Georgia Essentials for Childhood Releases “A Vision for Child and Family Well-being in Georgia” – Our State’s Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Plan

Beginning in early 2019, leaders representing family-serving state agencies, community organizations, and stakeholder groups came together to address Georgia’s high rate of child abuse and neglect. It was determined that in order to truly impact this pervasive problem in our state, we would need a unified, collective impact approach and they decided that the state’s Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Plan, originally developed in 1993, should be updated. 

 

Over the course of the next year, over 30 meetings were held across the state which included state and local government leaders, providers of human services, educators, civic and business leaders, parents, caregivers and members of faith-based organizations. Additionally, two surveys soliciting input from providers and parents/caregivers were distributed and completed by nearly 800 Georgians. A state plan incorporating the input from this diverse group was developed and in mid- 2020 was approved by state leadership. 

 

The Georgia Essentials for Childhood Steering Committee has been charged with overseeing the implementation of the state plan, monitoring progress toward the plan’s goals, assisting in the development of regional plans, and reviewing progress toward the plan on an annual basis. For more information about the Georgia Essentials for Childhood initiative, visit tinyrurl.com/GAEssentials.  The state plan will be posted on the webpage linked here: TinyURL.com/GACANPP .

 

The Steering Committee would like to thank Prevent Child Abuse Georgia, Georgia's Division of Family and Children's Services' Prevention and Community Support Section, Advantage Consulting LLC, and the hundreds of Georgians who provided input and feedback into the development of this plan.