April is designated as child abuse prevention month and there is no better time than now to encourage the adults in our community to take action to better the lives of Georgia’s children. There are no easy answers to preventing child deaths. Understanding the prevalence of unintentional or accidental injuries and how we can prevent them is an important step we can take now to keep our children safe.
May 23, 2012 - ATLANTA - It’s that time of year again. With the temperature rising and summer right around the corner, many will start flocking to the pool to beat the heat. But not so fast! There are a few water safety guidelines that should be taken into consideration to help keep Georgia's children from becoming a statistic.
December 6, 2011 - ATLANTA – Today, Commissioner Clyde L. Reese, III, announced that Ron Scroggy will serve as the Department’s Acting Director for the Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) and Katherine Herren will serve as the Acting Deputy Director for DFCS. Scroggy and Herren will serve in this capacity until the Commissioner’s Office completes a search for a new DFCS Director.
October 18, 2011 - SNAP (Food Stamp) recipients will soon experience a change in the timing of their monthly benefit. Starting in November, the State will use a new formula to determine when clients will receive their benefits. Food stamp benefit amounts will not change as a result of this new process and the date will still fall between the 5th and the 14th of each month. Benefits will now be distributed based on the last two digits of the Client ID for the Head of Household.
June 29, 2011 - ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of Family and Child Services (DFCS) will hold a public hearing Thursday, July 14, 2011 to receive comments and feedback on the FY 2012 State Plan for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Block Grant (LIHEAP). The LIHEAP block grant provides assistance with home heating costs, weatherization and other home energy needs for eligible elderly, homebound, and other low-income Georgians.
June 27, 2011 - ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of Family and Child Services (DFCS) will hold a public hearing Thursday, July 14, 2011 to receive comments and feedback on the FY 2012 State Plan for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program. The CSBG program assists eligible low-income Georgians remove obstacles and provides tools to move towards self-sufficiency.
June 6, 2011 - ATLANTA – More than 260 foster care youth will be honored and recognized for their educational achievements at the19th Annual Celebration of Excellence. The Celebration of Excellence is a statewide graduation event and scholarship program for youth in Georgia’s foster care system who are graduating from high school, GED programs, vocational school or college. The event will be held on Wednesday, June 8, 2011, at 6 p.m. at Georgia State University’s Rialto Center for the Arts.
May 23, 2011 - ATLANTA – School is out and the children are in. Now that summer is here, there will be more opportunities for children to be left home alone and more worry for parents who wonder if they should leave them without adult supervision. The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) urges caution and vigilance when leaving children home alone.
May 18, 2011 - ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) is reminding Georgians that the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) benefits are still available in the following counties: Bartow (zip codes 30145, 30171, 30123, 30103), Catoosa, Cherokee, Coweta, Dade, Floyd, Gordon (zip codes 30746 and 30733), Greene, Habersham, Harris, Heard, Lamar, Lumpkin, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Pickens, Polk, Rabun, Spalding, Troup, Upson, Walker and White. Registration for the D-SNAP program will be available in these counties until Thursday, May 19 at 6 p.m.
May 12, 2011 - ATLANTA (GA) – May is Foster Care Month and the Georgia Department of Human Services’ (DHS), Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) is stepping up their efforts to urge more Georgians to become foster parents. DFCS county offices across the state are sponsoring foster parent appreciation and family activities, information fairs, seminars and training sessions to recruit future foster parents.
May 12, 2011 - ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), is notifying Catoosa County residents affected by last month’s severe weather of the new location to receive disaster food assistance. The new location will be Catoosa Hall located at 7658 Nashville Street, Ringgold, GA 30736.
May 10, 2011 - ATLANTA– The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) has received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to operate a Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP). This program is designed to provide food stamp benefits to people who might not ordinarily qualify for the food stamp program.
December 2010 - ATLANTA (GA) – The Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy (FFCL) have teamed up to give one of the most life changing gifts there is to give – the gift of reading.