Agencies making headway in foster crisis
Two community leaders are honored during the RomeFloyd Commission on Children and Youth annual meeting.
A concerted effort led by several organization has made a huge dent in the foster care crisis that has impacted children in Floyd County for several years.
Carol Willis, executive director of the RomeFloyd County Commission on Children and Youth, told participants at her annual meeting
that the number of children in foster care has been cut from a high of 420 a couple of years ago
down to 312 as of Feb. 9.
The big challenge, according to Willis, is that only 86 children (28 percent of those 312) are being housed in Floyd County.
The annual meeting was held Tuesday afternoon at the Restoration Rome facility at 1400 Crane Street. Restoration Rome was created for the specific purpose of trying to reduce the number of children going into foster care and developing the resources to support those who are taken away from their birth parents, at homes in Rome.
George Pullen Community leadership awards were presented to Story Vernon, a senior at Pepperell High School and Frank K. Jones, owner of the F.K. Jones Funeral Home.
Floyd County Commissioner Allison Watters said Story demonstrates tremendous joy and enthusiasm while juggling school, extracurricular activities and work, where she feeds and tutors over 50 hungry children each day at the North Broad Youth Academy as well as here at Restoration Rome.
Rome City Commissioner Bill Collins made the presentation to Jones.
“Over the years he has helped children and youth by serving as a business partner at Main and Anna K. Davie Elementary Schools,” Collins said. “He helped through efforts at The Rome Transitional
Academy-Phoenix Learning Center and the Boys and Girls Club.”
Pullen was a longtime board member of the Commission on Children and Youth. Soon after he passed away, the commission decided to establish an annual award to recognize volunteer leaders.
Willis said there was a lot of both good and notso-good news to report from the latest Georgia Family Connection data reports. All of Floyd County’s high schools are ahead of the state average when it comes to graduation rates.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect in Floyd County are running three times higher than the state rates.