About Us
The mission of Great Start Georgia is to provide wide-ranging support services for families and children to ensure that families have the information and support they need to provide a great start in life.
Administered by the Governor’s Office for Children and Families, Great Start Georgia is an overall effort to ensure that Georgia’s families and communities are able to meet the needs of expectant parents and children birth to age five and their families. In partnership with the Department of Public Health, the system is designed to create a community culture of care, encouragement, and support for all families before and after the birth of a child. A toll-free Information & Referral Center offers connections to relevant local resources and information. Services include:
- Maternal and Child Health
- Children 1st
- Babies Can’t Wait
- Children’s Medical Services
- Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children (WIC)
- Home and Child Safety
- Community and Family Safety
- School Readiness
- Family Economic Self-sufficiency
- Home Visiting
For a complete list of our partners, please click here.
A major service strategy in the Great Start Georgia system is evidence-based home visiting services for families needing support in providing safe, nurturing, and healthy environments for their children. The long-term goal is statewide implementation. Currently, seven counties have received federal funding from the Governor’s Office for Children and Families to embed evidence-based home visiting in their local Great Start Georgia systems, affording Georgia the opportunity to create a statewide home visiting infrastructure and better coordinate community-based services and supports focused on promoting optimal early childhood health and development.
The Governor’s Office for Children and Families works with communities throughout the state to meet the Governor’s goals of ensuring that our children and families are educated, healthy, safe and growing. Great Start Georgia is the first step in this process. By providing communities a framework for creating a coordinated system for reaching out to all new and expectant families, and offering needed supports and services, Great Start Georgia has the potential to significantly improve the well-being of Georgia’s children and families.