Since 1995, Georgia has demonstrated significant success with its community-based RFP process involving key stakeholders from around the state in the design of Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) Program Services, review of proposals and in the delivery and coordination of services. The approach has proven effective in improving local service delivery coordination and has strengthened pubic/private partnerships with traditional and non-traditional child and family service agencies serving the same general population of children and families. To encourage shared responsibility at the community level for protecting children and supporting families, Promoting Safe and Stable Families Requests for Proposals to provide family support, family preservation, time limited reunification and adoption promotion and foster care transitional support services have been solicited from state government agencies, other public and private non-profit entities and from public/private collaborative partnerships statewide. Continued development and implementation of this framework for system and service delivery reform will provide Georgia's children and families' seamless access to quality, timely and non-duplicative family support and child welfare services in their own communities.

From FFY 1995 through FFY 2000, four hundred seventy (470) contracts have been awarded to community-based organizations, increasing family access to services in more than sixty (60) counties throughout the state. Significant funding has been concentrated in the five county metropolitan Atlanta area as evidenced by approximately 47% of the funding allocated to community based programs in Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton and Gwinnett counties. The concentration of family supportive resources in this five county urban environment is commensurate with the 50% of the state's population, which is concentrated in the greater metropolitan area.

During the FFY 1999 funding cycle, 125 public and private agencies were funded. With the support of federal PSSF funding, comprehensive school or community based support services to adolescent or teen mothers, fathers and their parents have been expanded. Domestic violence shelter services were expanded or enhanced throughout the state to increase the accessibility of supportive services for victims and child witnesses of domestic abuse. Substance abuse treatment programs serving pregnant and parenting women were expanded with focus on the independent living and parenting skills of substance abusing mothers to promote drug-free, self-sufficient lives for themselves and their children. University based programs are providing comprehensive health, family and legal services to grandparents and relative caregivers of children other then their own.

Funded PSSF program services continue to be delivered in-home, as well as in a variety of community based settings including family resource centers, substance abuse treatment centers, domestic violence shelters, churches, police departments, schools, hospitals, college and universities.

The MATCH Program: Georgia DFCS manages the Multi-Agency Team for Children (MATCH) program.

• MATCH arranges care for Georgia's most severely emotionally disturbed children.

• It is truly multi-agency - serving children from DMHMRSA, DFCS, and DJJ.

• MATCH is administered by DFCS, but decisions about the treatment children receive and the providers enrolled are made by the multi-agency team.

• There are more than 100 local multi-agency teams where all options are considered and decisions are made for referral to state MATCH.

• MATCH is a public/private partnership - 95% of MATCH placements are with the private sector.

• MATCH provides an array in-state treatment options including therapeutic foster care, therapeutic group homes, sexual offender treatment, assessment centers, outdoor therapeutic programs, and residential treatment centers.

• The public/private MATCH continuum successfully met its goal of serving children in Georgia - MATCH has no children placed out of state.

• MATCH serves children without regard to custody - parents are able to receive needed services for their children without considering giving up custody.

• The public and private agencies that are part of the MATCH team jointly designed and implemented an outcome system to measure the effectiveness of the program in helping children improve their functioning and return to their families and communities.

GAHSC/State Agency Liaison Committee: Georgia DFCS co-chairs with the private agency association, Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children (GAHSC), a quarterly public/private liaison committee. The GAHSC/State Agency Liaison Committee meets quarterly to address and resolve issues of common concern to our public and private agencies and to keep the lines of communication open.

Provider Orientation: Georgia DFCS participates in the multi-agency new provider orientation discussed in the response to D.2.

Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council: Georgia DFCS participates in the Georgia Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council.