Resources for Jackson County
DFCS Office
County Director – Maria Ryder
456 Athens Street Jefferson, Georgia 30549-0526
Direct Office Number (706) 367-3000
Training
FaithBridge Foster Care: https://faithbridgeadoption.org/training/foster-parent-training/
If you have a pool, lake, pond, creek, river, or other body of water on your property, a water safety certification course must be completed annually. Online certification courses can be found at www.onlinewatersafetycourse.com or www.homepoolessentials.org.
Support
Piedmont CASA, Inc. (Court Appointed Special Advocates)
Michelle Black, Executive Director
P.O. Box 605 Jefferson, GA, 30549
Phone: 470-429-5055
Email: mblack@piedmontcasa.org
Hope 4 Tomorrow Mentoring Program (through Foster Care Support Foundation) (Serves all counties)
http://www.fostercares.org/mentoring
Jordan Rayburn, Hope 4 Tomorrow Mentoring Coordinator
Cell: 770-317-3749
mentor@fostercares.org
Daycare
CAPS- Childcare and Parent Services
2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE
Suite 670, East Tower
Atlanta, GA 30334
1-833-4GACAPS (1-833-442-2277)
http://families.decal.ga.gov/ChildCare/Search
The CAPS program in Georgia provides assistance to foster parents in paying for licensed child care services. Individual facilities must be licensed and approved, as well as accept CAPS as a form of payment for foster parents to utilize this service. Below is a list of daycares that have, at the time of posting, accepted CAPS payments. This is NOT an all-inclusive list. Below you will also find an instruction page on how to search online for a CAPS approved provider through the state website.
CAPS online search instruction page
Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
3706 Atlanta Hwy, Suite 1 Athens, GA 30606
Vicki Hawkins
Phone: (706) 543-6177 Toll Free 1-877-722-2445 Fax: (404) 479-4166
vicki.hawkins@qualitycareforchildren.org
Elite Academy
67 Boone Road, Hoschton, GA 30548
Phone: (706) 658-2343
Discovery Point Liberty Church
3750 Village Way
Braselton, GA 30517
Phone: (770) 629-8140
Georgia Kids Academy
4336 Hwy. 53, Hoschton, GA 30548
Phone: (706) 654-5437
The Children’s Place at New Liberty
59 Charlie Smith Road, Braselton, GA 30517
Phone: (706) 870-2838
Healthcare
Jackson County Health Department
623 South Elm Street Commerce, GA 30529
Phone: 706-335-3895 706-621-1245 Fax: 706-335-6307
Find which Amerigroup providers are in your area by clicking this link: https://providers.amerigroup.com/pages/providerdirectory.aspx
Babies Can’t Wait
202 Ben Burton Cir. Bogart, Ga 30622
Phone: (706) 369-6101 Fax: (706) 369-5709 Referral: (706) 369-6105
Ruth Newcomb Ruth.Newcomb@dph.ga.gov
Babies Can’t Wait provides a coordinated, comprehensive and integrated system of services for infants and toddlers with special needs, birth to 3 and their families. Babies Can’t Wait provides early identification and screening of children with developmental delays and chronic health conditions. Babies Can’t Wait strives to improve the developmental potential of infants and toddlers birth to age 3, with developmental or chronic health conditions.
Children 1st
202 Ben Burton Circle Bogart, Ga 30622
Phone:(706) 227-7182 Fax:(706) 227-7184
Robin O’Donnell Robin.O’Donnell@dph.ga.gov
Children 1st is a population-based system in the State of Georgia, designed to serve as an entry point into all public health services for children, birth – 5 years old. Children 1st facilitates early identification of at-risk children and links them with early interventions services, as well as other public health services and community based resources.
Children’s Medical Services
645 Meigs Street Athens, Ga 30601
Phone:(706) 389-6923 Fax:(706) 552-4536
Jill Stewart Jill.Stewart@dph.ga.gov
Kwon Pediatric Dentistry
4009 Winder Hwy #200
Flowery Branch, GA 30542
678-696-2200
Testing/Inspections
Jackson County Environmental Health (Water and Septic Inspections)
260 Lee Street Jefferson, GA 30549
Phone: 706-367-3643 Fax: 706-367-8070
Drug Testing/Lab Work
Foster family applicants can visit this website, order the drug screen, pay for the drug screen directly through the site, locate a testing location near them, go to the testing location and get drug tested. The results will come directly to FaithBridge.
https://labtestingsolutions.screenmenow.com/Default.aspx?c=SLLT_00266
Supplies
Foster Care Support Foundation – Distribution Center (Serves all counties)
115 Mansell Place, Roswell, GA 30076
Phone: 770-641-9591
Request an application and appointment by emailing appt@fostercares.org
WIC
Jackson County Health Department
623 South Elm Street Commerce, GA 30529
Phone: 706-335-3895 706-621-1245 Fax: 706-335-6307
The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program is a federally-funded health and nutrition program© for Infants and Children age 1 to 5 years (including foster children).
What WIC Provides
· Special checks to buy healthy foods from WIC-authorized vendors – milk, eggs, bread, cereal, juice, peanut butter, and much more (see Authorized Foods) including formula.
· Information about nutrition and health to help you and your family eat well and be healthy