Families First of Georgia

Families First of Georgia is a nonprofit family-service agency serving communities across the state of Georgia. Its work centers on strengthening family resiliency and improving outcomes for children and caregivers through behavioral-health services, family support, parenting education, adoption and guardianship assistance, and community navigation. The organization reports serving more than 16,000 children and families each year. The agency traces its origins to 1890, when it was established as an orphanage on land that is now part of the Spelman College campus. Over time, its role expanded from institutional care to a broader child- and family-welfare model. In 1937, Families First became Georgia's first licensed adoption agency. It later opened the state's first group home in 1964, reflecting a move toward community-based alternatives for children who could not remain safely in their original homes. In 1989, the organization developed a national curriculum for divorcing parents, extending its influence beyond direct services into structured family education. Families First addresses needs associated with abandoned, abused, and neglected children; teen pregnancy; domestic violence; poverty; health challenges; homelessness; adoption; foster care; and family disruption. Its current service structure is organized around three principal impact areas. The Lucy C. Vance Center for Behavioral Health provides individual, group, family, and couples counseling for clients aged four and older. It also includes a psychiatry clinic operated with Morehouse School of Medicine for children and young people from birth through age 21, as well as an early-childhood resiliency center operated with Emory University School of Medicine for children aged zero to five. A second area is Navigator Services. These programs connect individuals and families with community and career resources, wraparound support, and other assistance intended to address barriers to stability. The two-generation Navigator model combines services for parents and children, including maternal and child health support, teenage pregnancy and parenting assistance, and Chispa early-learning services. The third area is Parenting and Adoption Support Services. This includes the Georgia Center for Resources and Support for adoptive and guardian families, the Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry, Access and Visitation services, and Impact Hub classes. The Impact Hub program provides parent-development training for families preparing to adopt or foster children and for families after placement. Together, these programs position Families First as a service coordinator and direct provider across multiple stages of family life rather than as a single-purpose adoption or child-care organization. Families First's institutional history reflects the broader evolution of child welfare in the United States: from orphanage-based care toward adoption services, group homes, prevention, behavioral health, family education, and community-based support. Its present-day model emphasizes family preservation, resilience, early intervention, and self-sufficiency while continuing to assist children and families facing abuse, neglect, poverty, housing insecurity, health issues, and domestic violence.

Families First of Georgia began in 1890 as an orphanage located on what is now the campus of Spelman College. Its original purpose was to provide care for children without stable parental care, but the organization gradually developed into a broader family-service institution as approaches to child welfare changed. A major early transition occurred in 1937, when Families First became the first licensed adoption agency in the State of Georgia. This development expanded the agency's role from residential care to finding permanent family placements and supporting adoption as a child-welfare intervention. The organization continued to develop new forms of care and in 1964 opened Georgia's first group home. Group homes represented a more community-oriented setting than large institutional orphanages and provided an additional placement option for children who could not safely remain with their birth families. Families First also developed expertise in family education. In 1989, it created a national curriculum for divorcing parents. The curriculum reflected an increasing emphasis on helping parents manage separation, maintain constructive relationships with their children, and reduce the effects of family conflict. This work broadened the agency's reach beyond adoption and residential services into prevention and family-strengthening education. Across its history, Families First has addressed changing community needs, including abandoned, abused, and neglected children; teen pregnancy; domestic violence; poverty; health concerns; and homelessness. Its mission has been framed around strengthening family resiliency, with services designed to help families remain safe, connected, and capable of meeting their children's needs. The modern organization operates as a multifaceted family-service agency. Its Lucy C. Vance Center for Behavioral Health offers individual, group, family, and couples counseling for people aged four and older. Partnerships with Morehouse School of Medicine and Emory University School of Medicine extend this work to specialized psychiatric care for children and young people and early-childhood resiliency services. Navigator Services connect families with community and career resources and provide wraparound assistance. The Navigator 2-Gen model addresses the needs of children and adults together through maternal and child health, teenage pregnancy and parenting, and Chispa early-learning services. Families First's parenting and adoption portfolio includes support for adoptive and guardian families through the Georgia Center for Resources and Support, the Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry, Access and Visitation services, and Impact Hub classes. These classes provide development and education for families before and after foster or adoptive placements. The combination of direct care, family education, resource coordination, and permanency support illustrates the agency's evolution from an orphanage into a statewide network of prevention and family-resilience programs. The organization reports assisting more than 16,000 children and families each year. Its history and current programs place it within Georgia's nonprofit child-welfare and family-support sector, with an operating model that emphasizes early intervention, behavioral health, family preservation, permanency, and self-sufficiency.

• 1989

  National curriculum for divorcing parents developed

  [1]Families First of Georgiaen.wikipedia.org

  Families First developed a national curriculum designed to support parents and children during divorce.

• 1964

  Georgia's first group home opened

  [1]Families First of Georgiaen.wikipedia.org

  Families First opened the state's first group home, expanding its child-welfare services beyond orphanage-based care.

• 1937

  First licensed adoption agency in Georgia

  [1]Families First of Georgiaen.wikipedia.org

  The organization became the first licensed adoption agency in the State of Georgia.

• 1890

  Organization founded as an orphanage

  [1]Families First of Georgiaen.wikipedia.org

  Families First began as an orphanage on land that is now part of the Spelman College campus.

A statewide nonprofit family-service agency combining behavioral health, child welfare, adoption and guardianship support, parenting education, early intervention, and community-resource navigation to strengthen family resiliency and self-sufficiency.

• Behavioral health

  Lucy C. Vance Center for Behavioral Health

  The center provides individual, group, family, and couples counseling for clients aged four and older. Its broader behavioral-health network also includes specialized clinical partnerships serving children, adolescents, and young children.

• Child and adolescent psychiatry

  Morehouse School of Medicine Psychiatry Clinic

  This partnership-based clinic provides psychiatric services for children and young people from birth through age 21 as part of Families First's behavioral-health offering.

• Early-childhood behavioral health

  Emory University School of Medicine Center for Resiliency

  The center focuses on resiliency services for children from birth through age five, linking early-childhood support with Families First's broader family-strengthening mission.

• Community and family support

  Navigator Services

  Navigator Services connect families with community and career resources and provide wraparound support. The programs are intended to help households address practical barriers that affect stability, health, employment, and family functioning.

• Two-generation family services

  Navigator 2-Gen Model

  The two-generation model serves children and caregivers together. Its areas include maternal and child health, teenage pregnancy and parenting, and Chispa early-learning services.

• Adoption and guardianship support

  Georgia Center for Resources and Support

  The center supports adoptive and guardian families with information, assistance, and family-development resources intended to strengthen placements and caregiving relationships.

• Adoption records and reunion support

  Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry

  The registry is part of Families First's adoption-support portfolio and helps address reunion-related needs for people connected through adoption.

• Parent education

  Impact Hub Classes

  Impact Hub classes provide parent-development training for families before and after foster or adoptive placements, supporting preparation, caregiving skills, and family adjustment.

1. 1Families First of Georgiaen.wikipedia.org