Thriving Communities
At Georgia Family Connection, we help ensure that Georgia’s communities are vibrant, robust, and thriving. We’re working across Georgia to support strong and prosperous communities through two initiatives:
Civic Health Cohort
What’s Happening
Georgia Family Connection launched a Civic Health Cohort in 2015, which began with two Georgia Family Connection Collaboratives, and eventually grew to include five counties, collecting local data on civic health. Upon reviewing their local data, the Collaboratives developed strategies to improve civic health in their communities.
This work was spurred by the 2013 Georgia Civic Health Index. Though the findings were compelling, data was only available at the state level. In order to better understand civic health trends in communities across the state, Georgia Family Connection Partnership created a local-level survey comparable to the one used at the state and national levels, and built the Civic Health Cohort using this tool.
The goal of each local civic health survey is to be representative of the community surveyed to create an accurate depiction of civic health in the county, and each participating cohort county works with experts to achieve this goal. Each county will release a report about the survey findings, share them with partners, and use them to develop strategies to improve civic health.
Partners
- Georgia Family Connection Partnership
- Metis Associates
Georgia Civic Health Index
What’s Happening
Georgia’s civic health is not strong when compared with the rest of the nation. High levels of civic health correspond to lower crime rates, better public health outcomes, and greater economic resilience, particularly during economic downturns. Engaging multiple sectors and across all demographics can create a better Georgia for everyone.
Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP), along with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, and Georgia Forward published Georgia’s first-ever Civic Health Index in 2013. In 2019, GaFCP partnered with the Georgia Municipal Association to publish a second edition of the Georgia Civic Health Index.
The Civic Health Index measures civic health across four domains:
- social connectedness, the ways Georgians connect with friends, family, and neighbors;
- community involvement, the ways in which people interact beyond their social circles, including group membership, volunteer activity and charitable giving, and attending public meetings;
- political action, which refers to voter registration and turnout, contacting elected officials, and expressing political opinions; and
- confidence in institutions, or how much Georgians trust public schools, corporations, and the media.
2019 Partners
- Georgia Family Connection Partnership
- Georgia Municipal Association
- National Conference on Citizenship
- Community Foundation of Central Georgia
- East West Bank
- Knight Foundation
2013 Partners
- Georgia Family Connection Partnership
- GeorgiaForward
- Carl Vinson Institute of Government
- National Conference on Citizenship
- Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
- Community Foundation of Central Georgia
- Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley
GaFCP Publications
2019 Georgia Civic Health Index
2013 Georgia Civic Health Index
Resources & Best Practices