Month: March 2022

  • Point-In-Time (PIT) Count

    Point-In-Time (PIT) Count

    A Point-In-Time Count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness on a determined date. Some PIT counts are conducted over a one night period, while others are counted as long as 10 days. It always depends on your community’s needs and resources!

    The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, requires PIT counts of “sheltered” individuals yearly, and “unsheltered” individuals at least every two years to receive any federal funding. These counts can be done more often, but PIT counts require a lot of volunteers and cooperation from individuals experiencing homelessness. Both these funds and the data help state and local jurisdictions create strategic plans to combat the homelessness in their area.

    We want to be able to fill in this chart, and more!

    This is why Wayne County Family Connection would love your assistance! One of the biggest challenges when executing a PIT count is having enough volunteers who are willing to be trained and participate in the counting. It is also important to build genuine connections to those experiencing homelessness; Often individuals have a desire to stay hidden or not to share personal information with unknown community members, which could be vital for them receive aid. Volunteers must be willing to put in the effort to build a relationship with those experiencing homelessness in order to more accurately collect data.

    Mr. Jeff Clark, Director of Street Outreach for Safe Harbor Children’s Center

    Interested in learning more information regarding Wayne County Family Connection’s goal to conduct a Point-In-Time Count? Please join us on Monday March 28th, at 9:30 am to be a part of our in-person meeting located at 367 Bamboo Street, in the Pine View Housing Authority Area just off of Pine Street. We will have a guest speaker: Mr. Jeff Clark of the Safe Harbor Children’s Center.

  • Evidence-Based Home Visiting Program

    Evidence-Based Home Visiting Program

    Georgia’s Evidence-Based Home Visiting (EBHV) Program, under the Georgia Department of Public Health,
    provides new parents the supports they may need when having a baby. EBHV gives at-risk pregnant women,
    new moms, and families with children 0-5 years old the skills they need to raise healthy children.1 The overall
    goals of home visiting programs are to:

    • increase healthy pregnancies,
    • improve parenting skills,
    • improve child health and development,
    • strengthen family connectedness to community support, and reduce child abuse and neglect.

    *Information above is quoted from the image from georgiavoices.org

  • Head Start and Early Head Start Now Recruiting!

    Do you want to give your child the head start for school?! Coastal Georgia’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs are now open for enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year. Children three (3) (on September 1st, 2022) to four (4) years old who live in Bryan, Camden, Evans, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Tattnall, or Wayne Counties are eligible for free quality pre-school and family support programs, through Head Start. Children six (6) weeks up to three (3) years old, as well as expectant mothers, in Bryan, Camden, Evans, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Tattnall, or Wayne Counties are eligible for family support programs through Early Head Start. To qualify, families need to submit an application and provide eligibility documents. The application and documents should be submitted to the Head Start or Early Head Start center located at 724 N. 4th Street Jesup, GA 31545. Space is limited so it is important that families apply today! Applications and information regarding eligibility documentation is available by calling the center at (912) 427-4527.

  • Check & Connect

    By Iman Johnson

    Check and Connect is a comprehensive intervention designed to improve student engagement at school and with learning for marginalized, disengaged students in grades K-12, through relationship building, problem solving and capacity building, and persistence.  Although it was designed for grades K-12, it is currently only being implemented in the Wayne County School System for grades 6-12.

                It has four main components:  A Mentor, who works with students and families for a minimum of two years.  Check, this includes weekly checks, utilizing data schools already collect on student’s school adjustment, behavior and academic progress.  Connect, includes timely interventions, driven by data, to establish and maintain students’ connection to school and learning, and to enhance students’ social and academic competencies; and Engagement with families, where mentors engage with parents and strive to foster their active participation in their child’s education.

                Check and Connect is derived from evidence-based research and is the only intervention found to have strong evidence of positive effects for staying in school.  Some of these demonstrated outcomes include: Increase in students’ attendance, persistence in school, credit accrual and school completion rates.  Also, a decrease in students’ truancy (skipping), tardies, behavior referrals and dropout rates. 

                Our school system has experienced these positive outcomes since the implementation of the program during the 2017-2018 school year.  We are always recruiting, and need more mentors to participate in this worthwhile program, in order to be able to continue to foster success among the children in Wayne County.  If you would like to become a Check and Connect mentor or desire more information about the program, please contact Iman Johnson at iman.johnson@wayne.k12.ga.us or 912.441.1174 or Kimberly Harrison at KHarrison@wayne.k12.ga.us or 912.427.1000 ext. 390.davis

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