On any given day in America nearly a half million children are in foster care.  In Georgia, that number hovers around 7500.  The number of children in foster care is down in America.  In Georgia, these numbers have decreased by more than 40% since 2002.  Georgia has found other solutions to address the needs of vulnerable children who are at risk of abuse or neglect other than the use of foster care.  Research has consistently shown that removal from parents and kin is inherently traumatic for children.  Research has also shown that children can be kept safe without removal from their communities.  This work is a different work.  It is a work that has been facilitated in large measure by Casey Family Programs.

For this reason, it is very appropriate and fitting that Casey Family Programs is the Corporate Sponsor for the Georgia Conference on Children and Families.  Their vision is that by year 2020 the number of children in foster care will be reduced safely by 50 percent.  This goal is an ambitious vision and goal.  It is one that can be realized without putting children at risk of harm.  Georgia has been a model for this vision and is well on its way to the realization of this vision. 

The work of child welfare is changing.  It is more than foster care or residential care.  It is about how we work with families so that their homes are safe and their children remain permanently with them in a nurturing and sustainable environment.  It is about bringing together the community to support families in the work of a family.  It is about changing our model of practice to be much more inclusive of the full array of services that children need to thrive emotionally, socially, educationally and physically.

Casey Family Programs embody the vision of the Georgia Conference on Children and Families, "Excellence in Policy and Practice." 

We are proud to have them as our Corporate Sponsor.