Infants born to non-Hispanic Black women have the highest rate of LBW, 13.1 percent, which is two or more times greater than for infants born to women of other race and ethnic groups.
We at Georgia Family Connection Partnership have been working since 2009 to increase awareness of LBW and evidence-based programs to address this serious issue. Our LBW Cohort engages Collaboratives in Heard, Lamar, Spalding, Butts, and Meriwether counties. They have developed—and are implementing—strategies to lower the LBW rate in their communities in partnership with Public Health, WIC, and other key local partners.
Partners
- Kaiser Permanente
GaFCP Publications
Resources & Best Practices
Childhood Obesity Prevention and Food Access
What’s Happening
Georgia has the 17th highest rate of childhood obesity in the United States. It can be difficult to provide healthy food choices for lower-income families where fast food is the only option. Georgia Family Connection Partnership is working with communities to increase the opportunities for families and young children to have access to nutrition education and healthy food choices.
Our Early Childhood Health and Education (EC-HEED) cohort and the Childhood Obesity Prevention Program (COPP) partner cohort are focused on addressing policy, systems, and environmental changes that are needed in communities across our state.
Communities are increasing opportunities to address obesity and hunger, including greater access to neighborhood and school gardens, opportunities for biking and walking, cooking education, and farmers markets that offer affordable local nutritious foods.
Partners
- Blank Family Foundation
- Healthcare Georgia Foundation
- Georgia Organics
- Food Oasis
Resources & Best Practices