About Us
In 1991, Dawson County was one of 15 Georgia counties that volunteered to participate in a two year program created by Gov. Zell Miller responding to the release of the Annie E. Casey Foundation inaugural KIDS COUNT report in 1990 to track the status of children in the United States. This report placed Georgia 48th out of 50 states in regards to it’s children’s well-being. The pilot was called Georgia Family Connection.
Today, Dawson County Family Connection is one of 159 county collaborations under Georgia Family Connection, all committed to the mission of improving conditions for at-risk children, families, and communities.
Our Board
Sue Seldomridge- 2022 Chair
Ben Barrett- 2022 Vice Chair
Mandy Power-2022 2nd Vice Chair
Natalie Johnson-2022 Treasurer
Billy Thurmond-DC Board of Commissioners
Buffie Hamil-DC Parks & Rec
Charlene Jones-Char’s Family Daycare, Inc.
Clark MacAllister-UGA Extension Office
Dawn Johnson-DC Senior Center
Jeff Johnson-DC Sheriff Department
Jeremy Merritt-Avita Community Partners
Joe Stapp-Blue Ridge Counseling
John Cronan-2021 Chair-Etowah Water & Sewer
John Walden-City of Dawsonville
Kathy Russell-DC Health Department
Kelsey Harrison-The Way Home
Mariela Perez-DC Family & Children Services
Nicole LeCave-DC School Superintendent
Nicky Gilleland-Honorary Board Member
Dawson County Family Connection is governed by a Collaborative Board that meets the fourth Wednesday of every other month at the Professional Development Center at 9:00am.
Our Staff
Rebecca Bliss, Coordinator
rbliss@dawsonfamilyconnection.org
706-265-1981 Ext 60081
Jill Alexander, Administrative Specialist
jalexander@dawsonfamilyconnection.org
706-265-1981 Ext 60080
About Georgia Family Connection
Georgia Family Connection is the only statewide network of its kind in the country with partners in all 159 counties working toward measurably better outcomes for our children, families, and communities. This gives us a unique vantage point—not only to see the big picture—but also to operate effectively at a local level.
We disentangle the mess of barriers, service gaps, and inefficiencies obscuring progress for our most vulnerable families. We do that by connecting our partners to resources, helping coordinate and manage efforts, and empowering our communities to craft local solutions based on local decisions.
Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP) represents and promotes Georgia Family Connection’s work, provides expertise in planning and governance, administers the state-appropriated funds for the local Collaboratives, sets standards of excellence, and helps Collaboratives evaluate their progress.
The state’s designated KIDS COUNT grantee, GaFCP also provides state agencies and policymakers with current, reliable data they need to inform decisions about improving conditions for the communities they serve.
Our Work
At Georgia Family Connection, we work to ensure that all children are healthy, primed for school, and succeed when they get there; families are stable, self-sufficient, and productive; and communities are vibrant, robust, and thriving.
None of these result areas stand in isolation. They overlap. By collaborating across sectors to address them, we nurture children and families who thrive in vibrant communities—everywhere. Because we work toward measurably better outcomes for everyone.
